Two Elite Players Selected Players of the Month

Congrats Goes Out to Defensemen  Sean Burke and  forward Fynn O’Neil selected as Players of  the Month

Today coach from Thomas College will make a presentation at the Skatium for our players at noon for the Elite team  and 1:30 pm for the Premier team

Thursday afternoon, Miss Clare will be hosting a team dinner for both the Elite and Premier teams immediately after each team’s practice

Reminder to all players: We are collecting Toys For Tots so disadvantaged and not so fortunate young boys and girls will have a present under their Christmas Tree for Christmas. Please be so kind to bring a toy to the rink. We have asked the Premier players  to bring a gift for a girl and Elite players for a boy. All donations are due Monday December 11th

The Florida Eels, a junior league hockey team based in Fort Myers, are cruising through the season at 16-5. With a grueling schedule comes vigorous training and conditioning.

“We skate five times a week, workout five times a week, stick handle, shoot too, and we play games every weekend,” said Reid Wilson, Florida Eels defenseman.

They take a beating on the ice, so Eels general manager Frank Scarpaci partnered with Tara Mina for another kind of exercise. Once a week, the Eels trade out their sticks and pucks for a yoga mat. Tara meets with the Eels Premiere and Elite teams for an hour-long yoga session at the Fort Myers Skatium.

“I said guys, let me tell you something you’re gonna think ‘hockey yoga, what’s the reason?’ It works with the mind tremendously,” said Eels general manager Frank Scarpaci. “The body, you know, it gives you that flexibility.”

A few weeks into the new workout sessions, the guys have shown some progress.

“It’s a really good unwind we have usually after our practices,” said Eels forward Fynn O’Neill. “It’s really good just to kind of release the mind, let everyone relax, stretch out.”

“I think it’s awesome,” said defenseman Sean Burke. “I definitely feel like my legs are looser and more stretched out.”

 The Eels say they are all very competitive, and most players’ goal is to play college hockey. In their 18 years in Fort Myers, they’ve sent 349 boys to play at the collegiate level.

“I’m looking for this team to give me an extra edge,” said O’Neill. “Whether it’s in college or another year here, I just want to get better.”

And with the extra physical and mental control and team bonding that Tara’s yoga provides for the team, they see themselves only getting better.

“I’ve seen it in the flexibility of our boys,” said Scarpaci. “Already, I’ve seen it. But you know what? It gives them that energy and a lot of people don’t even have a clue what this is. And we see it working.”

“[Tara’s] a great yoga trainer and everything, and she honestly is probably the best thing to help with our organization,” said Wilson.

The Florida Eels are back in action at home on December 2, hosting the Jacksonville Battalion at the Fort Myers Skatium.

2023 USPHL Florida College Showcase

In just a few weeks our Premier and Elite teams will Face Off against top teams from the North and Southeast Divisions.

Dates: Friday, Dec. 15 to Monday, Dec. 18

Location: Hertz Arena, Estero, Fla.

Tournament Website (Advance Ticket Sales): www.theshowcase.hockey

Conferences: Premier, Elite

Returning to Hertz Arena, this Premier and Elite event pits Florida and Southeast Division teams from both conferences against each other, in addition to visiting teams from the Midwest and New England Divisions.

This weekend the Eels will play host to the Bold City Battalion from Jacksonville. This will be the first outing between the two organizations. Jacksonville is an expansion program that kicked off this season. They have very well so far surprising  many teams in their games. This will be a 3 game series vs the Premier and Elite teams.

In the Florida Division Premier Bold City sits at  2nd place with 26 points and the  Eels are in 1st with 33 points. Bold City has 4 games in hand so they are right on the heals of the Eels . In 3rd place is Tampa with 20 points So these games are crucial.

In the Elite Division the Eels are in 2nd place with 28 points In 1st is Tampa with 29 points with 3 games in hand. Bold City is in 4th place with 11 points.

So you can expect some very competitive games this weekend,  Come join us live or on FloHockey

This Friday the Eels will be heading south to take on the Palm Beach Typhoon.

Both teams square off against its East Coast foes. Despite Palm Beach’s struggles of late on the scoreboard, we know that they have the personnel to battle hard and bring home wins. Simply put YOU CAN NOT TAKE PALM BEACH FOR GRANTED.  That is the beauty of playing teams in the Division. Any team can defeat any other divisional opponent on any given afternoon. Moreover, the Typhoon are coached by the Flanagans and they are one of the most respected families in Junior hockey. Indeed, they are very well respected and highly regarded. You can count on them to bring out the best in the players.  That is why our Eels coaches prepare just as hard for each opponent. The same hard practices. The same video prep work dissecting each aspect of its opponents, be it 5 n 5, D zone, O zone, forecheck,  power play and PK. Our coaches are relentless in their quest for excellence.

The Eels Premier and Elite teams are sitting in 1st place. However, we see that the other teams in our Division have games in hand and that margin can quickly evaporate as they play the differential.  That underscores why each point is critical to our plan. Moreover, we all saw what happen when we took teams for granted. No doubt the experience in Atlanta taught our boys a hard lesson. To come out to play every game. Do not take any opponent for granted. You need to bring 100% focus, determination and a complete 60 minute effort each and every game. That is why we train the way we do. We saw and experienced what we can do against the likes of Tampa and the Jr Blades last weekend.  We also saw the hiccups of the Eels Premier team last weekend and the Eels Elite squad against the Madhatters

The coaches and players appreciate the inequities in the recent games. But that is what makes and builds championship caliber players and consequentially teams. So we are not focused on easy wins or stats this weekend. We know our mission and expectations: To win every shift. To out work our opponents every shift. To engage in our patterned smothering fore-check and suffocating back check. To overwhelm our opponents with  a sustained systematic and continued  attack on net with shots after shots and be aggressive on the rebounds.  For our goalies to stand tall and stop the puck.

But words are hollow without execution. We demand and expect an unwavering buy in and unselfish commitment from each player. That is what we should see and experience in Friday’s game in Palm Beach and the home games on Sunday

Notes on the Elite squad:  We are 1st in the Division on goals for. In fact unlike other teams our scoring is pretty well balanced amongst a number of players. The Eels outscored its opponents  7-1 and 9-0 in the last two games. However, the Eels Elite squad is 4th in the division on goals against. This is not simply a goalie issue. It is overall team defense issue. So you can expect a more concerted effort in overall team defense.  We showed this emphasis last weekend,  allowing only 1 goal against the Jr Blades. That was very impressive.

Notes on the Premier squad: The Eels are 1st in in the Division in both GF and close 2nd on GA. The goal differentia is outstanding. Here it is just a matter of being healthy right now. The week off for a number of guys comes at a good time to allow mends. Indeed, the Thanksgiving break will provide some well needed rest for some guys. But the scenario also allows enhanced  opportunities for so many other players in the line up. This is a deep squad and one thing for sure they are very tight and relish all challenges ahead of them.

Game time for Elite 2:30 pm Friday at Palm Beach

Game time for Elite 10:30 Sunday at Fort Myers

Game time for Premier 12:30 pm Friday at Palm Beach

Game time for Premier  1:00 pm Sunday at Fort Myers