#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights

by Joshua Boyd

March 21, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com It’s Year 3 for the WBS Knights, and it’s also Year 3 at Nationals for the WBS Knights. The Elite team (and the Knights’ Premier team) has returned to Utica and will play in its third straight Nationals, one for every year of its existence since joining the league […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

by Joshua Boyd

March 20, 2024March 20, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The USPHL Elite National Championships are just about to start on Thursday, and you have to include the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes in the conversation to win it all – again. “I feel that Potomac, the Northern Cyclones and Atlanta are teams you need to keep an eye on,” said […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Metro Jets

by Joshua Boyd

March 19, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Metro Jets’ first-year USPHL Elite program had quite the blueprint to work off of. They were borne of an organization that has been one of the most successful in the USPHL Premier. In fact, the Jets’ Premier team has the all-time best winning percentage in regular season play […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Potomac Patriots

by Joshua Boyd

March 18, 2024March 18, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com Welcome to the Nationals, Potomac Patriots. A legacy member of the USPHL Elite (and USPHL Premier) in 2017-18, the Patriots have had a long and winding road to get to Utica not just this year, but over their seven years in the league. For the first five years in […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Tampa Bay Juniors

by Joshua Boyd

March 17, 2024March 17, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Tampa Bay Juniors are geared up and excited to fly north to Utica, N.Y., where they’ll be part of a very tough field of 10 teams. The Juniors, however, have a lot of experience with Nationals. This is the Elite program’s fourth straight trip and sixth overall. The […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Rockets Hockey Club

by Joshua Boyd

March 16, 2024March 16, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Rockets Hockey Club have themselves a few gems in terms of offense, and a team defense that can play the shutdown game. So they certainly come into Utica feeling good about their chances in the 2024 field. Returning Rockets forwards John Crowdell and Jace Lombardo put themselves in […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Atlanta MadHatters

by Joshua Boyd

March 16, 2024March 16, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Atlanta MadHatters are ready to come into the 2024 Nationals with nothing but positive energy. This will be the MadHatters first time playing in the Nationals (they had previously qualified for the ultimately canceled 2020 Nationals), so they’re ready to take full advantage of the experience after defeating […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Chicago Crush

by Joshua Boyd

March 15, 2024March 16, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Chicago Crush as an organization were founded in 2022 as a USPHLPremier program, and their USPHL Elite team was founded just in 2023. One year into the Elite team’s existence, they are on their way to the USPHL Nationals as one of two first-year Midwest Division Elite teams. […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Northern Cyclones

by Joshua Boyd

March 15, 2024March 15, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com With the exception of the league’s inaugural year (2017-18), the Northern Cyclones have been synonymous with the USPHL Nationals at the Elite level. The team is certainly excited about qualifying for the sixth straight Nationals, especially after being inspired by seeing their Premier brethren win it all in 2023. […]

#USPHLNationals Elite Team Preview: Islanders Hockey Club

by Joshua Boyd

March 15, 2024March 15, 2024

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com The Islanders Hockey Club have attained that category that so many USPHL teams are seeking – they’re “Nationals staples.” With their fourth straight qualification, earned way back on March 3 following a 2-0 series victory against the Springfield Pics, the Islanders are no surprise to anyone when it comes […]

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

It’s Year 3 for the WBS Knights, and it’s also Year 3 at Nationals for the WBS Knights.

The Elite team (and the Knights’ Premier team) has returned to Utica and will play in its third straight Nationals, one for every year of its existence since joining the league in 2022.

The Knights won the Atlantic Division this year, finishing 28-15-1-0, certainly impressive, but they’ve done even better in Years 1 (35 wins) and 2 (39 wins). Still, the Knights were strong enough to gain the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Division.

In the playoffs, they took on the No. 4 Jersey Hitmen, which was the other team along with the Knights in representing the Atlantic Division last year. The Hitmen of 2023 made the semifinals, falling to the Knights who went on to play the eventual champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes.

This year, it would only be the WBS Knights of the two who would make it to Nationals, as the Knights defeated the Hitmen 8-1 and 10-4.

