This is not how we play

There is not much more to say. It was a disappointing day for the Eels Elite team who were schooled by the Typhoon 5-2. From the drop of the puck shift by shift period by period the Eels players were flat and not engaged, They simply did not play their game,. They were a step behind. they were not first on the fore-check played equally bad on the back-check. Over all a D- effort As GM, Coach Frank was NOT happy. This is not how we play and the boys played subpar.

But as coach Frank echoed, you learn twice as much from your losses than your wins. This was indeed a teaching tool. Coach Mitch was very disappointed and not happy.He has brought the players and his team to winning within 1 win of the 30 win benchmark, That is incredible and he vows to have his guys back in gear, Back to where we want them

We will dissect this game frame by frame and hod everyone accountable.

We have a goal a mission and that is to win playoffs and this kind of effort wont garner that goal.PERIOD!!!!!! Things will get back on track Monday

We take on the Infantry this Friday and the Jr Blades Sunday

Today the Eels completed their 6 game home and away series of the season against the Palm Beach Typhoon. Once again the Eels dominated the play.

The Eels brought everything to the ice today and then some. It wasn’t the score that impresses the Eels GM Scarpaci. Yes it was a 9-3 rifling on their goalie  with over 55 shots.  He could hardly stand at the end of the game.

It was the discipline that impressed us. said GM Scarpaci. Our guys skated away from potential turmoil There was no need of it. That does not win games.  In fact, we scored a short handed goal to make that point heard.

Indeed, the Eels  exploded for 9 goals and could have put another 6 or more but their net-minder would not quit. Moreover, on the other end  having Duncan Rolleman back in net was incredible. He looked good. Darn good.

There was a clear and convincing statement. We are fine tuning for the playoffs. Taking nothing for granted.

Great job guys

#USPHLPlayoffs – The Watch List: February 17, 2023

February 17, 2023

 

We’ll be posting regular updates on games that will have playoff clinching implications in the NCDC, USPHL Premier and USPHL Elite.

A few notes before today’s update:

No teams in the NCDC have clinched a playoff berth as of yet. There are, however, some teams that are finding their limits on where they can finish, on both the high end and low end of the standings – and some teams getting very close to getting the sought-after playoff-clinching “X” next to their name.

 

Premier teams that have clinched playoff berths include:

• New York Aviators
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
• Rockets Hockey Club
• Connecticut Jr. Rangers
• Utica Jr. Comets
• Elmira Jr. Enforcers
• Hershey Cubs
• Hudson Havoc (clinched division title)
• Minnesota Squatch
• Minnesota Moose
• Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings
• Isanti Outlaws
• Steele County Blades
• Minnesota Blue Ox
• Dells Ducks
• Northern Cyclones
• Islanders Hockey Club
• Boston Junior Bruins
• Bridgewater Bandits
• Boston Advantage
• Twin City Thunder
• Springfield Pics
• South Shore Kings
• Vernal Oilers (clinched division title)
• Seattle Totems
• Rock Springs Prospectors
• Fresno Monsters
• San Diego Sabers
• Ontario Jr. Reign
• Las Vegas Thunderbirds
• Charlotte Rush
• Potomac Patriots
• Richmond Generals
• Florida Eels (clinched division title)
• Toledo Cherokee (clinched division title)
• Utah Outliers (clinched division title)
• ALL teams in the Mountain Division, Great Lakes Division & Midwest East Division.

Elite teams that have clinched playoff berths include:

• Florida Eels (clinched division title)
• Tampa Bay Juniors
• Atlanta MadHatters
• Palm Beach Typhoon
• Northern Cyclones (clinched division title)
• Islanders Hockey Club
• Bridgewater Bandits
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights (clinched division title)
• Carolina Jr. Hurricanes
• Charlotte Rush
• Potomac Patriots
• Richmond Generals

A busy Friday on what, for many teams, is the penultimate weekend of the season.

Game counts today are seven NCDC, 17 Premier and two Elite.

NCDC

A count of seven NCDC games means that every team is going today and every game is inter-divisional.

At the South Shore Kings Presidents Day Showcase in Foxboro:

The Rockets Hockey Club and Connecticut Jr. Rangers are tied for fourth this morning. That could change today when the the Northern Cyclones (second in North) play Connecticut (fourth in South) at Foxboro and the Rockets (fourth in South) host the Junior Bruins (seventh in North) at home in New Jersey.

