By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights are running the table for trips to the USPHL Elite Championships since they opened play in 2021-22. The Knights defeated the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 4-1 in Game 3 on Sunday to advance to the USPHL Nationals for a fourth straight time.
Brody Polacek and Wyatt Stasik each scored twice, Stasik also had an assist, and Jake Kanzinger registered two assists. Anthony Shaw made 30 saves on 31 shots for the win. Dominik Feiler made 26 saves on 30 shots for P.A.L. in net.
The Knights will hold the No. 3 overall seed in the National Championships. Click here for their team schedule in the round robin.
“The WBS Knights are excited to be returning to the USPHL Elite Nationals for the fourth year in a row. Head Coach Jason Zaleski did a nice job blending some late season additions into a core of players that had a tremendous regular season,” said General Manager Andy Scott. “Although the team had already secured the wild card before the start of the final series, they didn’t want to get to Nationals through the back door. The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders, under head coach Aleksey Nikiforov, played a really tough series and gave our club all we could handle. Goaltender Tony Shaw was excellent in the deciding game, making several key stops for us at critical points in the contest.
“The road ahead will only be more challenging, but the team is focussed on reversing the disappointment we experienced at our first three Nationals,” added Scott.