The Knights had three players in the Top 10 of Elite playoff scoring, with Blake Francione tying for second with nine points in two games. Veteran Jason DiMatteo was tied for fifth with seven points and Kaden Smith came across with five points in two games, good for a tie for fifth in the league. Andrew Zang stopped 59 of 64 in net in both wins against the Hitmen.

This past season, the Knights went up against fellow Atlantic representatives the Rockets Hockey Club seven times and came out with a 3-4-0-0 record. The other Nationals team they faced somewhat more than seldom were the Northern Cyclones, against whom the Knights finished 2-2-0-0.

Additional Nationals teams that the Knights took on during the regular season were the Metro Jets (3-2 win), Islanders Hockey Club (4-1 win) and the Tampa Bay Juniors (4-3 shootout loss).

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The USPHL Elite National Championships are just about to start on Thursday, and you have to include the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes in the conversation to win it all – again.

“I feel that Potomac, the Northern Cyclones and Atlanta are teams you need to keep an eye on,” said returning Head Coach Brad Gaylord. “And us of course!”

And why wouldn’t you expect the Jr. Canes to be in the final big mix? After all, they did win the regular season championship for the first time. They went on to win a two-game series with two very different games – an 8-1 victory and a 3-2 win against the Hampton Roads Whalers. That, of course, sent the defending National Champions back for another shot at glory, potentially becoming the first team to win back-to-back Elite titles in the current iteration of the conference going back to 2017-18.

“I felt they played very well in Game 1. In Game 2 we went away from our game a little,” said Gaylord. “ If we want to defend our championship, we can’t do that at all in Utica.

“It feels really good [to qualify again] and the players are itching to get the tournament started!” said Gaylord. “They all know everyone wants to beat the champs, so they have been practicing very hard. We have our plan of attack against our upcoming opponents for Games 1 and 2. With three practices left, we’ll be going hard and making sure all players understand the plan of attack.”

The Jr. Canes path at Nationals begins Thursday with the Chicago Crush, a first-year USPHL Midwest Elite Division team, and they also go up against the Islanders Hockey Club, who are making their fourth straight trip to the Nationals. Last year, they also met at Nationals, with Carolina winning 5-2, in a game partially overshadowed by a frightening injury suffered by Carter Radosta. Radosta returned this year to the Jr. Canes and is one of their top players, scoring 50 points.

During the postseason, Gian Khani led the way with five points in two games, while three other returning players were also on top of their game. Jakson Furlotte and Nathan Rhodes each had four points, and both Colby Markham (the league’s all-time leading scorer among defensemen) and Luke Moses had three points apiece.

Ryan Kalina had 18 saves on 19 shots for the win in Game 1, and Anthony Trantas stopped 33 of 35 in the Game 2 victory.

The Jr. Canes this year went 4-3-0-0 against Potomac in a fantastic series played throughout the season. In other games against Nationals teams, they’ve defeated Atlanta and Tampa Bay twice each, and they went up against the Rockets Hockey Club at the USPHL Tampa Showcase, also winning there.

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Metro Jets’ first-year USPHL Elite program had quite the blueprint to work off of. They were borne of an organization that has been one of the most successful in the USPHL Premier. In fact, the Jets’ Premier team has the all-time best winning percentage in regular season play at .874.

The Jets organization has had three junior teams before, as they fielded the Jets, the Metro Jets Development Program (MJDP) and Metro Hockey Club (MHC) in 2020-21, but this is the first time the Jets have fielded an Elite team. They were very successful in winning the inaugural Midwest Elite title at 31-12-1-0.

In the playoffs, they faced a Decatur Blaze team that had several players with USPHL Premier experience, but were just able to edge the Blaze in two overtime games, 5-4 and 3-2, on March 10 and 11.

“Earning a sweep in our divisional play was impressive given the challenge they faced with a strong Decatur lineup. It was a test our players knew would be a challenge, but they kept to the game plan and were rewarded for it,” said Tina Ciraulo, the Jets Elite Associate Head Coach. “We are excited for our guys with all the work they put in this season. They bought into the process and developed over the season to prepare for an opportunity like this. It was truly a full team effort from top to bottom.”

