2019 USPHL Elite Playoffs:  

 

By Jim den Hollander / USPHL.com

 

 

Eels pick up first win

The Florida Eels Elite squad moved to within a win of joining their Premier brothers at Nationals with a 7-2 decision against the Florida Jr. Blades at Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla., on Friday afternoon.

The win in the opening game of the best-of-three playoff series saw the Eels rally back from a 1-0 deficit after 20 minutes with four straight middle period goals and a 4-2 cushion heading to the third.

The game winner came just 6:42 in the middle period as Justice Scheltgen (‘01/London, Ont.) found the mark for the Eels. Jake Court (‘00/Fort Myers, Fla.) was the offensive leader for the winners in the opener, scoring three goals and setting up another pair.

The Eels doubled the Blades 48-24 in shots and will be looking for the same offensive explosion in Game 2 on Sunday (Feb. 24) at 4:30 p.m. The Blades could push the series to the limit with a third and deciding game Monday at 2:30 p.m.

The winner of this series will join the Tampa Bay Juniors as the Florida Division representatives at the eight-team USPHL Elite National Championship event beginning Feb. 9 near Boston.