Games of Sept. 19-25
By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
From three games the first week to 16 games on the second weekend, the USPHL Premier season really picked up with a total of 56 games that were played between Sept. 19 and Sept. 23. Standings are beginning to take shape, slowly and surely and teams are able to make a statement at the very least as we’re just a few steps into the autumn season.
With their third and fourth wins of the season, both the Charlotte Rush (4-0-0-0) and Hawkesbury Knights (4-1-0-0) are first in the points race, while the Rush are one of 13 teams that have played multiple games without a loss thus far this season.
We will take a closer look below at the teams that finished with at least as many points from among those 56 games played between Sept. 19-25.
Upcoming this weekend, there will be two USPHL Showcase Series Events, the BJB Shootout and the USPHL Southeast Showcase! We’re looking forward to breaking down those events in next week’s edition.
Pacific Division
Lake Tahoe Lakers Start Out 3-0 After Weekend Sweep
Over the past weekend, the Lake Tahoe Lakers enjoyed a run of three decisive wins in their first-ever matchups against the Long Beach Bombers. They combined for a total of 30 goals and gave up just four on the weekend.
- This is the second straight season the Lakers have opened the season with a 3-0 start.
- The 20 goals they scored in Games 1 and 2 came close to their all-time high of 22 goals in back-to-back games on Oct. 15-16, 2021, in a pair of road wins against Ontario. The 11 goals on Sept. 19, 2024, were the most for Lake Tahoe in a home game.
- Tyler Gudjonson (‘05/Wynard, Sask.) had a huge weekend to start his junior career, posting five goals and three assists for eight points out of the gate. He scored a hat trick in his third game, posting a 3-1-4 line. One night earlier, returning Laker Rory Gunn (‘04/New York City, N.Y.) also scored a hat trick. It was the first time since Sept. 25-26, 2021 – the Lakers’ second and third games – that players had hat tricks on back-to-back days. Former Lakers Lucas Colombin and Ari Rossi both had hat tricks on Feb. 6, 2022.
Ontario Jr. Reign Earns Sweep Of Home-and-Home With San Diego
The Jr. Reign kicked off their season with a 10-5 victory against the San Diego Sabers at home on Friday. The next night, they put up a 5-1 win against the Sabers in Carlsbad, Calif.
- The Jr. Reign and Sabers opened their USPHL Premier existence in 2021 with a similar home-and-home series – and similar results, as Ontario also swept that opening series.
- Ontario is enjoying a 10-game winning streak in their all-time series with San Diego, including a 7-0 sweep of the season series last year. San Diego last took a win from Ontario on Feb. 24, 2023.
- Returning Jr. Reign Christopher Lai (‘04/Milpitas, Calif.) opened his season with a hat trick on Friday, and he has two straight three-point games. That marked the first time in Ontario history a player scored a hat trick in their opening game.
Bakersfield Roughnecks Take Two Of Three From Ventura Vikings
The Bakersfield Roughnecks started out with a 6-4 loss to the first-year Ventura Vikings (also winning their home opener on Friday), but the Roughnecks rebounded to win 4-3 and 5-2 over the next two days.
- Going 2-1 against a brand new team might have reminded some of doing the same when the Roughnecks opened their own existence in 2022-23. They won their first two games and then took a loss against the former Long Beach Shredders, also playing their first three games.
- Bakersfield ’06 natives defenseman Tyler Moser and forward Alexander Hufnagel both played in that first-ever series for Bakersfield, and were still on board playing this past weekend.
- Louis Allen (‘04/Peterborough, U.K.) started his season with six points in the three games, after putting up 11 points in 20 games last year. Tyler Gyori (‘04/Rimbey, Alb.) also put up six points to open his season.
Atlantic Division
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Improve To 3-1-0-0 After Three-Win Weekend
The Jr. Islanders had opened the season with a loss to the Rockets Hockey Club, but came back steaming hot. After defeating the West Chester Wolves, 4-3, in overtime, the Jr. Islanders won 7-3 and 3-1 to complete the trifecta.
