Historic First Wins, Several 2-0 Starts Abound Over Premier’s Second Weekend
By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
It was a productive start to the season for several teams that kicked off their 2024-25 USPHL Premier campaigns between Sept. 13-15. Four organizations that made it to the 2024 National Championships – the Florida Eels, Charlotte Rush, Potomac Patriots and Red River Spartans (formerly the Nashville Spartans) earned 4-0 sweeps to begin their seasons.
Six teams currently are tied for first in the USPHL Premier with four points apiece. In total, there were 12 different teams that earned wins over the span of 16 Premier games this weekend. We’ll take a look at some fun and telling stats focusing on the victorious squads from the games of Sept. 13-15.
Charlotte Rush Kick Off Season With Rivalry Weekend Wins
The Rush went 2-0, with a 3-2 overtime win and a 5-2 victory against their North Carolina rivals the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.
- The Rush have not lost on an opening two-game weekend since a 3-0 defeat against the Hampton Roads Whalers on Sept. 15, 2019, Game 2 of that season for Charlotte. That makes it five years in a row of a Rush sweep to open the weekend.
- The last time the Rush began the season with an overtime game was Sept. 11, 2021, when they beat the Jr. Canes by a 4-3 score.
- Second-year Rush forward Ryan Bonfrancesco (‘05/Hellertown, Pa.) scored the GWG, and it was his very first Premier goal. That marked the first time a Rush Premier player ever scored an overtime game-winner with their very first Premier goal.
Florida Eels Enjoy Lucrative Offensive Opening Weekend
The Eels kicked off their new campaign with wins of 5-3 and 6-2 in hosting the Atlanta MadHatters.
- The Eels improved to 8-0 over four straight opening weekends against Atlanta since the 2021-22 season.
- Alex Cochran (‘05/Frisco, TX) registered a hat trick in his very first Premier game, after coming up from the USPHL Elite Eels of 2023-24 – can you say USPHL Advancement In Action? Cochran became the first Eels player to score a hat trick in his first Premier game. His was the second hat trick in an opening game for Florida after Taurin Haddon-Harris (currently with Curry College) scored three on Sept. 18, 2021, to open the 2021-22 season.
- Cochran’s hat trick was one of four from this past weekend. Lots of fun, but it pales in comparison to the 24 hat tricks over the 2023-24 closing stretch (for most teams) of Feb. 21-26.
- Seth Morris (‘06/Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) put up six points to lead all Premier players in scoring between Sept. 13-15, scoring a goal and four assists for six points.
Potomac Patriots Post 10 Goals To Open New Season
The Patriots registered five goals in each of their opening games, putting up a 5-3 win and a 5-4 win against their Virginia rivals the Hampton Roads Whalers.
- This marked the Patriots’ second straight opening weekend sweep against Hampton Roads, having won the same match-up 5-3 and 7-4 on Sept. 16-17, 2023.
- With the work of one weekend, 2023-24 USPHL Elite All-Star Ilya Biesiedin (‘05/Kharkov, Ukraine) registered four points to match his Premier output of last season, attained in 11 games. Biesiedin has played in a total of 138 regular season Elite and Premier games in his four-year career with the Patriots.
- Kirill Guryev (‘06/Moskva, Russia) made 46 saves in Game 1 against the Whalers in his Premier debut, an all-time high for most saves in a Patriots season-opening win. Dylan Dallaire set the record for most saves by a Patriots goaltender in a debut victory with 57 on Jan. 23, 2021.
Red River Spartans Bring Hockey To Clarksville With Sweep Opening Weekend
The Spartans opened up their new existence in Clarksville, Tenn., with a 5-3 victory against the Columbus Mavericks on Sept. 13. One night later, they expanded the decision with a 7-2 score to complete a sweep against the Mavericks.
