By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
The Midwest Division put on quite the show last week, with all six teams congregating in Decatur, and with two of those teams surfacing with 3-1-0-0 records. Several other teams picked up four points along the way to help boost their early season standings. It’s always a great show when the Elite Conference takes the ice!
Check out our look into the teams with the best records (at least a point earned per game played) between Oct. 4-11.
Atlantic Division
Rockets Hockey Club Adds Seven Points In Four Games
The Rockets are enjoying a recent run of three games of October, all of which saw them earn points. They fell 2-1 in a shootout to Elmira on Oct. 5, then won 5-4 in overtime the next day against the Impact. On Friday, Oct. 11, they defeated the rival Jersey Hitmen, 4-2. This is all part of a four-game point streak of 3-0-0-1 going back into September, and which has seen the Rockets jump above .500 after falling in their first two games of the year.
- A 2008-born defenseman, Mendham, N.J.’s Brandon Eigner is at or among the top of several leaderboards. With a 2-7-9 line, he is the leading scorer among defensemen, and he also leads the entire league in power play assists with five and power play points with six. Brandon joined the RHC this year with his twin brother, goalie Brendon Eigner, who is 2-1-0-1 with a .930 save percentage.
- Tate Bertelsen (‘07/Palmer, Pa.) leads all Elite defensemen in power play goals with three – he, too, is joined by his twin brother Tate on the team.
Elmira Impact Go 3-0-1 In Busy Start To October
The Impact have racked up seven points in October alone, all in the space of seven days. They won against the Rockets Hockey Club, 2-1, on Oct. 5, and then dropped a 5-4 shootout decision on Oct. 6. In a pair of games against the Connecticut Jr. Rangers on Oct. 10 and 11, they won 3-1 and 5-2.
- Andrew Coston (‘07/Beaver Dams, N.Y.) leads the Elite Conference in saves with 273. He is also 3-for-3 on shootout attempts. He is 3-3-0-0 on the season with a .925 save percentage.
- Andrew Wapass (‘06/Onion Lake, Sask.) had two hat tricks in the space of three games, and he also scored the only penalty shot so far in the Elite on Oct. 6.
P.A.L. Jr Islanders Improve To 7-1-0-0, Ranking Second In League
The Jr. Islanders are putting together a strong season early on, winning six games in a row to stand at 7-1-0-0 heading into their big game Thursday against the league-leading Charlotte Rush on Thursday at the USPHL Jersey Hitmen Classic. Recently, the Jr. Islanders beat the Jersey Hitmen, 5-4, in overtime and they beat the Connecticut Jr. Rangers, 5-2, on Oct. 9.
- The Jr. Islanders are having their best start through eight games, beating last year’s 6-2-0-0 run out of the gate by two points.
- No other team has three players in the top five of league scoring. Harold Stauffer (‘07/Lake Grove, N.Y.) has a 9-6-15 line to rank second overall and first in goals.
Dante Scibelli (‘06/Farmingdale, N.Y.) is at 3-11-14 and leads the league in assists. Nicholas Morolla (‘07/Bethpage, N.Y.) is tied at third with Scibelli with a 9-5-14 line in the scoring leaderboard and tied with Stauffer for the goals lead.
Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights Remain Undefeated At 6-0-0-0
The Knights have had just one game so far in October, but it was a big 8-1 victory against the first-year Hershey Cubs on Oct. 5. They’re back to action Saturday against the Jersey Hitmen.
- Ilya Baldin (‘08/Voronezh, Russia) is leading the league in points with a 7-9-16 line in six games, but we may not see very much more of him in the Elite as he has since been moved to the Knights’ Premier roster. He is also tied for the lead in shorthanded points with two and tied for the lead in game-winners with three. Teammate Timofei Korober, also an ‘08 and also moved to the Premier, is tied for the Elite lead in shorthanded goals.
- Goaltenders Roberts Kravalis (‘08/Latvia) and Antoni Gauvin (‘04/Paris, France) are ranked second and third overall in goals against at 0.98 and 1.00, respectively, among goaltenders with multiple appearances.
Hershey Cubs Split Oct. 5-6 Games
The Cubs enjoyed their first-ever overtime win in the Elite on Oct. 5, defeating the Jersey Hitmen, 5-4, with Connor Nowicki (‘07/Mayville, N.Y.) scoring the historic OT game-winner. The Knights defeated the Cubs, 8-1, on Oct. 6. Their .500 weekend kept them at .500 on the season at 3-3-0-0.
Midwest Division
Chicago Cougars Finish Showcase With 3-1-0-0 Record, Add One More W Friday
The Cougars were among the stars of the show when the Elite Conference’s Midwest Division gathered together in Decatur, Ill. last weekend. In Decatur, they defeated the Motor City Gamblers twice, 6-2 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday. The next day, they started with a 5-4 victory against the Metro Jets, but the Decatur Blaze tagged them with their only loss, a 2-0 shutout for Decatur.
- Deja vu so far, as the Cougars also started their first Elite season at 5-1-0-0.
- Griffin Delfosse, a new ‘06 forward for the Cougars, is leading the way in scoring with a 5-7-12 line in seven games. Nate Maurin (‘06/Harrison Township, Mich.) is 3-1 with a .938 save percentage to lead the Chicago goalies.