- The 3-1-0-0 record is P.A.L.’s best through four games in their six-year Premier history.
- They’d never previously played in an overtime game as early as Game 2 of a season. Twice they’ve made it to overtime (2021-22) and a shootout (2022-23) in Game 3.
- Veteran Jr. Islander Peter Labos (‘04/Plainview, N.Y.) is having his best start in his career with 11 points in three games. Even during his 73-point season last year, he never scored as many as 11 points in three games – he hit nine points over three games three times.
Elmira Impact Take Two Of Three From Knights, Rockets
The Impact opened their season with a 4-3 defeat of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights on Sept. 20, and followed that with a split of one-goal games against the Rockets Hockey Club. They won on Saturday, 5-4, and then lost 4-3 on Sunday.
- The Impact actually ended the 2023-24 regular season with three one-goal games. They lost to P.A.L., 5-4, before splitting their final weekend last year against the WBS Knights, a 5-4 loss ahead of a 3-2 OT win.
- The Impact have a trio of players with seven points apiece through seven games. Karson Grainey, an ‘05 from Mount Union, Pa., has a 5-2-7 line after finishing as a 2023-24 USPHL Premier Atlantic Division All-Star. Former teammates in Canada, Eloi Robert and Liam Coutu – both ’06’s from Granby, Que. – put up 3-4-7 and 2-5-7 lines, respectively.
Rockets, Knights, Wolves Earn Pair Of Points For The Weekend
The Rockets Hockey Club split their series with the Elmira Impact, winning 5-4 and then falling 4-3. This marks the first time the Rockets have started a season with three one-goal decisions. They stand at 2-1-0-0. Ryan Hilbert (‘06/Green Bay, Wis.) has had a red-hot start to the season with a 3-3-6 mark through just his first three junior games.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights pulled up even against the Impact (falling 4-3) and West Chester Wolves (winning 3-2 in overtime). The Knights have gone to overtime or a shootout within their first four games every season, including starting last year with a 4-3 OT loss to Elmira. Christopher Diller (‘04/Cave Creek, Ariz.) put up a three-point start to his Premier career, after a strong Elite season with the Knights last year.
The West Chester Wolves earned a point in each of their first-ever two Premier games, falling 5-4 to the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders and then 3-2 to the WBS Knights. The last team to go to overtime – or past – in each of their first two Premier games ever were the Palm Beach Typhoon of 2021-22, losing in OT in their opener and winning in the shootout in Game 2, both against the Tampa Bay Juniors. Defenseman Breydon Webster (‘04/Dartmouth, Mass.) and right wing Luca Hobbs (‘05/Port Perry, Ont.) each led the team with three points. Tyrone Oxlade (‘06/Australia) scored the first-ever Wolves’ Premier goal.
Northwest Division
Rogue Valley Royals Take Three Wins In Opening Weekend
The Royals got off to a hot start with three wins against the first-year Bremerton Sockeyes, winning 3-1, 8-2, and 4-1.
- This is the first time the Royals have started with three straight wins in their three–year history.
- After starting the 2022-23 season as a brand new team, the Royals have since been parts of first-ever games for two other teams. Last year, they were the first-ever game for the former Casper Roughnecks, and this year, they helped open Bremerton’s USPHL Premier existence.
- Jackson Wotruba (‘05/Ashwaubenon, Wis.) scored the first-ever Sockeyes USPHL Premier goal in Game 1.
- Second-year Royal Hank Kasch (‘04/Silverthorne, Colo.) put up three goals and five assists for five points to be one of the weekend’s leading scorers.
Seattle Totems Win Two On Opening Rivalry Weekend Against Bellingham
The Totems have had a long-standing rivalry with the Bellingham Blazers, including playing their shared first-ever Premier game against each other on Sept. 16, 2022. Most recently, the Totems won the 2024-25 opening home-and-home against Bellingham, 7-2 and 5-3.