- So far this season, through just 18 total Premier games, three teams have won their opening game as a new team or an existing team in a new city on their home ice. The Hawkesbury Knights did it on Sept. 7 in Hawkesbury, Ont. Six days later, the Spartans won their first game in Clarksville and one night after that, Somang Laurentides Lanaudiere Hockey won its first-ever game in Saint-Anne-des-Plaines, Que., 8-7.
- With 12 goals on their opening weekend, the Spartans improved by one their best opening pair of scores after putting 11 goals up against Columbus as the Nashville Spartans on Sept. 8-9, 2023.
- Brayden Goncalves (‘04/Vancouver, B.C.) and Gino Indelicato (‘05/Chicago, Ill.) – both in their third year with the Spartans organization – started the season off with five points apiece, the best opening weekend performance by any Spartan in the organization’s three-year history.
- At 73 Premier games played, Goncalves is third in Spartans history and just nine contests away from setting a new team record.
Montreal Black Vees Avenge Opening Loss With 7-2 Win Over Hawkesbury
The Black Vees, who had fallen 7-2 to Hawkesbury in the first-ever Canada Division game on Sept. 7, came back a week later to defeat the same Hawkesbury Knights. And they did it by the same exact score, 7-2. The Black Vees ended the weekend with their first three USPHL points by falling in the shootout to College Universel Gatineau, 4-3 (Gatineau’s first Canada Division win).
- Montreal’s Nathan Rutter-Richardson (‘06/Rockland, Ont.) stopped 71 of 76 shots and went 1-0-0-1 for his team, while earning Montreal’s first-ever Premier victory.
- Mathis Marleau (‘07/Gatineau, Que.) scored the tying goal to force the Canada Division’s first overtime and eventually also the first shootout – and the first shootout in the Premier this season.
Minnesota Mullets Start Season With Decisive Shootout Win
The Mullets came on like a storm in Game 1 and put up a 9-0 victory over the Minnesota Blue Ox, jumping out to a strong 1-0 mark out of the gate with one of their most decisive wins in their team history.
- This was the first time since Nov. 4, 2023, that the Mullets scored nine goals in a game.
- A 9-0 victory is the largest margin of victory for a shutout in the Mullets history.
- It is not the largest margin of victory for the Mullets, as they’ve won by 10 twice – Oct. 15, 2017, vs. the former Tri-City IceHawks and on Feb. 27, 2021, vs. the Dells Ducks. Both were 11-1 victories.
- Returning goalie Kody Niederkorn (‘04/Hastings, Minn.) was magical in putting up a 48-save shutout, one of two 9-0 shutouts registered on Saturday – Austin Nowak of Toledo had the other, with 19 saves vs. Battle Creek.
- Niederkorn’s 48 saves in a shutout was the most since Jared Treat registered 51 saves in a shutout win over the Islanders Hockey Club on Sept. 29, 2023, for the Jersey Hitmen. Niederkorn’s career high remains 55 saves in a close 7-6 defeat against the Minnesota Squatch on Feb. 25.
- Jovan Fowler (‘06/Roseville, Minn.) scored a hat trick in his Premier debut, becoming the fourth player this season to do so and among the three just in the past weekend. Fowler is the first Mullets player to ever score a hat trick in his Premier debut or in the first game of a Mullets season.
Rockets Hockey Club Edges Past P.A.L. In Close Decision
The Rockets kicked off their season with a 6-5 victory against the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders in the season debut for both teams and the only action thus far in the Atlantic Division.
- The Rockets / P.A.L. opener is an annual tradition for both teams, as they’ve opened against each other for the past three seasons. After a decisive Rockets victory in the first opening meeting, the Jr. Islanders won their 2023-24 opener by a 5-4 score.
- The Rockets had to come back from being down 3-2 and 4-3 at different times of the second period for the victory.
- The 2007-born returning veteran Dylan Helmueller (Anchorage, Alaska) scored the regulation game-winner, the second of his career.