The twins John and Peter Spiridonakos put up five and four points, respectively. McKenna Baker scored three points, including an OT goal. Hunter Folgmann had the other overtime winner.

In net, Elliot Duerr made 50 saves on 52 shots, and Zachary Robert stopped 29 of 33 in net. While the Elite players are new to the Nationals, the Jets staff have, in some cases, six years of experience at that level.

“We are fortunate that we have experience in playing for National titles,” said Ciraulo, who joined the Jets coaching staff in 2020-21. That year, with MHC, she became the first female head coach of a USPHL Premier team. “Therefore, we have been using our model to continue to work on things and with our other Jets teams attending, it gives us a chance to use different inter-squad practices to touch on details. [The 10-day break] also allows our guys to properly heal up those end of the year bumps and bruises to be 100 percent heading into Nationals.”

Against the Jets in the Seeding Round will be the Atlanta MadHatters and Potomac Patriots, certainly two tough customers. The Jets fell 2-0 to the MadHatters in the USPHL Tampa Showcase in January. The Jets went 5-2-0-0 against the other Midwest Elite representatives the Chicago Crush. They also took losses, however, to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights, the Islanders Hockey Club and Tampa Bay Juniors.

“We know all the teams will be strong. We stay loyal to our players and have not added any Premier players,” Ciraulo said. “So we are hoping our consistency and chip on our shoulder playing these teams will give us an edge.”

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

Welcome to the Nationals, Potomac Patriots. A legacy member of the USPHL Elite (and USPHL Premier) in 2017-18, the Patriots have had a long and winding road to get to Utica not just this year, but over their seven years in the league.

For the first five years in the Elite, the Patriots were unable to crest the .500 mark, coming closest in 2021-22 with a 14-23-4-3 mark. Then, 2022 came along and the Patriots organization saw a massive turnaround as former pro player Josh Gratton (who saw 86 NHL games as part of an international career) launched a head-spinning culture change, after originally arriving in 2020.

Since then, the Patriots have regularly been a tough draw for every opponent and, to put the exclamation point on the point, both their Elite and Premier teams qualified together for the first time here in 2024. The Patriots have fully arrived.

“It feels great having made Nationals for the first time! We have come a long way since taking over here at Potomac and we are excited to see what this group can do,” said Alex Grose, the Elite Head Coach. Grose is one of very few current coaches to have also played in the USPHL, as he was part of the Patriots’ inaugural USPHL Elite team in 2013-14, which was actually his fourth season in the organization. After his college playing career at George Mason University ended, he became a coach there in 2018-19, and he joined the Patriots staff two years later.

“We are looking to just have fun this week going into it,” said Grose, when asked how the team was preparing with just about 10 days between games. “We know we’re one of the best teams so if we are healthy and in good spirits we will do well!”

In qualifying, the Patriots defeated longtime Nationals staples the Charlotte Rush, two games to zero. They took Game 1 convincingly with an 8-3 victory and squeaked by in a closer 2-1 win on March 10. It could’ve easily gone the other way, Grose said, given the team’s shortage of healthy regulars.

“Our team played fantastic in our last round of playoffs. It’s no secret that Charlotte is a very good team and program every year,” said Grose. “We were really proud of our guys handling adversity over the weekend with six regular players being sick in Game 2 of the series. Our team’s depth and leadership got us through a tough one!”

This includes one of the all-time leaders for the Patriots, such as Ilya Biesiedin, who has played in the organization since 2021. He led the series in scoring with five points after posting 99 points in 98 career Elite games. Additionally, newcomers to the program Dominik Budka and Noah Ribeiro each posted three points. Goaltending-wise, Christian Nalle made 50 saves on 53 shots in Game 1 and Taeyang Lim made 47 of 48 in Game 2.

The Dan K Show Elite Nationals Selection Show drew Potomac to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights on Thursday and the Metro Jets on Friday in the Seeding Round. The Patriots have never played either team (the Jets being new this year, and the Knights starting back in 2021-22).

