Games of Dec. 4-Dec. 12
By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com
Midwest Division
Chicago Crush Win Three In A Row
The Chicago Crush went on a roll when they went out to Detroit, picking up three wins in a row against the Motor City Gamblers by scores of 6-2, 7-3 and 8-1 between Dec. 6-8. That pulled them into a tie for second in the division against their Friday opponent, the Metro Jets Development Program.
- Spencer Kauke (‘05/Rockford, Ill.) put up seven points against the Gamblers over the weekend, and has improved to 26 points in 19 games. He played in his 100th Premier game on Dec. 6, celebrating with a three-point effort. He now has 70 points in 102 career games.
- Lukas Janicina (‘06/Bratislava, Slovakia), Patrick Johansen (‘06/Oslo, Norway) and Aidan Wysoglad (‘05/Naperville, Ill.) showed the Crush’s goaltending depth by winning one game apiece.
Elsewhere In The Midwest Division
- The Fort Wayne Spacemen enjoyed their big win against fellow past USPHL Nationals team the Metro Jets, 6-4, on Dec. 7. They also defeated the Great Lakes Division’s second place team the Toledo Cherokee, 3-2, on Dec. 6, improving their winning streak to currently 5-0.
North Division
Minnesota Mullets Go 3-1-0-0 In Busy Stretch
The Mullets played three games in three days with up-and-down results, before closing their December schedule with a 5-2 win on Dec. 12 against the Hudson Havoc. Prior to that game, they’d defeated the Havoc, 7-1, on Dec. 5, fell 7-5 to the Dells Ducks on Dec. 6, and defeated the Ducks, 5-4, in a shootout on Dec. 7. They improved to third place in the division from fourth one week earlier.
- Defenseman Aiden Elliott (‘05/Alton, Ill.) has been on a hot streak with the man-up situations, scoring his 12th power play point this season, moving up from fourth to third among Premier defensemen in that category.
- A theme among some of the top teams here this week is goaltending depth, as the Mullets joined the Crush in getting three victories from three different goaltenders, including Kody Niederkorn (‘04/Hastings, Minn.), Preston Farr (‘05/Phoenix, Ariz.) and Noah Hacker (‘05/Sartell, Minn.)
Elsewhere In The North Division
- The Dells Ducks are enjoying a 2-0-0-1 point streak after defeating the Minnesota Mullets, 7-5, on Dec. 6, falling 5-4 in a Dec. 7 shootout to the Mullets and then defeating the Steele County Blades, 6-3, on Dec. 8. The Ducks go into an extended break from games going into January in fifth place.
- The Squatch won twice on the past weekend, and so did the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings, so the two teams left last weekend the way they started it – tied for first in points with 36 apiece. The Squatch won 10-2 and 4-2 against the Isanti Outlaws and Hudson Havoc, respectively.
- The Riverkings were 6-3 and 3-0 winners last weekend against the Minnesota Blue Ox to maintain their share of first place.
Northwest Division
Vernal Oilers Break Record For Best Start By A Team In Premier History
As mentioned on USPHLPremier.com, the Vernal Oilers set the new record for best winning/undefeated streak from the start of a season by winning their 21st straight game against the Colorado Fighting Elk with a 9-0 victory. They extended the record to 22 games with a 7-4 win against the Iron County Yeti on Dec. 7. They play against the Yeti on Friday and Saturday in hopes of continuing to pick up victories ahead of next week’s USPHL Las Vegas Shootout.
- Big-time USPHL Advancement In Action news as the Oilers’ two leading scorers weren’t part of the record-breaking game as they were called up by the NCDC’s Pueblo Bulls. Roni Alanko and Kasper Pohjala (both ‘05’s from Helsinki, Finland) both played in their first two NCDC games on Dec. 6-7. Even with being absent, Alanko still leads the league in power play goals and Pohjala leads in power play assists (18) and points (19).
- The Oilers remain first in goals scored per game at 8.36.
Elsewhere in the Northwest Division
- The Bellingham Blazers went 2-1-0-0, earning a two-game sweep of the Bremerton Sockeyes, 5-1 and 4-3 in a shootout, before falling 8-0 to the Seattle Totems in the Totems’ only action over the past week. Both teams stand in the same position they’ve each held for quite a while, as Seattle is in second at 36 points and Bellingham is in third at 24 points, six points ahead of fourth-place Rogue Valley.
Great Lakes Division
Metro Jets Go 2-1-0-0 On Week, Enough To Hold Onto Division Lead By Two Points
The Jets saw two sides of the coin between Dec. 6 and 7, defeating the Battle Creek Kernels by a decisive score and then falling to the Fort Wayne Spacemen, 6-4, the next day. They bounced back on Dec. 9 by shutting out the Chicago Cougars, 4-0.
- The Jets saw some history made on Monday, as longtime goaltender Austin Muirhead (‘04/Novi, Mich.) set the all-time USPHL Premier shutout record. He now has 11 for his career, and bypassed two former Jets among the four players who previously had 10 shutouts in Taylor White and Will Augustine. With the Monday win, Muirhead joined the Top 10 in goals against average with his 1.77 mark.
- Along with that theme, the Jets are still No. 1 in lowest goals against average with a 1.50 GAA.
Elsewhere in the Great Lakes Division
- The Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones and Columbus Mavericks each won their only games of the past week, but neither wins changed their standings positions. The Mavericks are in third and the Cyclones stand in fifth. The Cyclones beat the Battle Creek Kernels, 6-5, on Dec. 8, and the Mavericks defeated MJDP, 7-1, on Dec. 7.
Pacific Division
The only two teams to come out with a better than .500 mark from the first December weekend in the Pacific Division were the Ontario Jr. Reign and San Diego Sabers. The Jr. Reign defeated the Long Beach Bombers, 4-3 in OT, on Dec. 6, and the Sabers won 5-4 against the Bombers on Dec. 7. Ontario remained at second place after the win, while San Diego, remaining in fifth, pulled to within one point of the Henderson Force at fourth. The Force went 1-1 last week with the Ventura Vikings.
