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Sunday proved no different for the Jr Blades at the Ft Myers Skatium as the Eels continued with their winning ways completing their 4 game sweep over their cross town rivals.  On Saturday at Hertz Arena both the Eels Elite and Premier team were victorious by scores of  4-2 and 7-0 respectively. The Jr Blades were hoping to “turn the tide “on Sunday and gain some ground in the standings. The Elite score was close being 4-2 in Saturday’s loss and no doubt they were expecting to gain some ground. They were hoping to seize a break away perhaps, maybe take advantage of lose puck turn overs, maybe catch a break and garner a win. Well the Eels came out red hot scoring 4 1st period goals. A bit discouraging indeed for the Blades, But the Blades turned things around and  appeared to stem the tide and were looking promising in the middle of the 2nd period as the Jr Blades closed the margin to within 1 as the score was 4-3, But the Eels Elite took their game to another level and put it into another gear scoring 5 more goals to 1 for the Blades and the Eels handed the Blades a stinging lost 9-4.  The Eels Elite gained even ore leverage in the standings securing their sole spot in first place in the Florida Division. What is impressive with the Eels Elite team is unlike the other Divisional leaders in the Elite Division, its scoring is pretty much well rounded. It is a well balanced team where scoring comes from many different players.

On the Premier equation, the dominance showed quite quick and consistent. On Saturday the Eels scored 2 goals in the 1st couple of periods and then opened up for 5 in the 3rd period. On Sunday, the Eels were held to 2 in the 1st period and the Blades quickly scored early in the 2nd period to close the gap to 2-1. But then the wheels feel off for the Jr Blades as the Eels scored for 5 goals in the 2nd and 2 more in the 3rd period. There were 7 different goal scorers for the Eels and it was nothing short of a full scale high octane drive for the Eels. But what was equally impressive was their smothering back checking denying any sustainable come back or penetration by the Blades.

The Eels hallmark of 3-4 weeks of preseason training clearly pays off. We witness this year after year for over a decade. We put our teams in top condition being November ready at the drop of the puck and December ready in October. Our guys are top skilled high performers to begin with but when you spend 4-5 hours er day of training before season and continue with that operation throughout the season you gain the results we have been accustom to. It also fosters a unique branding and culture and camaraderie.

We take on the Tampa Juniors this weekend also home and away. Friday in Tampa and Sunday at home. Tampa is in 2nd place  in both the Elite and Premier Divisions as they sit just a few points behind the Eels and are looking to close the margin. This is familiar territory for both organizations as these two programs have historically dominated the Florida Divisions. The Eels have been the front runners for the overwhelming majority of seasons. These ought to be some great games between the two programs. So far this season the Eels have won in both the Premier and Elite games in fact winning the Florida Cup for the 2nd season in row.

Then we head to Atlanta for a 3 game series for both the Elite and Premier teams. The Madhatters this weekend have 3 game series vs the Palm Beach Typhoon so this will be a very busy weekend for all.

The Eels traveled down to Hertz Arena to take on the Jr Blades in the 1st set of their home and away weekend series. The Eels Elite team squared off first and dropped the Blades 4-2 in the morning contest. The two teams went up and down the 200 foot surface and battled for every inch of the white paint. But the Eels experience and skill proved much superior out shooting the Blades  33 to 25.  Although the Blades scored 1st the Eels struck 4 with the Blades tallying one more late in the 3rd period.  The Eels got goals from Rookie Teddy Feng a native from China, Fan O’Neil from Western Canada, veteran Cooper Bergman from NY, and one from William Fischer from South Florida. The Eels got string goaltending from rookie Michael Pelc. With this win the Eels continued to hold 1st place in the Florida Division

 

In mid afternoon, the Eels Premier team showed why they have held dominant for over a decade in the entire USPHL. Clearly the skill level was superior. The Eels  out skated the Jr Blades, they were faster, drove harder  and outshot them 40 to 9. The Eels smothered the Jr Blades on the fore-check and suffocated the Jr Blades on any sustained offense with their relentless back check.  The Eels unleashed 7 goals on the Blades net minder and the Eels blanked the Blades on the scoreboard.