- The Totems were dominant in the season series vs. Bellingham in 2023-24, going 12-1-0-1. They are on a 7-0 run against the Blazers dating back to last year. The Blazers last defeated the Totems, 6-5, in a shootout on Dec. 3, 2023.
- The Totems’ leading scorer for the weekend was Roman Wolynec (‘05/Langley, B.C.), who had a 2-5-7 line. His 3.5 points per game average was one of the weekend’s best in the Premier.
- Wolynec just became the Totems’ all-time leading scorer for their three seasons in the USPHL Premier. He now has 67 points off of 21 goals and 46 assists, three ahead of former Totem Seth Morris (64 points in the 2023-24 season).
Vernal Oilers Earn Wins Over Yeti, Fighting Elk
The Oilers were the first-ever opponents for the Iron County Yeti on Sept. 21, and they earned a 5-0 shutout win against the new program in southern Utah. The next day, they took a decisive victory against the Fighting Elk.
- This season marked the first time the Oilers have started with a shutout win. Returning goalie Levente Hegedus (‘04/Székesfehérvár, Hungary) made 17 saves for the win against Iron County. He was also huge in the win over Colorado, stopping 29 of 31 shots. The second-year Oiler’s .936 career save percentage with Vernal is the current Vernal team record.
- The 15 goals scored this weekend for Vernal was a team-best over their first two games, but it’s not close to the 22 goals over the Oct. 15-16, 2023 weekend, their best last year.
- Returning Oiler Rodion Gornostaev (‘05/Kazan, Russia) scored four goals against Colorado, one night after posting two assists against Iron County. His was the fourth four-goal season in the USPHL Premier so far this year. He is tied with four others for holding the record for most goals in an Oilers game.
Iron County Yeti Earn First Win Against Fighting Elk
The Yeti kicked off their existence with not just a win, but an overtime win. They won 5-4, but the thrill didn’t last too long as Vernal took the aforementioned 5-0 victory the next day.
- On Sept. 20, it was only 40 seconds between the first-ever Colorado Fighting Elk goal – scored by ‘06 Kenton Wood at 1:00 of the second – and the first-ever Iron County Yeti goal – scored by Cam Roth (‘06/Apple Valley, Minn.) at 1:40 of the second.
- Marek Mraz (‘06/Kolin, Czechia) scored the first Yeti hat trick and the first overtime game-winner (and overall GWG) in the new team’s young history.
New England Division
Boston Jr. Rangers Win First Two USPHL Premier Games
The Jr. Rangers are off to a flying start in the Premier, having defeated the Worcester Jr. Railers by scores of 3-2 and 4-3.
- Worcester and Boston are the first two teams to open their USPHL existence with a pair of one-goal games since the former Casper Roughnecks opened with the same to start the 2023-24 season.
- Olli Nyfors (‘05/Lausanne, Switzerland) scored the first-ever Jr. Rangers Premier goal, and Brady Hubbard (‘05/Marcellus, N.Y.) put in the first Railers Junior Hockey Club goal.
- The last team to win their first two Premier games ever by one goal in each were the 2021-22 Ontario Jr. Reign, who opened their Premier life with a pair of wins against San Diego.
Northern Cyclones Defeat Utica Jr. Comets, Seacoast Prep In Opening Games
The Cyclones started their 2024-25 season with wins of 2-0 and 3-2, the latter in a shootout. They also defeated the Boston Jr. Rangers on Sept. 25 in a 1-0 shootout, in the only Premier action of that day.
- Cameron Prodin (‘04/Dearborn, Mich.) stopped all 27 shots he faced in the opening shutout win. He joined the Minnesota Mullets’ Kody Niederkorn, Toledo’s Austin Nowak, the Lake Tahoe Lakers’ Perry Jacobs and Vernal’s Levente Hegedus as opening their 2024-25 season with a shutout win.
- Prodin went right back out and posted his second shutout of the season in a 1-0 shootout victory on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Third-year Cyclone Trevor Belak (‘04/Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored the shootout game-winner, the second of his career.
