By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
We’re taking a closer look these days at each division’s best performer or biggest standings jumper over the course of a week in this new streamlined edition of USPHL Premier This Week!
Today, we’ll focus on the games of Nov. 7-14.
Great Lakes Division
Columbus Mavericks Enjoy 3-0 Trip To Michigan
The Mavericks made the trip to face the Fresh Coast Freeze and Battle Creek Kernels and came away with wins in all of these contests last weekend. The three wins in a row helped the Mavericks to bypass the Red River Spartans and into third place in the Great Lakes Division.
- At the 18-game mark, the Mavericks’ 10-8-0-0 record is their best in three years since standing at 12-6-0-0 in 2021-22.
Elsewhere In The Great Lakes Division
- The Metro Jets and Toledo Cherokee went head-to-head, and each took a victory from the series, but it was the Jets’ that won the winner-take-all second game for their rivalry trophy the Coney Cup. The Cherokee won Game 1, 4-3, and the Jets won Game 2, 2-1.
- The Red River Spartans won both of their games against the Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones, and they stand at fourth in the Great Lakes Division.
Pacific Division
Lake Tahoe Lakers Retain First Overall In Premier After Weekend Sweep
The Lakers came out with three victories between Nov. 8-10 against the Ventura Vikings to extend their Pacific Division lead to 14 points and their overall USPHL Premier lead to five points over the still undefeated (16-0) Vernal Oilers. The Lakers have enjoyed at least a share of first place overall in the Premier since the start of the month and they are on a four-game winning streak.
- Brian Erte (‘05/Helsinki, Finland) had a 13-point weekend against the Vikings to push him from fourth in league scoring to second with 48, and he also rose up to second in assists with 30. Additionally, Scott McNulty (‘04/Williamstown, N.J.) scored his league-leading sixth and seventh game-winning goals in the series.
Henderson Force Earn Three Straight Wins, Remain On Five-Game “W” Run
The Henderson Force will head into their next games against Iron County and San Diego this weekend with a five-game winning streak they hope to extend. Last weekend, the Force defeated the Bakersfield Roughnecks in three straight at home. A successful weekend for the Force could set up a pretty exciting first vs. second weekend between the Force and the Lakers (idle this weekend). A week ago, the Force were in a three-way tie for second place, and second remains only theirs as they get started on their weekend of work.
- Shane Dean (‘04/Henderson, Nev.) enjoyed a four-goal, two-assist game on Nov. 8, which also saw him score his third shorthanded goal of the year, which is tied for the league lead.
Elsewhere In the Pacific Division
- San Diego earned a pair of straight wins to extend their winning streak to four games. They defeated the Long Beach Bombers on Friday and the Ontario Jr. Reign on Monday. They were in a three-way tie for second and are currently in third place, one point behind Henderson.
North Division
Minnesota Squatch Win Three More To Extend Winning Streak To Seven Games
The Squatch have been red-hot for just about a month now, winning all of their games since Oct. 19, including their past three against the Steele County Blades (Nov. 8) and a pair against the Hudson Havoc. On Nov. 7, the Squatch were in fourth place in the North Division, but have since jumped up to the No. 1 spot in the North.
- It takes every player on the ice to win a game, but you can’t ignore the efforts of Cannon Bonifay. The 2004-born Fort Worth, Texas, native has scored 11 goals in his last five games, including six during the recent three-game weekend. He put up three shorthanded goals on the weekend (including two in the space of 22 seconds on Nov. 8 against Steele County). His four shorthanded goals and five shorthanded points have him leading the league in both categories.
Elsewhere In The North Division
- The Minnesota Blue Ox won two straight and are hoping to extend that into a longer victory streak against the Hudson Havoc and Northwest Express this weekend.
- Both the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings and Dells Ducks went 2-1-0-0 last weekend, including a Thursday night head-to-head clash that the Riverkings won 4-1. The Riverkings were tied for second on Nov. 7 and they hold second place alone currently.
Northwest Division
Vernal Oilers Standing Firm As Only Undefeated Team With 16 Straight Wins
The Oilers put their undefeated streak to the test in California last weekend against a traditionally strong Fresno Monsters squad. The results were the same they’ve seen in the Northwest Division – nothing but W’s. On Nov. 9, however, the Monsters did give the Oilers their only one-goal win this year, their closest of all games so far.
- The Oilers’ Nick Moore (‘04/Campbellcroft, Ont.) scored his seventh power play goal of the season this weekend to take the lead in that category for the USPHL Premier. A sniper with the man advantage, he has 17 PPGs for his two-year Oilers career.
Seattle Totems Extend Winning Streak To 10 Straight
Through 17 games, the Totems have only experienced losing three times, which were incidentally all against the 16-0 Vernal Oilers. Since that series, they’ve won 10 straight and have kept the Oilers within four points of their sights. Seattle defeated their rivals Bellingham and also Rogue Valley in three games between Nov. 8-10. They won’t get a chance to make up ground on the Oilers until their next games on Nov. 22-23, also against Bellingham.
- Roman Wolynec (‘05/Langley, B.C.) was already healthily the leading scorer in the league by 15 points. After a 15-point weekend – and some great performances by those beneath him on the points leaderboard – his lead in the league scoring race is 18 points, with 66 points now.
Elsewhere In The Northwest Division
- The Iron County Yeti came out of a two-game set against the Colorado Fighting Elk with a win and an overtime loss. Their three points allowed them to break out of a tie for fourth and remain in that position alone.
Midwest Division
Chicago Crush’s 2-1-0-0 Gives Them Best Record For Division At Showcase
The Crush, one of the last teams to start the 2024-25 season, improved to 5-2-1-0 thanks to a 2-1-0-0 run at the USPHL Fort Wayne Showcase. After falling to the Motor City Gamblers on Nov. 7, they came back to defeat a pair of 2024 Nationals competitors, the Florida Eels and Metro Jets Development Program.
- The Crush are essentially neck-and-neck with this same point last year, as they were 6-2-0-0 after eight games out of the gate in 2023-24.
Elsewhere in the Midwest Division
- The Metro Jets Development Program (MJDP) went 2-2 at the USPHL Fort Wayne Showcase, winning their first two and falling in their second two. Their four points were good enough to remain in second place in the division.
- The first-place Spacemen played just one game at the showcase, falling 4-3 in overtime to the Florida Eels. The Spacemen remain unbeaten in regulation over their last nine games.