The Scoring in this game went as follows:

1st Period-1, Florida Eels, Beckett 3 (Potter, Goddard), 3:05. 2, Florida Eels, Perry 5 (Di Re, Engles), 17:25. Penalties-Kukielka Fjb (high-sticking), 6:00; served by Ranta Eel (bench -too many players on the ice), 10:16; Deshaies Eel (roughing), 15:59; Boudreau Fjb (holding), 15:59.

2nd Period-3, Florida Eels, Trathen 9 (Salminen, Shepherd), 17:58. Penalties-Gavin Fjb (hitting from behind), 1:00.

3rd Period-4, Florida Eels, Marchetta 2 (Goddard, Perry), 4:49. 5, Florida Eels, Perry 6 (Ranta, Marchetta), 5:14. 6, Florida Eels, Salminen 7 (Trathen, Shepherd), 9:24. 7, Florida Eels, Beckett 4 (Bondar, Potter), 18:55. Penalties-Deshaies Eel (roughing), 5:58; Boudreau Fjb (holding, roughing), 5:58; Kovacik Fjb (slashing), 7:18.

Shots on Goal-Florida Eels 14-12-14-40. Florida Junior Blades 3-3-3-9.
Power Play Opportunities-Florida Eels 0 / 4; Florida Junior Blades 0 / 1.
Goalies-Florida Eels, Boughen 5-1-0-0 (9 shots-9 saves). Florida Junior Blades, Pico 2-3-0-0 (40 shots-33 saves).

The key to the Eels Premier team is not only their impressive firepower, it is their denying defense. In fact the Eels have gone 7 periods without being scored on.

 

 

The Florida Eels are proud to announce that they remain the defending champions of the Florida Cup series. The Florida Eels Elite and Premier teams, were excited about this years’ Florida Cup series and knew that the pressure to defend their Florida Cup title was extremely high. Both Florida Eels teams were given the 1^st seed of in the Florida Cup games due to their impressive 2022-2023 season finish: Florida Divisional Title Holders, Play Off Champions and National Contenders.

This past weekend, the Eels Elite team competed first on October 14^th, 2023 at 9:00am  against the Florida Jr. Blades. This was a very competitive contest between these two cross town rivals. At the end of regulation the score was tied, 2-2, with goals from Rookies Logan Slezak and Teddy Feng.  The Eels had solid goaltending from Nate Haas. After an intense three period regulation game, the Florida Eels Elite and the Florida Jr. Blades headed into Overtime. Tensions were high, and determination filled the arena. Both players from the Eels and the Jr. Blades had one mission in mind, win this game and head to the Florida Cup Final on Sunday. After a brief intermission and start to the Overtime, another Florida Eels Rookie, Aidan Neville scored to close out the Florida Eels Elite win, advancing them forward to Sunday’s championship game against the Tampa Juniors.

On Sunday, October 15^th, 2023 the Florida Eels Elite began their pregame rituals in preparations to faceoff against the Tampa Bay Juniors. The Tampa Bay Juniors coming in with an impressive start to the 2023-20234 season, and an Overtime win for themselves in their first Florida Cup games series match against the Palm Beach Typhoon were just as determined to win the Florida Cup title. As both teams faced off in hopes of taking the Florida Cup title, they battled hard and with a fire in their blood. The Florida Eels Elite team preserved, as they pushed themselves forward: skating harder, looking for different angles and propelled to the finish with an incredible win. The Florida  Eels Elite scored 4 fantastic goals, with Tampa Bay Juniors not far behind with 3 goals, allowing them to defeat their Tampa rivals and once again win the Florida Cup, retaining their champion title .This game was nothing short of impressive and yielded goals from Florida Eels veteran Cole Taylor scoring 1 goal,  new comers Yiourgas Bikakis scoring two goals and  Zayne Haddon- Harris scoring 1 goal as well.  Anthony LaCroix, goaltender, held a great presence in net for the championship game. It was an impressive showing for the Elite team and no doubt a great start to another impressive season to come.

