By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Several teams from the USPHL Premier’s New England, Atlantic, Canada and Southeast Divisions – and even the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings from the North Division – start congregating in Wayne, N.J., for the 2024 USPHL Jersey Hitmen Classic. This is the only event that will feature NCDC, USPHL Premier and USPHL Elite hockey all under the same roof over the entire USPHL Showcase Series. Elsewhere, there are four Florida teams – the Florida Eels, Florida Jr. Blades, Tampa Bay Juniors and Palm Beach Typhoon – competing in an in-season tournament for the Florida Cup. Following that event’s conclusion, several North and Great Lakes Division teams go head-to-head in the USPHL Wisconsin Showcase. There’ll certainly be a lot to unpack next week, but that’s not to say we don’t have a lot for you right here!
We’ll look deeper into all the teams that finished with at least a point per game played in the standings between Oct. 11-16.
New England Division
Islanders Hockey Club Earns Five Points, Remains Undefeated Through Eight
The Islanders Hockey Club are still yet to be taken down during a 60-minute game, as they improved to 6-0-1-1 through their first eight games this season. For the past week, they went 2-0-0-1, defeating the Boston Jr. Rangers, 6-2, the South Shore Kings 5-2 and on Wednesday, Oct. 16, they fell in a 3-2 shootout to their regional rivals the Northern Cyclones.
- The Islanders aren’t setting any records as they once went 19-0 out of the gate in 2019-20, but the 14 points through eight games is second only to the 16 points they got off that historic season’s 8-0 run out of the gate.
- Third-year IHC forward Dylan Reynolds (‘04/Middletown, Conn.) leads the team with 12 points and he has 72 points overall in 86 career games.
South Shore Kings Go 2-1-0-0 Over Week, Tie For First
The Kings were dynamite as they moved through mid-October, and the four points they picked up until Oct. 16 helped them into a tie for first in the New England Division with the Springfield Pics, at 15 points apiece. They defeated the Northern Cyclones, 6-4, on Oct. 12, then fell 5-2 to the Islanders Hockey Club on Oct. 13. On Oct. 15, they beat the Boston Jr. Rangers, 5-1.
- The 15 points they have earned from their 7-2-0-1 start is third-best in the Kings’ eight-year Premier history. The Kings’ best-ever start in 10 games was 9-1-0-0 in 2021-22 and they went 8-2 in both 2017-18 and 2018-19.
- The Kings’ Anthony Prioli has put up 10 goals in 10 games along with six assists for 16 points, with the 10 goals tying him with several others for fourth place. In goal, both Matthew Dore (‘04/Dartmouth, Mass.) and Christian Gonsalves (‘05/Berkley, Mass.) are undefeated at 2-0.
Springfield Pics’ 2-1-0-0 Weekend Keeps Them In Tie For First
The Pics have surged to the top of the New England Division standings thanks to a 7-1-0-1 record. They were undefeated in regulation going into Saturday, Oct. 12, before the Utica Jr. Comets defeated them 6-4. On either side of that game, they’d beaten the Jr. Comets 4-1 on Oct. 11, and they defeated the Boston Junior Bruins, 8-6, on Oct. 13.
- The Pics have never before led or co-led the New England Division as of Oct. 16, prior to this season.
- Chris Foster scored his third game-winning goal of the season already when he scored the deciding goal against Utica on Oct. 11, giving him a share of the lead in the league in winners. He has eight GWG’s for his career.
Worcester Railers JHC Take Second OT Win
The Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club are only 12 games into their USPHL existence and they’ve already been past regulation four times. They won 5-4 against the Thunder Hockey Club, 5-4, on Oct. 11.
Cyclones, Comets, Thunder Each Earn Points Over Week
The Northern Cyclones fell 6-4 to the South Shore Kings on Oct. 12, but rebounded four days later with a 3-2 shootout win against the Islanders Hockey Club on Oct. 16. The loss was their first in regulation on the season and they are now at 4-1-0-1.
The Jr. Comets, as seen above, split with the Pics, falling 4-1 and then won 6-4. The win put them back above .500 at 3-2-0-1.
In the Thunder Hockey Club’s only game of the week, they fell 5-4 in overtime to the Worcester Railers. The Thunder are on a 2-0-2-0 point streak after falling in their first two games of the season.
Southeast Division
Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Pull Off Sweep To Jump Above .500
This team has won three out of their four October games heading into the USPHL Jersey Hitmen Classic, most recently defeating the Atlanta MadHatters by scores of 5-2 and 3-2 in Atlanta.
- In-house promotion is how the Jr. Canes get it done. Leading the team in scoring with nine points apiece are former Elite standouts Carter Radosta (‘05/Raleigh, N.C.) and Nolan Bolt (‘04/Regina, Sask.). Bolt has 139 regular season games in a Jr. Canes jersey, while Radosta is at 90, not even counting an in-house Jr. Hurricanes youth career.
- Another in-house product is goalie Ryan Kalina (‘05/Raleigh, N.C.), a USPHL Elite All-Star from last year, who leads the team with a 3-1-0-0 record with a .939 save percentage.
Charlotte Rush Get A Three-Point Weekend, Maintain Share Of First Place
The Rush get a chance to remain in first place in points, even with a loss on the weekend, as they have gone 8-0-3-1 so far this year. Lake Tahoe is 10-2-0-0, joining them at the top. The Rush fell 4-3 in overtime against the host Hampton Roads Whalers on Saturday, before coming back to win 6-2 on Sunday.