Among the Nationals teams they have faced are the fellow Southeast Division representatives and defending National Champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. The Jr. Canes gave the Patriots their last loss of the regular season back on Feb. 18, a 5-2 Jr. Canes win. Potomac finished 3-4-0-0 against Carolina this year, so it’s a great rivalry that’s grown there. They also defeated the Tampa Bay Juniors, 6-2, at the USPHL Florida College Showcase in December, and the Atlanta MadHatters 2-1 at October’s USPHL Southeast Showcase.

All these games have given Potomac a lot of confidence to not just be at Nationals, but to be a contender to win the whole thing.

“We think we will be the toughest team at the Nationals this year,” said Grose. “We have our sights set on Carolina, as they are the defending champion, they are well coached and work very hard! We are excited to get a chance against them!”

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Tampa Bay Juniors are geared up and excited to fly north to Utica, N.Y., where they’ll be part of a very tough field of 10 teams.

The Juniors, however, have a lot of experience with Nationals. This is the Elite program’s fourth straight trip and sixth overall. The Juniors made the Championship Final in 2019, falling to the former Richmond Generals.

“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to get to Nationals, but also to not just be satisfied being there,” added Head Coach Garrett Strot. “Last season, I think once we made it to Nationals we were kind of like ‘We made it.’”

With the veteran coach Strot knowing just how far Tampa Bay can go when the Juniors play their best, the organization has worked to impart that the destination is not the goal. Leaving that destination with a trophy is.

Strot said he’s been able to use the Juniors’ roster depth to get past the Florida Jr. Blades in a tough three-game series, which started with a 4-3 overtime loss on March 9. The Juniors won on Sunday, 6-1, and they completed the series win with a 7-3 victory on Monday, March 11.

“One of the strengths of our team is its depth. We moved some guys in and out of the lineup during the three games and felt it helped our energy going into the third period of Game 3,” said Juniors Head Coach Garrett Strot.

Four Tampa-area residents were the offensive leaders in the series, led by former Tampa Crunch and Steinbrenner High player Mookie Killen, with five points. Additional locals Richard Moskala, Ari Blatt and defensemen Carter Trussler each had four points. Elite veteran Ethan Carlone put up 92 saves on 100 shots in going 2-0-1.

“We gave our guys a couple of days off after the tough three-game series vs. the Blades,” said Strot. “This week was more getting guys a skate, battle a little bit, and next week before we fly up will be more special teams and scouting our first two opponents.”

Those first two opponents are the Islanders Hockey Club on Thursday night at 8 p.m. and the Rockets Hockey Club at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Juniors have not faced the Rockets or Islanders this year, but they have a 7-5-0-0 record against other Nationals foes. They are 4-2-0-0 against their fellow Florida Division representatives the Atlanta MadHatters. Outside of the division, they had wins during the season against the Metro Jets, Northern Cyclones and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights.

Their only losses against fellow Nationals teams outside of Atlanta were a pair of defeats at the hands of the defending National Champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes and one loss to the Potomac Patriots.

“This is going to be wide open! You have two teams, Atlanta and Potomac as No. 2 seeds that easily could be No. 1 seeds, and Carolina is the defending Champs and will be the team to beat,” added Strot.

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Rockets Hockey Club have themselves a few gems in terms of offense, and a team defense that can play the shutdown game. So they certainly come into Utica feeling good about their chances in the 2024 field.

Returning Rockets forwards John Crowdell and Jace Lombardo put themselves in the Elite record books as the No. 1 and 5 all-time scoring forwards, and Lombardo set the all-time single season scoring record at 113 points, followed close behind by Crowdell’s 108 points. Crowdell holds the all-time record at 191 points in 87 Elite games.

“With so many key returners this year, our goal from Day 1 of the off-season was to get here this year,” said Head Coach Todd Wagenbach. “We found the players we needed to add both in the off-season and during the regular season to accomplish this, and it feels great to be back. We earned it through the entire roller coaster ride that was our season.”

The Rockets finished third in the Atlantic Division at 26-16-0-2, which is RHC’s best record in the seven seasons of the current USPHL Elite Conference. And with that, they could still only finish third in a pretty stacked division, from which they are joined by the division’s regular season champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. Against the Knights, the Rockets had their best record of the season against any Nationals team, going 4-3-0-0 over the year. They also faced the Northern Cyclones, Islanders Hockey Club and Carolina Jr. Hurricanes during the regular season and fell to each. They will face the Cyclones on March 21 and hope for better results than the shutout defeat they took on Feb. 8 in their first Cyclones Showcase game.