The Florida Eels Premier had a later start to the Florida Cup series with their first contest game starting at 7:00 pm on October 14^th, 2023 as they faced off against their cross-town rivals the Florida Jr. Blades as well. The Florida Jr. Blades took the first point of the game, in the second period, taking a 1-0 lead; however, the Florida Eels fire for the win was lit and they rapidly responded putting away 5 goals. The Premier team was a forced to be reckoned with, and put on a clinic as they lit the lamp. As Dylan Boughen held the Florida Eels crease with his impressive net-minding, Florida Eels veterans Noah Trathen scoring 2 goals, Jared Salminen scroing 1 goal, and new comers Cole Ranta  and Holden Becket each scoring 1goal forged the path to victory. The Florida Eels Premier were headed to the Florida Cup Championship.

After an impressive 5-1 victory, over the Florida Jr. Blades the Florida Eels made preparations to take on the Tampa Bay Juniors Premier for the Florida Cup Championship, on Sunday, October 15^th, 2023 at 7:00 pm. The Premier team, did not let the end of the day game time keep them from their extensive preparations: with an early morning warm up, game video and meetings with coaches earlier in the day, the spark for victory was lit early.  The Florida Eels Premier knew that the Tampa Bay Juniors, were determined to take home the Florida Cup title, and  therefore the Florida Eels came out of the gate with their engines burning. The Florida Eels Premier blazed the lamp with 5 unanswered goals, taking charge of the game: with Florida Eels goaltending veteran Tobias Bell, in net for this game stopped each puck launched in his direction, sealing the game with a shutout. The Florida Eels skill surpassed even the best projections laid out by broadcasting officials early on in the match. Florida Eels Premier Captian Maverick Crupi opened the five goal lead when he clinched the first point of the game. He was followed shortly after by Lorenzo Marchetta, former Elite all-star from last season, clinching his first goal of the season. Sebastian Potter claimed goal three for the Florida Eels putting them on  he clear path to victory. However, it was Jacob Godbout’s fourth goal clinch, and a whopping two\ minute later goal grab by Holden Beckett that sealed the Florida Eels victory against the Tamp Bay Juniors, to reclaim the Florida Cup Championship title. This victory achieved by the Florida Eels Premier was a clear message being sent to other teams in the league of what they intend to achieve this season: winning of a National Championship.

The Florida Eels Elite and Premier were showed incredible talent over the past weekend during the Florida Cup series and were the clear champions amongst their peers. It is an exhilarating start for what is to come over the next few months as we forge our path toward playoffs and nationals. The Eels have sent the message: watch out, we are coming to win!

Welcome to the 2023-24 2^nd annual Florida Cup Ice Hockey Showcase. This event is designed 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.  Whereas the Atlanta Mad Hatters Jacksonville and Columbia will square ff in what is known this season as the Military Cup.

The Florida Cup is a 2 day event consisting of Saturday and Sunday 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. Last season the both Eels teams were the winners of both the Elite and Premier Florida Cups. The Premier being the Gold and the Elite the Silver. So the Eels are the defending Champions.

In this year’s contest, both Eels teams finished at the top of the standings as Regular Season Champs. The Jr Blades finished the lowest seed amongst the 4 organizations participating so they will square off against the Eels this upcoming weekend. The Tampa Juniors will Face-off against the Palm Beach Typhoon on the initial day of games. On Sunday, the winners of each set of games will then compete for the Florida Cups on Sunday.

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. Each team plays the Florida teams 8 times -4 home and 4 away, for 24 games, they play the Mad Hatters in 6 games – 3 home and 3 away, for a subtotal of 30 games, then they 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.  Hope to see you there live at the Fort Myers Skatium or join us on Flohockey.  For a schedule, please look at the website for complete details. Saturday’s games are set but Sunday the times and opponents of course are TBD.