Somang Laurentides Lanaudiere Wins First-Ever Premier Game
Somang took on Universel Sherbrooke, another Canada Division team making its USPHL Premier debut, on Sept. 14. And boy was it a doozy, as Somang and Sherbrooke traded leads through much of the game. Sherbrooke was up 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 well into the second period. After 4-4 and 5-5 ties, Somang led 6-5 coming out of the second period. An even third period was thrilling but did not change the decision.
- Defenseman Borna Savic joined the Eels’ Alex Cochran, the Mullets’ Jovan Fowler and Hawkesbury’s Alexis Roy as players to have scored a hat trick in their USPHL Premier debuts this season. Savic’s hat trick goal was the game-winner.
- Savic’s hat trick is the first hat trick by a defenseman in a team’s season-opening game since Jake Aslanian scored three for MJDP on Sept. 25, 2020.
- Marko Petras (’04/Kezmarok, Slovakia) scored the first USPHL Premier goal for Universel Sherbrooke.
- Troels Skovgaard-Simonsen (’07/Vojens, Denmark) registered Somang’s first-ever USPHL Premier goal, and Alexis Viel (’06/L’Epiphanie, Que.) registered their first win in net.
Toledo Cherokee Earn Decisive Shutout In Season Debut
The Cherokee started off on the right foot with a season-opening 9-0 victory against the Battle Creek Kernels, who are new to the Great Lakes Division for 2024-25.
- This marks the first time in Toledo’s seven-year USPHL Premier history that they’ve opened the season with a shutout.
- It was also the largest margin of victory for a Cherokee opener. Toledo is undefeated in regulation in their seven season openers (6-0-1-0), only falling in overtime in their first-ever game on Sept. 14, 2018, against the former Lansing Wolves.
- Austin Nowak, an ‘04 Toledo native, pulled into a four-way tie for the all-time Toledo lead in shutouts with his sixth on Saturday. He’s tied with Joey Cormier (2020-22), Mason Snyder (2018-21) and Frank Murphy (2022-23)
Ventura Vikings Edge Past Long Beach Bombers In Shared USPHL Premier Debut
The Vikings traveled to Long Beach for the two teams’ mutual first-ever game in the USPHL Premier on Sept. 13, with Ventura coming out with a close 3-1 victory.
- Ventura became the second organization to win their USPHL Premier debut so far this season, joining Hawkesbury (Sept. 7), and one night later, Somang L-L Hockey became the third. The Red River Spartans also won their Sept. 13 debut in their new home of Clarksville, Tenn.
- Among the many firsts for Ventura, a brand new organization to the league, were the first goal by defenseman Gage Latimer (‘05/Lloydminster, Sask.), the first game-winner by Cameron Cote (‘04/Chandler, Ariz.) and the first win in net by Brasco Cirillo (‘07/Saint Davids, Ont.)
- Long Beach’s first goal was scored by three-year junior veteran Magnus Lowham (‘04/Jackson, Wyo.)
Hawkesbury Knights, College Universel Gatineau Finish 1-1 On Weekend
The Knights and Gatineau each won and lost a game on the weekend, with the Knights standing at 2-1-0-0 for four points, which is currently tied with five other teams for most in the Premier after two weekends of play.
- On Friday, the Knights became just the second team this season to win two games when they defeated Gatineau by a 4-2 score, in what was the second-year Premier organization Gatineau’s first Canada Division game.
- The Montreal Black Vees then defeated Hawkesbury, 7-2, avenging a loss by the same score in the Canada Division’s Sept. 7 debut between the two teams.
- After the loss to Hawkesbury, Gatineau turned around and defeated the Montreal Black Vees, 4-3, in the Canada Division’s first shootout and the first USPHL Premier shootout this season.
- Down 2-1 going into the third, Gatineau outscored Montreal by the same score in the third to even it at 3-3. Charlie Olmsted scored the shootout-winning goal, one of three by Gatineau.