The Rockets did just come off a big, confidence-building series against the higher-seeded P.A.L. Jr. Islanders, winning two games to one.

“We played three truly complete games in the playoffs, and just had some trouble finding the back of the net in Game 1,” said Wagenbach. “We are firing on all cylinders offensively, defensively and in net at the right time and are finally healthy enough to play the way we want to play.”

Lombardo and Crowdell were again 1-2 in scoring against P.A.L., with lines of 4-4-8 and 2-5-7, respectively. The Staten Islanders were especially effective in the Game 3 win, with Lombardo scoring twice and Crowdell putting up a 1-2-3 line in the 4-1 victory this past Monday. With his two goals, Lombardo now has 11 points in five career playoff games, tying him for the Rockets all-time lead in postseason points with Jason Lastra (2018-21).

John Whyte II, an up-and-coming ‘06 in the program, put up five points in the three-game series. Joseph Auletti put up a .949 save percentage in net in going 1-1 against P.A.L., while Eric Rosati stopped 38 shots in Sunday’s Game 2 victory.

Playing on Monday gave the Rockets roughly 10 days between games, but that’s less when you count travel and other preparations.

“Over the next week, we will be doing exactly what everybody else is doing: fine-tuning our systems and special teams at practice, working out in the gym, stretching, watching film, making adjustments, getting reps, taking care of our bodies through nutrition and hydration, and preparing for battle,” added Wagenbach. “Everybody at this Nationals event is good. You have to be to get here. We will be prepared!”

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Atlanta MadHatters are ready to come into the 2024 Nationals with nothing but positive energy. This will be the MadHatters first time playing in the Nationals (they had previously qualified for the ultimately canceled 2020 Nationals), so they’re ready to take full advantage of the experience after defeating the Florida Eels in a three-game set, closing it out on Monday.

“I could not be more proud of this group and how far they have come this year,” said MadHatters Head Coach Tyler Casillo. “The MadHatters have had tough battles with the Eels in years past, so being able to climb the mountain and punch our ticket was a great feeling. This will be most of our players’ first experience at Nationals.”

The MadHatters, taking the No. 3 seed on the season, started the series with a 5-1 win. The Florida Eels defeated them in Game 2, 5-4, but the MadHatters then put up a 7-4 victory in Game 3 to finish the series with their Nationals berth in hand.

“This may be a different response than what most think, but I did not think we played our best hockey in the divisional playoffs. Our brand of hockey is shutdown defense and hats off to the Florida Eels for taking it to us in that regard,” said Casillo. “I was very happy with how we responded in every game. In Game 3 there were 3 goals scored in the first two minutes of the game, including two before the first minute was up. It takes leadership and maturity to be able to deal with adversity like that when your season is on the line.

“I couldn’t be happier with how we kept our next shift mentality throughout the series,” Casillo added. “We want our guys to settle into Nationals and play loose and free. If we do this, I think you will see an even better Atlanta team at Nationals.”

The team that folks see at Nationals will be playing against the Metro Jets on Day 1 of the Seeding Round followed by the Northern Cyclones on Day 2. Atlanta had close games with both during the season. At the USPHL Florida College Showcase in Estero, Fla., the MadHatters went to a shootout against the Cyclones, eventually falling 5-4. A few weeks later, they played against the Metro Jets at the USPHL Tampa Showcase and earned a 2-0 shutout victory.

They also faced the Southeast Division’s Potomac Patriots (2-1 loss), and the defending National Champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes (losses of 4-2 and 3-2 in overtime).

So, which team does Casillo think will give the 10-team field the most fits?

“I think the easy answer is the defending National Champions the Jr. Canes. We have played them twice this year, losing 4-2 and in OT. They are extremely well coached and have talent throughout the lineup. I am expecting them to have a great showing,” Casillo said. “I also think that Potomac is a team to watch out for, they looked great in their series with the Rush. It is very hard to sweep Charlotte and they pulled that off in Charlotte’s barn, which is very impressive.”