Decatur Blaze Go 3-1-0-0 To Kick Off Season
The Blaze are off to a great start, and certainly better than their tough introduction to the Elite conference in 2023-24. The Blaze started out their season with a 6-1 victory against the Motor City Gamblers. Next up was an 8-3 victory on Saturday against the Metro Jets. The Blaze lost to the Fort Wayne Spacemen, 5-1, and turned around and beat the Chicago Cougars, 2-0, on Sunday evening.
- Third-year Blaze Connor Wilson (‘04/Livermore, Calif.) put up nine points in his first four games of the season, putting him in the top 20. He currently has a combined 97 regular season and playoff games in his USPHL career and is on pace to play his 100th on Oct. 20 against the Crush.
- David Racan (‘06/Pelhrimev, Czechia) has two of the three wins for the Blaze, including the Sunday shutout.
Fort Wayne Spacemen Go .500 In Decatur
The Spacemen had a tough start in Decatur, falling 5-0 to the Crush and 5-2 to the Metro Jets, but rebounded on Saturday, Oct. 5, with a 5-2 victory over the Crush and a 5-1 Sunday victory against Decatur.
Southeast Division
Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Win Two In A Row
The Jr. Canes came away with wins of 5-2 and 5-1 last weekend against the Hampton Roads Whalers, and that gave them a 6-2-0-0 record, which put them in a tie for fourth overall in the league and second in the division. They’re tied with the Whalers in both those categories.
- The Jr. Canes were happy to get back to winning ways against the Whalers after falling to Hampton Roads on Sept. 29. Carolina swept their season series at 7-0-0-0 last year.
- Kester Stadler (‘05/Zurich, Switzerland) is off to a great start to his North American career, with 12 points in eight games to lead the Jr. Canes. In goal, both Anthony Trantas (‘05/Morrisville, N.C.) and Owen Nasholds (‘07/Raleigh, N.C.) were both 3-1.
Charlotte Rush Win Two, Remain At First In Elite
The Charlotte Rush swept their first October weekend against the Potomac Patriots to improve to 7-2-0-1 overall. The Rush defeated Potomac, 4-1, on Saturday and were back for a 1-0 shutout victory on Sunday.
- The Rush’s Darren Freeman (‘05/Allentown, Pa.) and Viktor Pettersson (‘05/Sundsvall, Sweden) both have 12 points to sit in a tie for sixth in the league.
- Cale Puzey (‘05/Calgary, Alb. ) is third in minutes played in the Elite at 304. He has a 1.38 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
New England Division
Defending Champion Cyclones Start Out With 2-0 Record
Prior to Oct. 5, the Northern Cyclones last skated on ice holding the Elite National Championship over their heads. The winning has continued here in 2024-25. The Cyclones defeated the Islanders Hockey Club, 6-2, and beat the Springfield Pics, 3-2.
- Defenseman Matteo Johnson (‘05/Laguna Miguel, Calif.) has goals in both his first two games this year, and is among four players with three points out of the gate.
- Osvaldo Agostino (‘06/Pierrefonds, Que.) won his first junior game on Oct. 6 against Springfield with 24 saves.
Islanders Hockey Club Earn Four Points In Three Games
The IHC picked up their first two wins of the season to start October, sandwiching a loss to the defending champions in between. On Oct. 4, the Islanders defeated the Boston Jr. Bulldogs 6-3 before they lost 6-2 to the Cyclones the next day. On Oct. 8, the Islanders picked up an 8-2 win against the first-year South Shore Kings.
- Sullivan Hauser (‘06/South Bend, Ind.) is leading the team with eight points in six games.
- On Oct. 4, defenseman Gavin O’Keefe (‘05/Reading, Mass.) registered two assists, one shorthanded. He is one of just five defensemen to have a shorthanded assist.
Boston Jr. Bulldogs, Springfield Pics Win One, Lose One
The Bulldogs started October with a 6-3 loss to the Islanders Hockey Club, but on Oct. 11, they defeated the South Shore Kings, 7-3. The Bulldogs currently stand at No. 3 in league offense with 4.80 goals per game. The Bulldogs currently lead the New England Division at 2-2-0-1.
The Pics defeated the South Shore Kings, 5-1, and fell 3-2 to the Northern Cyclones over the Oct. 5-6 weekend.
Florida Division
Tampa Bay Stands In Third Place On Five-Game Point Streak
The Juniors won both of their games on Oct. 4-5 against the Florida Jr. Blades, winning 9-1 at their home ice in Wesley Chapel and 5-4 in Estero. That has them on an overall 4-0-1-0 point streak, and gives them a 6-1-1-0 record for 13 points, good for third in the league.
- The Juniors are fifth in team goals against average (1.63) and also fifth in shots on goal per game (41.63). Hard to score against a team that has the puck that much.
- It’s also simply nearly impossible to score against veteran Shane Passaro (‘04/Palm Springs, Calif.) as he leads the league in goals against average at 0.32 among goaltenders with multiple games played. His two shutouts also lead the league.
Bold City Battalion Earn Single Victory
The Battalion defeated the Palm Beach Typhoon, 3-2, on Oct. 5. This helped the team to get their second victory of the season and stand second in points in the Florida Division.
- The team has three players with four points leading the way – Cameron Myers (‘07/Kansas City, Mo.), Nicholas Simpkins (‘08/Washington, D.C.) and Steven Eberhardt (‘07/Seaford, N.Y.).
- Picking up the two wins so far are Cooper White (‘06/Rapid City, S.D.) and Carson Phillips (‘07/Daytona, Fla.)