South Shore (third/North) play Utica (sixth/South). A Kings win and a Cyclones loss would find both teams tied for second in the North.

P.A.L. (second/South) hosts New Hampshire (first/North) on Long Island today. At Foxboro, Mercer (3) host Twin City (4).

A Chiefs win and a P.A.L. loss would leave them both tied for second in the South.

A Bruins win today and an Islanders Hockey Club (sixth/North) loss to the Hitmen (first/South) would have the two New England neighbors trading places in the basement.

Wilkes-Barre (seventh in South) play the Boston Advantage. The Knights are fighting for their playoff lives, as a loss or a Rockets Hockey Club win over the Boston Junior Bruins will eliminate them from the playoffs.

USPHL Premier Conference

Florida Division 

Florida Jr. Blades (fifth) host Tampa Bay Juniors (third)

A Blades loss will clinch the playoffs for both Tampa and Atlanta (second). The Blades would be left to challenge Palm Beach for the final spot.

Great Lakes Conference

At Premier, Toledo have clinched first in the Great Lakes and the playoffs are set.

Playoff pairings are set: Toledo (No. 1) will host Cincinnati (No. 4) and the Metro Jets (No. 2) will host Columbus (No. 3).

Mid-Atlantic/New England Division 

We have seven inter-division games at Foxboro today.

The Junior Bruins (third/NE) can slip past Islanders Hockey Club (second/NE) with a win over WBS (second/MA) and an IHC loss to Hershey (sixth/MA).

All four of these teams are playoff secure.

Buffalo (ninth/NE) could use a win over the Pics (fourth/NE) as they try to stave off ultimate elimination, but this game will not impact the standings.

Bridgewater (fifth/NE) host Connecticut (fifth/NE) and Utica (fourth/MA) host the host team Kings (eighth/NE).

A Utica win and a Connecticut regulation loss would secure the fourth and final home slot for the Comets.

Midwest East Division 

Crush (fifth) hosts Fort Wayne (first). No standings impact.

Midwest West Division

We could see Isanti take sole possession of fifth place for a day over idle Steele County, but they need a win over the Minnesota Moose (third)

Mountain Division

All six teams are in action. The standings won’t change, but a Pueblo (4) win over Utah (1) or a Provo (5) loss to the Spud Kings (6) will give Pueblo home ice in the first round.

Northwest Division

Vernal (first) host Rogue Valley (fourth).

Rogue Valley can use some points to put distance between itself and Bellingham (fifth). Rogue Valley are hoping that today’s game is a preview of the first round playoff series.

Pacific Division 

Fresno (first) hosts Seattle (second) on a rare West Coast inter-divisional weekend.

Fresno needs three points in three games to secure home ice. A loss by Las Vegas (fourth) to Long Beach (sixth) would have the same effect.

Southeast Division 

No games today, but there will be a busy Saturday.

USPHL Elite Conference

Two games today with no immediate consequences for playoffs.

Florida Jr. Blades (sixth) host Tampa (second)

Wilkes-Barre (first) hosts the Junior Bruins (fifth)

The Junior Bruins are fighting for their playoff lives. They are eight points behind the Springfield Pics (fourth) with today’s game in hand. We’ll see where they stand when they face the Pics for two next weekend.

The Eels Elite team finished their regular season 6 game home and away series with a 3-2 win this afternoon. Eels goalie Jake Mork played a stella game holding off an on slaught of fire power by Tampa. 35 shots to be exact as he turned away 33 of them.

Key goals by

Di Re 19 (Ghafari, Marchetta) and  Valpeteris 11 (Cermak, ClIngerman), helped lead the team then a 3rd goal   Diaz 2 (Taylor, Kaiser), brought about the  3-2 win

 

Tampa Bay Juniors 2 at Florida Eels 3 – Status: Final
Saturday, February 18, 2023 – Fort Myers Skatium

Tampa Bay Juniors 1 1 0 – 2
Florida Eels 2 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Florida Eels, Di Re 19 (Ghafari, Marchetta), 6:34. 2, Tampa Bay Juniors, Blatt 19 (Cullen, Prymakou), 6:55. 3, Florida Eels, Valpeteris 11 (Cermak, ClIngerman), 18:33. Penalties-Johnston-Ferris Tbj (hooking), 18:33.

