By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
The USPHL Elite saw the first Midwest Division games of the season, while the Atlantic, Florida and Southeast carried on with their second weekends of competition. With many teams still to start their seasons heading into Friday, Sept. 27, there were some early leaders out of the gate. The Hampton Roads Whalers were 3-1-0-1 for seven points, followed by the 3-1-0-0 Charlotte Rush and P.A.L. Jr. Islanders. The Whalers and Rush will each play four games this weekend at the USPHL Southeast Showcase, where we will see a lot of standings movement, in addition to the BJB Shootout, which sees the debut of many New England Division teams.
We’ll take a deep dive into the teams that earned at least a .500 record over the past week of games played between Sept. 17-25.
Charlotte Rush Earns First Sweep Of Season
The Rush have jumped out to a 3-1-0-0 record for the start of the season, and enjoyed a 4-2 and a 5-1 victory against the Atlanta MadHatters. Both teams moved on to the USPHL Southeast Showcase after this series.
- The Rush are 3-1-0-0 to start a season for the first time since 2021-22, having gone 4-0 out of the gates the past couple seasons.
- Charlotte is on a 13-game winning streak against Atlanta, as they have not lost to Atlanta since they were the Jr. Kings on Nov. 11, 2018.
- Viktor Pettersson and Darren Freeman are both leading the Rush with six points apiece.
Chicago Cougars Begin Season With Sweep
The Cougars defeated the Fort Wayne Spacemen by scores of 7-3 and 3-1 to begin their second Elite season.
- For the second season in a row, the Cougars began with just two September games, defeating the Decatur Blaze in their first two Elite games ever last year.
- The 10 goals they scored in their first weekend this year was impressive, though half of the 20 they scored to open 2023-24.
- Returning Cougar Jack Schejbal (1-4-5) is leading the team in scoring out of the gate. He has 24 points in 34 career games.
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Earn Pair Of Victories To Claim Share Of Second
The Jr. Islanders looked very strong as they took on the first-year Hershey Cubs in their third and fourth games this year. The scored back-to-back 6-2 and 6-2 wins (anyone for tennis?) to climb to 3-1-0-0.
- The Jr. Islanders, after a Sept. 15 loss to the Jersey Hitmen, are just off their best-ever four-game start of 4-0 which they attained last season.
- Dante Scibelli has been red hot out of the gate for the Jr. Islanders with nine points (2-7-9) in four games.
- Dominik Feiler’s .957 save percentage is second among goalies with multiple appearances so far.
Tampa Bay Juniors Put Up Two Wins In Home-and-Home Series
The Juniors were 3-0 and 5-3 winners against the Palm Beach Typhoon to kick off their new season on Sept. 21-22.
- Tampa Bay improved to 8-0 in their September games against Palm Beach – all but one series being their season-openers.
- This was the first time in their eight-year Elite history that they’ve opened with a shutout. Shane Passaro made 25 saves for the historic win.
- Rene Krytinar (2-1-3) is leading the way for the Juniors in scoring through two games.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights Take Single Victory To Kick Off New Year
The Knights started out the 2024-25 season with an 8-0 victory against the Elmira Impact.
- This is the first time they’ve begun the Elite season with a shutout. They earned shutouts in their second games in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
- Roberts Kravalis made 14 saves in net to kick off the year with a doughnut.
- Petr Subbotin scored five goals to open the season, the most points in a single game yet this year.
- Tyler Hamlin had the previous team single-game goals record of four on Jan. 20, 2024.
Five Teams Finish At 1-1 For The Week
The Bold City Battalion split against the Florida Jr. Blades, with the Blades winning 5-3 in the opener on Sept. 20, and then the Battalion won 4-3 on Saturday.
Also taking a weekend split were the Hampton Roads Whalers and Potomac Patriots. The Whalers won 4-1 and the Patriots took a 6-3 victory.
The Rockets Hockey Club went 1-1 against the Elmira Impact, following that team’s loss to the Knights. Elmira won the first game, 3-2 and the Rockets captured the second game, 5-1.
