#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.
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.
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.
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.