Southeast Showcase

This week the Florida Eels head to Raleigh NC for the annual Southeast Showcase. The Eels will Face-Off against their Southeast rivals for a 4 game showcase series. The Showcase runs from Friday October 6^th – Sunday October 8^th. The Eels players will be departing early Thursday morning at approximately 6:00 am busses depart. It will take approximately 12 hours.

The showcase will be attended by numerous college coaches and this will be an excellent venue for our players to showcase their skills. Our teams have already gotten off to a solid start and there no doubt garnered the attention of many college coaches. Indeed, we have advanced 349 players to college to date and the Eels are always under the radar of the college coaches.

I have set forth the schedules below, but the times are subject to change. So please keep an eye on the Florida Eels website for schedules.

During this showcase Clare will be making home cooked meals for our players. These trips have proven to be excellent forums for our players to bond even stronger. They have undergone well over 3 ½ weeks of intense preseason training and played in two series: one a three-game series vs the Mad Hatters and the 2^nd against Palm Beach. The boys are eager to take on the Southeast teams. It is the 1^st of 3 showcases plus the Florida Cup this season.

Premier Division

Friday October 6^th   Florida Eels vs. Hurricanes 10:00 am

Friday October 6^th Florida Eels vs. Columbia Infantry 6:00 pm

Saturday October 7^th Florida Eels vs the Charlotte Rush 2:15 pm

Sunday October 8^th Florida Eels vs Hampton Road 3:15 pm

Elite Division

Friday October 6^th Florida Eels vs the Charlotte Rush 2:30 pm

Saturday October 7^th Eels vs Hampton Road Whalers 7:45 am

Sunday October 8^th Florida Eels vs the Jr Hurricanes 11:00 am

Sunday October 8^th Florida Eels vs Potomac Patriots 5:00 pm

The Eels completed their home and away series against the Typhoon on a high note as the Elite and Premier capture two wins apiece. These games proved proof positive the value of our 4 weeks of training camp. The boys looked very good from the 6 games against the Atlanta Mad Hatters and the 4 vs the Palm Beach Typhoon.

 

On Sunday, the Elite team handed a stifling  6-2 lost to the Typhoon. Although the Elite squad was in neutral in the first period as the score ended 1-1, they sure came alive in the 2^nd period with 4 unanswered goals.

No doubt coach Hill triggered his troops and GM Scarpaci challenged some of his veteran players to take responsibility and play our game. We saw the Eels ignite and smother the Typhoon on the fore-check and suffocate them on the back check. The shots on net tell the story as the Eels unleashed 53 compared to Palm Beach which had only 20 on the Eels netminder.

In the 3^rd period the teams exchanged single goals closing the scoring 6-2. This game we saw strong performances by Cole Taylor with 2 goals, Jackson Carnes who had a key and timely shorthanded goal and another incredible performance by rookie  Nikita Shchevyev with 3 assists.

The Eels Premier team also handed Palm Beach their 2^nd loss of the weekend. On Friday the Eels handed the Typhoon a 7-0 shutout and on Sunday the Eels struck for 5 goals and allowed a stingy 2. In this game Palm Beach played a much more aggressive game firing 30 shots at Eels Goalie Toby Bell and scored 2 in their drive. They took many more chances and no doubt the Eels had t “weather the storm- Typhoon” and that they did. With strong discipline, aggressive fore-check and their patterned smothering back check.

They stayed their course and not allow the Typhoon to distract their structure. The Eels showed off their explosive offense with unleashing 50 shots on net and impressed a hefty crowd.

