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Florida Eels Premier pull off a 5-3 win over the Atlanta Mad Hatters in Saturday’s game. Goaltender Noah Van Herik stared in Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Mad Hatters, marking his fifth game of the season. Atlanta Mad Hatters claimed the first point of the game, at 10:47 in the first period. It was Eels forward, Alex Cochran assisted by Anthony Zebley and Xavier Charron, that tied the game at 16:24 in the first-closing the first period.

In the second period, the Eels came out with their engines burning lighting the lamp three times. At 4:10, Xavier Charron assisted by Reid Wilson and Brendan Dohan grabbed the Eels second goal of the game. At 14:52, Captain Anthony Zebley assisted by Mitchell Wilson, and Blake Becker grabbed goal three. At 17:20, it was Yiorgos Bikakis assisted by Mitchell Wilson and Carmen D’Ambrosio that claimed goal four for the Eels. The Eels closed the second period leading 4-1.

At 3:33 in the third Eels, Seth Morris assisted by Ian Dracoulis and Mitchel Wilson, claimed the fifth and final goal for the Eels. Atlanta Mad Hatters worked hard to close the gap and tie the game gaining two goals at 9:37 and 13:47 in the third. The Eels were able to preserve their two-goal lead over the Atlanta Mad Hatters for the remainder of the game, winning 5-3.

The Eels will face off against the Atlanta Mad Hatters for round two tomorrow at 12:00 pm on Sunday, November 3^rd.

Written by Nikki Scarpaci-Fliss

Florida Eels Elite pull a 4-2 win over the Atlanta Mad Hatters, in Saturday’s game. With goaltender Filip Vitanov, between the pipes, the game opened at 3:30pm. Both teams came out with a fire and determination to grab the first win, of the two-game series. At 10:19 in the first period, Neil Hart assisted by Xavier Fazzari and Etienne Cartier, grabbed the first goal of the game. At the end of the first period, the Eels led 1-0.

At the start of the second period, the Atlanta Mad Hatters tied the game at 3:37. However, at 10:21, Jackson Carnes assisted by Filip Nyberg, and Sam Kleiman-Lee grabbed the second goal for the Florida Eels. The Eels closed the second period with a 2-1 lead.

At 2:27 in the third period. Zayn Haddon-Harris assisted by Zachary Bahret and Jackson Carnes grabbed  the their goal of the game for the Eels. The Eels now lead 3-1 over the Atlanta Mad Hatters. The Mad Hatters determined to close the gap, scored their second goal of the game at 13:38. Closing the Eels 3-1 lead, to 3-2. At 19:46, it was Zayn Haddon-Harris with his second goal that solidified the Eels 4-2 win over the Atlanta Mad Hatters.

The Florida Eels Elite will face off against the Atlanta Mad Hatters at 8:30 am on Sunday November 3^rd.

Written by Nikki Scarpaci-Fliss

The Florida Eels Elite and Premier team head to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend to take on the Atlanta Mad Hatters in a double header November 2^nd and November 3^rd.  The Eels last played the Mad Hatters in September for their opening weekend where both the Elite and Premier pulled off a weekend sweep. Will they be able to pull this off again this weekend?

The Eels have had an impressive game schedule over the last few weeks, as they made up games after postponement due to Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Milton. The Eels have competed in over 6 games in the past two weeks alone and stand ready for another two games against the Atlanta Mad Hatters.

The Florida Division is amongst the toughest divisions of the USPHL, and it is a close race to climb to the top of the division. The Eels, hope to gain an additional 4 points this weekend propelling their rankings in the Florida Division. Join the Eels live at the Atlanta Ice House to watch the match ups, or join us on FloHockey to catch the live action. Follow along on the Eels Instagram, for live game updates.

Written by Nikki Scarpaci-Fliss

The Dan K Show, ranks the Florida Eels number 3 in the USPHL Power Rankings. The Eels are preceeded by the number 2 ranking Toledo Cherokee, and number 1 ranking Metro Jets.