- The Rush played seven straight games beyond regulation, a team record. In their league-leading eight OT or shootout games this year, they are 3-3 in overtimes and 1-1 in shootouts.
- Former Elite Rush standout Evan Crawford (‘04/Greenwich, Conn.) improved to 3-0-1-1 with a 1.94 GAA and .942 save percentage. With an assist on Oct. 12, Levente Pakozdi (‘04/Budapest, Hungary) extended his point streak to nine, over which he has all of his 18 points.
Hampton Roads Whalers Split Weekend With Rush
The Whalers, as seen above, defeated the Rush 4-3 in overtime before falling 6-2 on Sunday to Charlotte. Each of the last three Whalers wins against Charlotte, dating back to the 2022-23 season, have all been in overtime or shootouts. Charlotte won all eight of the longtime rivals’ match-ups in 2023-24.
Atlantic Division
Elmira Impact Claim Important Divisional Wins, Move Into Fourth Place
The Impact recently picked up two wins against Connecticut – the same squad that won the 2024 National Championship – and then beat the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, who have been to the Nationals every year of their existence. After their 4-3 shootout win on Oct. 10 (covered in this space last week), they also won 3-2 on Oct. 11, before beating the WBS Knights, 2-1, on Oct. 14 in Ithaca.
- Goaltender Riley Gorman (‘04/Odessa, Texas) surged to the top of the minutes played and saves leaderboard via playing each of the Impact’s last three games. He has played in 499 minutes of action with 304 saves, while also climbing into second in wins with six.
- The Impact continue to get top-flight play from returning Atlantic Division All-Star Karson Grainey (‘05/Mount Union, Pa.) who leads the team with an 8-10-18 line in 10 games.
Rockets Hockey Club Win Twice, Jump Into Tie For Second
The Rockets have strung wins together for the second time in five games, putting them at 6-3-0-0 for a tie for second in the division. On Oct. 12, they defeated the Hershey Cubs, 5-2, and then won 4-1 on Oct. 14 against the Jersey Hitmen.
- These two victories are where the Rockets prosper, as they have won three three-goal games this year, tied with the Dells Ducks for most by that decision int the Premier.
- Dylan Helmueller (‘07/Anchorage, Alaska) scored 10 points during a five-game point streak and now has a 6-9-15 line in nine games.
West Chester Wolves Take Three Points, Remain Undefeated In Regulation
The Wolves fell on Oct. 11 in a shootout to the Hershey Cubs, 2-1, and bounced back the next day against the Mercer Chiefs to win 3-2. Their 1-0-0-1 record for the weekend kept them at 4-0-2-1.
- Second-year Premier goaltender A.J. Golden (‘04/Medford, N.J.) stands at third in the Premier with a 0.97 goals against average, and fifth in save percentage (.969).
- West Chester native Aidan Urie (‘04) is leading the team in scoring with a 4-5-9 line. Urie was a member of the former Richmond Generals’ 2022 USPHL Elite National Championship team, which was coached by Wolves Hockey Program Director R.C. Lyke.
Brooklyn Aviators Earn First Win Of Season
The Aviators defeated the Red Bank Generals in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, winning 4-1. Kierin Tran (‘05/Toronto, Ont.) leads the Aviators with four goals in five games. Second-year Premier goalie Chris Giglio (‘05/Merrick, N.Y.) stopped 51 of 52 for the victory.
Hershey Cubs, Mercer Chiefs Each Go .500
The Cubs won 2-1 on Oct. 11 against the Wolves in a shootout, before falling 5-2 to the Rockets. The Mercer Chiefs won their first-ever game on Oct. 13, 4-2, against the Jersey Hitmen, one day after falling 3-2 to the Mercer Chiefs. Michael Bonino (‘06/Atlantic Beach, N.Y.) scored the first official game-winning goal for the Chiefs.
Canada Division
Hawkesbury Knights Maintain Division Lead With Three-Game Win Streak
With a pair of Canada Division opponents on a three-game winning streak (Montreal) and a four-game point streak (Gatineau), the pressure’s on the Knights who have generally been leading the way since the first weekend. They did their job on Oct. 12 with a 6-5 victory against Universel Sherbrooke. The next day, they won 5-0 against Kingston.
- For the fifth time this season, the Knights were down after the first period (2-1 against Sherbrooke) and rebounded to win their league-leading fifth game in that situation.
- Jeremie Barron (‘04/Vaudreuil, Que.) got the comeback win against Sherbrooke for his fifth win of the season, ranked third in the Premier. Leading the way offensively is David Caya (‘05/Candiac, Que.) with 14 points in 13 games.
Montreal Black Vees, College Universel Gatineau Each Win Game
The Black Vees played in just one game over the past week, winning 12-2 against the Kingston Wranglers, their third straight victory to keep the gap against first-place Hawkesbury a manageable four points.
College Universel Gatineau played just one game over they week, winning 5-2 against Somang L-L Hockey, and Gatineau is now undefeated in regulation over four games.
Universel Sherbrooke Finishes Weekend At .500
Sherbrooke enjoyed a strong 3-1 win against a Somang L-L squad that entered their Oct. 11 game with a similar record. The momentum was also strong against Hawkesbury, but the Knights won that game in the end, 6-5. Sherbrooke enters the USPHL Jersey Hitmen Classic at 5-4-1-0.
