The Battle Between the Tampa Juniors vs the Eels Elite this season:

Tampa sits in 1stplace with 56 points and the Eels edged at 50 points in 2ndplace. Tampa has scored 199 goals this season. The Eels 171.  Tampa is 1stin the league in goals the Monarchs are 2ndand the Eels are 3rd. Tampa is ranked 3rdover all in the league in points the Eels are ranked 7thout of 22. That is very good.  Against Tampa, the Eels have won 1 game and lost 1 in regulation and lost 4 in OT. In each game the score was separated by one goal.   That is 5 games that the Eels were so close to winning and would have owned 1stplace. The more important item that never reaches the scoreboard in terms of numbers or wins and losses or points is the fabric and Hallmark of the Eels program:  Player Development

The Eels have yet to play the Tampa Juniors with its full roster. Throughout the season the Eels have moved up and down well over 12 players to the Premier team who left voids in their lineup, including: Gage Dill, Gage MnNeish, Keve Toth, Jake Court, Adam    Cade Swygert, Jaymen Swygert, Georgy Samodelkin, TJ Zebly Tom Steere, and Clement Espinasse to name a few. The Eels also did not have in many of those games:  Anthony Sozio, Georgy Samodelkin, TJ Zebly Justice Scheltgen,Daniel McCormick,Camden Hamiltonand Corey Altieri. Do you think these guys would have made an impact not just in the Tampa games but others as well? No doubt, but the key is not just standings. The most important feature development of our players and in the end their advancement to college. Players have gotten a plethora of experience on this team garnering rich experience be it on the powerplay, killing penalties, moving up and down, playing in challenging situations all with one goal in mind. Getting them ready to move on to college. And we do it best 230 Eels players who advanced to college.

Tampa and most other teams on the other hand very seldom move their guys up during the season. Their teams are more static. The Eels take a different approach. We integrate them in inner squad scrimmages in the CCM games on Monday and allow our guys to join in one another’s practices if their schedule allows. Our Elite players play and practice right alongside the older guys. Valuable lessons are learned while having a phenomenal time during these CCM games. This is not casual. They are 20+ extra games. This is like an extra ½ a season of play. You can see the results in the way our Elite guys play, their confidence on and off the ice. A tremendous mentoring system. The Eels have done this for over 15 years. It is amazing other programs do not implement this. There is a reason. Our culture. With the Eels we are one organization. Both teams are there for one another. Both teams are each other’s games and hang out with each other. A family. The Eels family.

This weekend we can expect everything to be laid out. Although these two teams won’t meet each other in round one of the playoffs based on the seedings, you can expect to see a playoff atmosphere in these games. The Eels are looking to capture these points and continue their momentum. They are on a 5-game win streak. Tampa is coming off a 1-1 split with DME.

So, let the 2 games series begin.