The Eels head to Atlanta this weekend or a double header, and then have a quick turn around before they head off to Fort Wayne Indiana. Keep Rolling Eels!

Premier

Florida Eels Premier Spotlight Forward and Captain Anthony Zebley. During the 2024-2025 season, Zebley has stared in 8 games, had 5 goals, and 4 assists. Zebley lead the Eels Premier team into two overtimes over the past four days. Zebley joins the Eels for his season with over 92 games played, 30 goals scored, 30 assists and total of 60 points.

Elite

Florida Eels Spotlight Defenseman Ty Elzinga. Elzinga joins the Eels for his second season. So far during the 2024-2025 season Ty has stared in 10 games, had 2 goals, had 4 points, with a total of 6 points. Since joining the Eels in 2023, Ty has stared in 41 games, had five goals, 9 assists with a total of 14 points. Elzinga is a powerhouse Defenseman and plays a key role on the Eels Elite team.

Premier Spotlight:

Florida Eels Spotlight Premier Goaltender, Russ Decoste. Decoste stared in Sunday’s Florida Cup Championship against the Tampa Bay Juniors. Facing over 35 shots, Decoste showcased his extraordinary skill between the pipes as he warded off incoming scoring opportunities. Russ, remains calm, cool and collected throughout high stakes games. We are extremely proud of him and so glad he is apart of the Eels family

Elite Spotlight:

Florida Eels Spotlight Elite Forward, Tyson Gagnon. Gagnon was a star component on the ice in Sunday’s victory over the Florida Jr. Blades. Gagnon was able to secure two goals in the game, helping propel the team to a 3-2 victory win. Gagnon joins the Eels this season, staring in 6 games, scoring 3 goals, having three assists with a total of 6 points. He is a team player and never takes full credit for his accomplishments, often crediting his linemates. We are extremely proud of him and glad he is a member of the Eels family.

Written by: Nikki Scarpaci

The third annual Florida Cup was kicked off with a bang, Saturday, October 19^th, 2024, as the Mayor of Fort Myers, Kevin B. Anderson, opened the games with an honorary puck drop. The Mayor was largely impressed with the USPHPL Florida Cup event, and was pleased to participate in the puck drop and open the games.

Four teams in Florida, Florida Eels, Palm Beach Typhoon, Florida Jr. Blades, and Tampa Bay Juniors, come together every October to battle for the tile and honor of becoming the Florida Cup Champions. At its third year, the stakes grow higher as the Florida Eels have held the title of Florida Cup Champions in both the Elite and Premier Divisions for two years. Teams show up with excitement and ready to leave it on the line, as they battle to bring the cup home to their home rink and their piece of Florida.

Two-time defending champions the Florida Eels Premier were awakened and prepared to regain the tile of this year’s 2024 Florida Cup Champions as they stepped foot on the ice Saturday, October 19^th, 2024 to take on the Pam Beach Typhoon. After a devastating, 4-3, loss two days prior to the Typhoon, the Eels were focused.  The Florida Eels opened the game with three goals in the first period, against the Typhoon. The Eels defended their zone, and continued to secure another five goals in the second period. Taking an 8-0 victory over the Palm Beach Typhoon and securing their spot in the Championship on Sunday.

The Florida Eels and the Tampa Bay Juniors played in the Florida Cup Championship game on Sunday, October 20^th at 3:00pm. Both teams making their appearance for the third time, in three years, to battle for the chance to win the Florida Cup. Stakes high, as the Florida Eels battled to remain the Florida Cup Champions, and as the Tampa Bay Juniors strived to dethrone the Eels title, taking home the cup for both the Elite and Premier Divisions this season.

Both the Florida Eels and the Tampa Bay Juniors were determined to grab the first point of the game, as the players continued to make phenomenal plays and goalies made remarkable saves. At the end of the first period, the scored remained deadlocked 0-0.