- Thursday marked the first time in team history that the Cyclones have opened a season with a shutout win.
- Lifelong Cyclone Kaiden Cianci (‘05/Salem, N.H.) has scored two goals already and a shootout goal to lead the Cyclones.
Southeast Division
Charlotte Rush Improve To 4-0 With Second Straight Winning Weekend
The Rush are speeding away from the competition early on, as they’ve improved to a 4-0 record out of the gate for the third straight season. Most recently, they took a trip down to Georgia to face the Florida Division’s Atlanta MadHatters (4-0 and 8-1).
- This was the second straight season the Rush played their second weekend against the MadHatters. Charlotte has a 9-0 winning streak going against Atlanta ever since a dramatic MadHatters win at the USPHL Florida College Showcase in 2019-20.
- Evan Crawford (‘04/Greenwich, Conn.) is a former Rush Elite goaltender from the 2022-23 season who has returned to the Rush with flying colors, registering his first Premier shutout with 33 saves.
- Beau Depencier (‘04/Dresden, Ont.) currently leads the Rush in scoring with a 3-3-6 line in four games. Depencier first joined the Rush last season.
Hampton Roads Whalers Take Three Points In Close Series With Potomac Patriots
The Hampton Roads Whalers and Potomac Patriots went head-to-head, once again. The same teams opened against each other one weekend earlier, so they’re already getting to know each other quite well. This time, the Patriots won 3-2 in a shootout and the Whalers won 4-3 in regulation. The Whalers got more points out of the weekend (three) than the Patriots, but Potomac still holds the edge in the season series at 3-1.
- The Whalers win broke an 11-game winning streak in the all-time series. Prior to Sunday, the Whalers had last beaten Potomac on Jan. 7, 2023.
- With a 3-3-6 line in his four games so far, Wyatt Teubert (‘04/White Rock, B.C.) co-leads the Whalers in scoring with Elite promotion Robbie Rajnys (‘06/Virginia Beach, Va.). Both have six points in four games. Teubert improved to a point-per-game for his career, at 81 points in 81 games.
- Another Elite promotion, the Patriots’ Ilya Biesiedin (‘05/Kiev, Ukraine) stands as the Elite Potomac team’s second-leading scorer with 99 points at that level. He has jumped out to a line of 2-5-7 in four games to lead the Premier squad: USPHL Advancement In Action!
Great Lakes Division
Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones Earn Sweep Of Fresh Coast Freeze
The Jr. Cyclones are off to a good start to their 2024-25 season, standing at 2-2-0-0 thus far, after defeating the Fresh Coast Freeze by scores of 7-1 and 4-3.
- Last year, it took until a December series against Columbus for Cincinnati to pick up consecutive wins. They defeated Columbus
- The seven goals scored on Sept. 20 were the most since the 2022-23 season, though still well short of their single game record of 13 goals on Oct. 24, 2021.
- Leading the way for the Jr. Cyclones was the defenseman Evan Smith, who put up a 1-3-4 line in four games. The ‘04 defenseman has 74 games of Premier experience over three seasons, all but 15 of those with Cincinnati.
- Austin Waalkes (‘05/West Ottawa, Mich.) put up the first-ever Fresh Coast Freeze goal in their Premier-opening game on Sept. 20.
Toledo Cherokee Take Two In A Row In Home Stand
The Cherokee were home against the Red River Spartans to pick up their second of three victories, beating the Spartans 5-1, before heading to Columbus to improve to 3-0 off a 6-3 defeat of the Mavericks.
- The Cherokee have started out 3-0 in five of their seven seasons in the USPHL Premier, including in 2023-24, the start of a 4-0 run last year.
- The win over the Spartans was the Cherokee’s first, after the former Nashville Spartans went 4-0 against Toledo last year.
- The offense by committee was clicking over the weekend, as three players – Aidan Gonzalez, Gerdas Paulauskas and Cameron Krause – each posted four points in the two games.