We saw very strong performances by Dario Zitko  with his 5^th goal of the season and 4^th assists, Mathew Perry with his 4^th of the season, Jared Salminen  with his 3^rd of the season and 6^th assists, Maverick Crupi with his 4^th of the season  and 5^th assists and 1^st star of the game, and
Noah Trathen  with his 5^th of the season, and Toby Bell who registered his 3^rd win of the season boasting a stingy 2.67 GAA and  a Sav%.926

This week the Eels head to the South East Showcase in North Carolina

The Florida Eels Premier and Elite squads headed to Typhoon conditions at Palm Beach and simmer any threat of defeat. Indeed, the Premier team unraveled the Typhon Premier team 7-0 unleashing north of 40 shots on net and thawing Palm Beach to a meager 15. The Eels smothering backcheck was a large reason for the resulting suffocating shutout. Justin Deshaies had a hat trick for the Eels. His first as an Eel. He now has 4 goals and 4 assists on the season. Another high note is on defense Brayden Goddard scored two goals from the backend. Dylan Boughen secured the shutout in net.

On the Elite side of the equation things were a little dicer. The Eels went up 3-0 and all felt a little comfortable for them. But a 5-minute major brought on the Typhoon threat as they came storming back. This advantage brought all things even 3-3 and a new game was present. At the end of regulation, the scored remained 4-4. Each team exchanged power plays during the OT and Teddy Feng closed things out for the Eels with his 2^nd goal of the game. Winning 5-4 in OT

The Eels were thrilled to come up with 2 wins in their first set of away games. They return home on Sunday with a rematch against Palm Beach. Join us live or on Flohockey. Elite game is at 10:30 am Premier 1:00 pm

Congratulations goes out to Nick Roesch as he reached his 700th career broadcast. Nick was celebrated by Dan K with  A Super Broadcaster Card 

Nick stated his broadcast journey with the Florida Eels a few years ago while he was in high school. He continued with the Eels as the organization advanced to numerous showcases around the USA,  into playoffs and at Nationals. Nick has become a staple in the USPHL being invited to many of the league’s top events. Nick has received numerous awards for his accomplishments including Two Time Dan K Broadcaster of the Year. 

Nick has done professional broadcast for minor league baseball, ECHL Florida Everblades and last season in Mississippi minor league hockey. We are thrilled Nick is back as the Eels broadcaster this season and very proud of his accomplishments.  We know he will continue to mature and develop in Broadcasting and one day be a top performer in his craft.

This season Dan K and Lucas Jones will be highlighting special accomplishments of players in the Premier and Elite teams via Hockey Card Banners. Last week it was Matthew Perry and Noah Trathen for Their 7 Point Weekend over the  Mad Hatters.

The Florida Eels Premier and Elite teams square off for the first time this season against their East Coast rivals the Palm Beach Typhoon this weekend. This will be the Eels first set of home and away games of the new season. The Eels travel to West Palm Beach on Friday for its first away series of games while they will return home for its home games against the Typhoon on Sunday. The Eels and the Typhoon always have some very competitive games and this weekend no doubt will be no different.

 Despite the fact that the Eels had a better season record then the Typhoon last season, it means just that. In Junior hockey last season means that: Last season. Teams are re-tooled with hard pressed recruitment and player development. We can surely expect Palm Beach to come in with strong Premier and Elite clubs. In fact, the Typhoon and the Northern Cyclones are owned by the same group and they work very closely in off season recruitment. The Cyclones have steadfastly been one of the strong programs in the USPHL so we can look forward to some added help there. Moreover, GM Scarpaci echoed, the Palm Beach Typhoon were one of the most improved organizations in the Florida Division last season, so we expect to see measurably steps upward in the standings.

The Eels had a very successful season openers against the Atlanta Mad Hatters. Premier 3-0 and Elite 2-1.  They are looking to build on that early good start. Each game is very important whether early in the season or right down to the final set of games. Although the Typhoon had a few hiccups against the Tampa Juniors in their season openers, the Eels will not take them lightly or for granted.

Come join us in person on Friday or on Flohockey. Of course, if you are in town on Sunday, join us at the Fort Myers Skatium. No doubt this is the best hockey in town. Help us celebrate and defend our Divisional Championships. Go Eels!!!!!!!!