Both teams returned to the ice, with fire and grit, trying to gain the first point, the lead in the gam. At 17:47 in the second period, the Eels finally claimed the first point of the game, goal scored by Maximilian Ideström. The period closed 1-0, Eels.

In the third period, at 4:02 Tampa Bay Juniors tied the game 1-1, goal scored by Dawson Osborn. Tensions were high, as both teams were determined to advance. Players continued to lay on countless shots, hoping to get the puck through to the net. At 14:54, Xavier Charron scored the second goal in favor of the Eels, propelling the lead 2-1. Tampa Bay Juniors continued to fight to tie up the game through the very last second of play.

The Florida Eels claimed their third Florida Cup victory, with a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Juniors. Congratulations Eels!

Two years ago the Florida Division created what is now known as the Florida Cup. Many of the other Divisions in the USPHL replicated it as the Military Cup;  The Dixie Cup;   and the alike. In fact , most of the Divisions in the USPHL have created their own like event.

This  Florida Cup is  designed with a purpose to create a playoff atmosphere in the early part of the season for the local Florida teams: The Florida Eels, the Jr Blades, the Tampa Bay Juniors and the Palm Beach Typhoon.  These games are very well attended as families love to come and watch the excitement of these 4 teams.

The Florida Cup is a 2 day event consisting of Saturday and Sunday games.  The event will take place at the Fort Myers Skatium on Oct 19^th and 20^th The Eels won the Florida Cup in the last two seasons in both the Premier and Elite games.

The seedings are based on conclusion last year’s Regular Season final standings. The 1^st place team will Face-Off against the lowest seed. The 2^nd seed will square off against the 3^rd seed. The Premier being the Gold and the Elite the Silver. So the Eels are the defending Champions.

In this year’s contest, the Eels will face-off vs the Palm Beach Typhoon in game one of the Premier and Elite whereas the Tampa Juniors will face-off vs the Jr Blades in the Elite and Premier Divisions.

On Sunday, the winners of each set of games will then compete for the Florida Cups on Sunday. And the two loosing teams will square off in a consolation games.

The spirit of these games is what throttles the competition. The games do count in the standings as  part of their 44 regular season games.

All teams  compete in 3 showcases, 2 in Florida and 1 in the Southeast, for a subtotal of  12 showcase games for a subtotal of 42 games, and then they compete in the Florida Cup in 2 games, totaling a 44 game season.

No doubt the Florida Cup establishes preliminary bragging rights for the teams. They are well scouted on Flohockey and part of the regular recruiting process. The last two seasons we had over a dozen NCAA College coaches tune in to these games. We had  even more ACHA and AAU coaches watch as well.   Many of our college commitments were first scouted from these events. Indeed, many of the college coaches echoed that this was  where the seeds were planted. From here they followed the players in USPHL Showcases and games.

Message from Owner/General Manager Frank Scarpaci:

Due to the travel conditions thrust upon us, the Eels were not able to attend the USPHL Southeast Showcase in Chesapeake (Hampton Roads) VA last weekend. Although it was disappointing, we would not place our players in harms way. In fact, the bus company who were working with FEMA said they would not embark on this trip.

The Eels will instead head to Indiana to face off against teams in the Midwest. This is a wonderful opportunity to face off against some of the Midwest competition, as the Eels faced many of those teams at Nationals last year, including the Fort Wayne Spacemen and the Metro Jets Development team.  It is very exciting to be able to play against opponents we hardly ever see.

At the Estero Showcase in December, we will square off against the Northern Cyclones as well as the teams from the Southeast Conference. In Tampa, in January, we will get to play against teams from the Great Lakes Division and the Midwest including the Metro Jets, the Toledo Storm  and Minnesota Squash.

The boys are looking forward to getting back into action. The trip to Fort Wayne will be so exciting. They will be taking a plane, staying in different hotels and getting to showcase what they have been working extremely hard since mid-August.