2nd Period-4, Tampa Bay Juniors, Prymakou 4 (Cullen, Bonebrake), 9:14. 5, Florida Eels, Diaz 2 (Taylor, Kaiser), 16:21. Penalties-Libby Eel (cross-checking), 18:24.

3rd Period- No Scoring.Penalties-Cermak Eel (roughing), 19:26.

Shots on Goal-Tampa Bay Juniors 8-14-13-35. Florida Eels 14-7-6-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Tampa Bay Juniors 0 / 2; Florida Eels 0 / 1.
Goalies-Tampa Bay Juniors, Jensen 12-3-0-1 (27 shots-24 saves). Florida Eels, Mork 8-1-0-0 (35 shots-33 saves).

Ranked top Forward in Junior Hockey by Dan K

All eyes should be on: DAMON KIYAWASEW an explosive forward who uses his high octane offense to tear other teams apart

Lorenzo Marchetta with 26 goals and 63 points on Elite eyes  30 for the season and 65 total Watch him He is Red Hot

Adamo Di Re has 18 goals 2 shy of 20. 6 short of 60 points He is so close you can not shave that close.

Alexander Clingerman with 25 goals on the season taste 30

Jackym Cermak has 19 goals on the season hungry for #20

Congrats goes out to: Eels Elite Co-Captain Landen Engels selected Player of the Week

Games of Feb. 8-14, 2023

Summaries by Joshua Boyd

Southeast Division

Forward: Jacob Gifford, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

Gifford (‘04/Cary, N.C.) has had a fantastic second Elite season with Carolina, improving his points total from nine in 2021-22 to 49 this season – so far. He posted six goals and added three assists for nine points in just two games recently against the Nashville Spartans. He posted a 4-1-5 performance, and then a 2-2-4 mark the next day. He had the GWG’s in both games.

Defense: Hudson Hinich, Hampton Roads Whalers

Hinich (‘03/Ancaster, Ont.) was a bright spot in an otherwise tough weekend for the Whalers, registering assists on two of the three Hampton Roads goals scored in their series against Potomac. His two assists ranked him among the offensive leaders among Southeast blueliners last week. Hinich also put up 19:59 per game of ice time last weekend, second on the Whalers D corps only to Jeremiah Parker. In addition to 23 Elite games, he has also played 17 Premier contests for Hampton Roads.

Goaltender: Tristan Falsetto, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

Falsetto (‘02/West Palm Beach, Fla.) posted a fine 24-save shutout to defeat the Nashville Spartans in a game that helped the Jr. Canes stand currently four points ahead of their closest competition in the Southeast Division. Falsetto, who started in the USPHL at the 16U level in 2017-18, has a 1.78 goals against average, a .935 save percentage and two shutouts for the Jr. Canes.

Florida Division

Forward: Cooper Lundberg, Atlanta MadHatters

Lundberg (‘05/Atlanta, Ga.) has proven to be a go-to person from Day 1 until nearly the end of the regular season now. The MadHatters will go into the playoffs with a top 10 scorer who has 57 points in 36 games. Most recently, he added two goals and four assists in a weekend sweep of the Columbia Infantry, putting the MadHatters on a 5-0 winning streak.

Defense: Landen Engles, Florida Eels

Engles (‘03/Sioux Falls, S.D.) is a third-year Eel who has seen significant time this season at both the Premier and Elite levels. Most recently, he scored a very important insurance goal in a 6-4 victory against the Palm Beach Typhoon. Overall, he has a 3-9-12 line on the season in 15 Elite games (and a 1-2-3 in 16 Premier games).

Goaltender: Andrew Brabender, Atlanta MadHatters

Brabender (‘03/Edmonton, Alberta) is another player who has seen time at both the Premier – with the Bellingham Blazers – and the Elite this year. With the Hatters most recently, he put up a 19-save shutout in just his fifth start with Atlanta since joining in January.

Eels Top Goal Scorer 30 for 30 for two straight years.

Talk about being a college prospects. Collin Patterson is one of the most lethal goal scores in the USPHL.