Metro Jets Start Season With Victory Against Red River
After their trip to Toledo, the Spartans continued north to Detroit, but it was the Jets who spoiled the trip with a 6-3 Metro win to start their season.
- That makes it 7-0 for the Jets in season-openers. The 6-3 score was one of their closer first game wins, though Game 1 of their USPHL history on Sept. 7, 2018 – a 2-1 OT win against the former Lansing Wolves – remains their closest opener.
- The Jets are now 4-1-0-0 in their two-year series against the Spartans. Both teams represented the Great Lakes Division at the 2024 Nationals.
- After Red River’s losses to Metro and Toledo, they broke out with a decisive victory on Sunday against the Fresh Coast Freeze.
Mavericks Split Against Battle Creek, Toledo
The Columbus Mavericks came out of the weekend having defeated one of the division’s new members, the Battle Creek Kernels (7-3), before falling 6-3 to the Cherokee.
- Six games into their season – the most of any USPHL Premier team entering Wednesday – the Mavericks are off to a strong 3-3-0-0 start, the best since the same in 2021-22. Their best start over six games was 4-2-0-0 in 2020-21.
- Caden Cavalieri (‘04/Amherst, N.Y.) had another outstanding weekend, posting a 4-4-8 line in the two games, including his second hat trick of the season against Battle Creek. He holds an 8-12-20 line overall to lead all of the USPHL Premier in scoring.
Florida Division
Florida Jr. Blades Earn Opening Sweep Against Bold City Battalion
The Jr. Blades kicked off their 2024-25 with a pair of victories against the Bold City Battalion, winning 3-1 and 4-3 in overtime.
- For the Jr. Blades, this start was a big improvement on the 0-2-1 series they opened their 2023-24 season with against the same Battalion club.
- The Battalion won the 2023-24 season series 4-1-1-0, so there again is already a plus for the Estero-based Jr. Blades.
- Newcomer Easton Hall (‘04/Fort St. John, B.C.), veteran Alex Ruski-Jones (‘05/New Zealand) and Sander Georg Korrell (‘05/Dalum, Sweden) each posted three points to lead the team.
Sweep On Opening Weekend For Tampa Bay Juniors Against Palm Beach
The Juniors scored a pair of big wins in a home-and-home versus the Palm Beach Typhoon, earning an 8-3 win at home on the Gulf Coast followed by a 5-1 win on the Atlantic Coast.
- This marks the second straight year that the Juniors started out 2-0 against the Typhoon. The teams went 1-1 in their 2022-23 openers.
- Their 13 goals scored matches their opening weekend record, as they also put up 13 over Sept. 13 and 15, 2019, to start the season with two wins.
- The Juniors got four-point starts to the season from Jakub Koudelny (‘04/Ostrava, Czechia) – who was making his North American debut – and Premier veteran Austin Osborn (‘04/Haywards Heath, U.K.).
Canada Division
Hawkesbury Knights Take Two More Wins To Share League Lead In Points
The Knights have won four games so far, equaling the 4-0 Charlotte Rush to share the lead in wins and points so far. Recently, Hawkesbury came away with wins against Somang L-L Hockey, 5-2 and 7-3.
- The Knights’ 4-1-0-0 record is the best for a new team through five games since the Vernal Oilers started 5-0-0-0 out of the gate for their Premier existence in 2022-23.
- The Knights scored five unanswered goals as they came back from a 2-0 deficit against Somang L-L Hockey to win 5-2 on Sept. 21.
- Just five games in and already the Knights have seen two hat tricks. Samuel Bunel (‘05/Montreal, Que.) scored a 3-1-4 line on Sept. 22, including the game-winner and insurance goals.
Universel Sherbrooke Takes Pair Against Black Vees, Wranglers
In their first two home games in USPHL history, Sherbrooke defeated the Montreal Black Vees, 5-1, followed by a 7-1 victory against the Kingston Wranglers, who were playing in their USPHL debut.
- Sherbrooke’s 19 goals are the third-most among teams with three games played so far this year.
