Week of Jan. 26, 2024
Games of Jan. 18-24, 2024
Summaries by Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
Florida Division
Forward: Colby Sims, Atlanta MadHatters
Sims (‘04/Rocky Mountain House, Alb.) helped the Elite MadHatters match their Premier brethren with a three-game sweep of Palm Beach, leading the way offensively with two goals and three assists for five points, including a game-winning goal in the middle chapter of the story. He currently has 33 points in 31 games this year and, with the fifth of those five points, he just became the MadHatter Elite team’s all-time leading scorer with 77 points in 66 career games.
Defense: Lucas Gonzalez, Tampa Bay Juniors
Gonzalez (‘05/Superior, Colo.) has been on a tear lately on the offensive side, with a line of 2-6-8 in his last five games back to Jan. 4 at the USPHL Tampa Showcase. Defensively, he also helped his team to split with the Eels and help keep the Juniors in first place in a tight Florida Division race. Against the Eels, Gonzalez’ 21:52 of average ice time per game was good for second on the team. On the season, Gonzalez has 26 points in 33 games.
Goaltender: Terry See, Atlanta MadHatters
See (‘05/Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.) put up his first junior career shutout, stopping all 29 saves against Palm Beach on Jan. 21, the second shutout for the MadHatters last weekend as veteran Jackson Bernier also had a 29-save shutout on Jan. 19. See has won his last three starts going back to Dec. 2, and is currently 3-1-0-1 for the season with a .934 save percentage.
Southeast Division
Forward: Dominykas Jurjevas, Potomac Patriots
Jurjevas (‘04/Elektrenai, Lithuania) came out of the Patriots’ sweep of the Charlotte Rush with three goals and two assists for five points in the two-game series. In doing so, Jurjevas also improved upon his already impressive 43 points of 2022-23 by posting his 44th this season. His +3 in the series against Charlotte also tied for the team lead, as did his 11 shots on goal.
Defense: Kirill Golubev, Potomac Patriots
Golubev (‘07/Kostroma, Russia) was also on fire for the Patriots during their weekend wins against Charlotte, which helped Potomac remain second not only in the Southeast Division but in the USPHL Elite overall. Golubev scored the game-winning goal in each of the two games (his first two in the USPHL) and added two assists. He did this all while playing 26:17 per game, 2:30 more than the closest teammate, and his +3 in the series also tied for the team lead. Golubev improved to 47 points in 27 games.
Goaltender: Connor Wilkerson, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes
Wilkerson (‘04/Richmond, Va.) earned his second victory for the Jr. Hurricanes after starting his third USPHL season in Richmond. He stopped 24 of 25 shots against the Columbia Infantry, giving him a 2-0 record with the Jr. Canes. He’s stopped 46 of 48 for Carolina since joining them prior to the start of 2024. For his Elite career, he is 6-2-0-0 with a .926 save percentage.