- Marc-Olivier Michaud (‘06/Boucherville, Que.) posted a 1-4-5 line in the two games, and he is now up to nine points in three games. His 3.00 points per game is tied for fourth best in the USPHL Premier.
- Sherbrooke’s Carlo Giordani (‘06/Milan, Italy) and Alexis Cloutier (‘08/Laval, Que.) have a combined save percentage of .970, second best for any two goaltenders in the league behind Toledo’s Austin Nowak and Caleb Kril.
Montreal Black Vees Go 1-1 On The Weekend
The Black Vees took a 5-1 loss to Universel Sherbrooke, and then came back to defeat the College Universel Gatineau, 5-3, the very next evening in their home opener. The win helped the Black Vees even up their record at 2-2-0-1.
- The Black Vees are getting plenty of scoring depth, as in two straight weekends, they’ve gotten offense from 11 different players in the lineup.
Midwest Division
Cougars, Spacemen Split Season-Opening Series
The Chicago Cougars and Fort Wayne Spacemen went 1-1 against each other in opening action for the Midwest Division. The Spacemen won Game 1, 5-2, before the Cougars came all the way back from being down 4-0 to win 5-4 in the second game.
- The division rivals played four times last year and the Spacemen won that season series 3-1-0-0.
- Newcomer Collin Harrington (‘06/Sauk Prairie, Wis.) and returning Cougar Alexander Musyakevych (‘05/Wilmette, Ill.) each registered four points to lead the Cougars.
- Jackson Cothron (‘04/Indianapolis, Ind.) posted three assists to lead Fort Wayne in points.
North Division
Minnesota Squatch Only North Team To Go 2-0 On Weekend
The Squatch started their season with a 2-0 record after defeating the Mullets, 4-3, in overtime. The next night, they defeated the Minnesota Blue Ox, 4-1. Both were road games.
- In their three years of existence, the Squatch have started at least 2-0 each year. They went 7-0 out of the gate in 2023-24, the start of a season that culminated in their first Nationals berth.
- The Squatch’s leading scorer out of the gate is a defenseman, and one with one year of experience in the league already. Matthias Mader (‘04/Maria Lanzendorf, Austria) has registered a 3-1-4 line.
- Returning Squatch Alec Bjork (‘04/Dayton, Minn.) registered the OT goal.
Minnesota Mullets Take Win, OT Loss For Three Points
After falling 4-3 in overtime to the Minnesota Squatch to start the weekend, the Mullets came back to win 6-3 against the Steele County Blades.
- The Mullets’ five points in their first three games are tied for the most at this point, as they went 2-0-0-1 to start the 2022-23 season.
- Earning a point against the Squatch and two against the Blades early on helped the Mullets take what they were unable to get in 2023-24 against the same teams.
- The team captain Cyril Valach (‘04/Moravske Budejovice, Czechia) put up a 2-3-5 line to push the Mullets to their three-point weekend.
Outlaws, Blue Ox and Northwest Express Complete 1-1 Weekends
The Isanti Outlaws and Northwest Express each split their opening weekend against each other, with the Outlaws winning 6-3 in the Sept. 20 opener, and then the Express took a 7-1 win in their home opener in Spooner, Wis. The Express (formerly the Minnesota Moose) saw their first goal scored on Friday by Dylan Wolf (‘04/Farmington, Minn.). Nicholas Skiadis (‘07/Garnet Valley Express) scored the first game-winner for the Express. Returning Outlaw Carsen Thorson (‘04/St. Francis, Minn.) was the leading scorer among all North Division players.
The Minnesota Blue Ox earned their first win on Sept. 20 against the Steele County Blades, winning 4-3 in overtime. They fell the next night to the Minnesota Squatch, 4-1. In the OT win, the Blue Ox got the GWG from last year’s Fan’s Choice USPHL Elite MVP Jace Lombardo (‘04/Staten Island, N.Y.) Four other skaters earned four points over the weekend.