Also impressive were the performances of several MadHatters in their series against the Eels. Chase Kerr (5-4-9) was one of the top scorers in all the playoffs so far, standing second overall so far. Defenseman Tyler Clouthier and Elite veteran Will McLaughlin each scored five points. Jackson Bernier went 2-0 making 59 saves on 64 shots. Christian Amato stopped 26 shots in the loss to the Eels.

Like many teams, the MadHatters are in the midst of a very highly planned and meticulous approach to the biggest event of the year.

“With the long travel we had to make to get to Fort Myers, we will only have three practices to prepare for the upcoming challenge. This means our last three practices will need to be our best of the year to prepare for the battle we are going to face in Utica,” Casillo said. “The plan stays the same as it has all year – practice, lift, and film. Being able to play Metro and the Cyclones earlier in the year will be a nice advantage. The focus will be on our guys playing our game. If we play to our potential and stick to our style, I think we are a tough matchup for anyone at the tournament.”

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Chicago Crush as an organization were founded in 2022 as a USPHLPremier program, and their USPHL Elite team was founded just in 2023. One year into the Elite team’s existence, they are on their way to the USPHL Nationals as one of two first-year Midwest Division Elite teams.

“It feels great to be a part of the national tournament in our first year at the Elite level,” said Crush Head Coach Phil Bushbacher. “As a second year club, we are thrilled at the opportunity to showcase our program at the biggest event of the USPHL season.”

The Crush went 27-14-0-3 during their inaugural season, enough to clinch second place in the Midwest Division and earn a bye into the first round. They watched as the Fort Wayne Spacemen and the Chicago Cougars went through a three-game series, with Fort Wayne emerging as The Crush’s second round opponent. For both teams, just two wins represented the necessary achievement for a Nationals berth.

The Crush came out and won Game 1 2-0 on the back of a 31-save shutout by Johnny Augusta. However, Fort Wayne rebounded in a major way, winning 4-1 in Game 2. The Crush broke out for a 5-1 win in Game 3 to earn their berth to the Nationals in Utica, N.Y.

“I thought we did a really nice job of managing our emotions during the last series against Fort Wayne. They had our number all season, but we stayed in the moment, and played some of our best hockey,” Bushbacher said. “It was a great series, and kudos to the Spacemen, but we are certainly happy to have advanced on to Utica.”

Cole Darlas, who had 22 points during the regular season, put up three points in three games to lead the Crush against Fort Wayne. Six more Crush players each had two points.

Augusta stopped 54 of 55 shots during his two games in action, while Kyle Tyszkiewicz stopped 32 shots during the Game 2 loss.

The team was facing about 10 days between games, so Bushbacher said the team’s time would have to be very well planned.

“We will have a bit of time between games, so we will have to practice with a lot of tempo and detail,” said Bushbacher. “We have had a few long breaks during the year, and it will be good to recharge after a long season and focus on some areas of needed improvement.”

The Crush had quite the Seeding Round draw, as they will face the defending National Champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes on March 21 and the 2023 runner-up Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The Crush have only ever played one game outside of their division: a 3-1 victory over the Elmira Impact (Atlantic Division) on Nov. 18 at the USPHL Detroit Showcase. It doesn’t matter who they draw, said Bushbacher, the Crush have to be ready to play their two best games all year – because everyone else will.

“Every team in the event will be strong. All of us are the best teams from our respective divisions, so the level of play will be high,” said Bushbacher. “Carolina is a team that we are eager to see, as they have had a tremendous regular season and playoffs. We are also looking forward to seeing how Metro does. As a division, we want to make a splash, so this will be one instance in which we are pulling for the Jets!”

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

With the exception of the league’s inaugural year (2017-18), the Northern Cyclones have been synonymous with the USPHL Nationals at the Elite level. The team is certainly excited about qualifying for the sixth straight Nationals, especially after being inspired by seeing their Premier brethren win it all in 2023. The Cyclones also reached the Elite National Championship game themselves in 2022.

“It is a great feeling to be heading back to Nationals, obviously the goal on day 1 is to work towards getting there and the guys put a lot of work in to be able to make it happen,” said Head Coach Tim Plummer.

At 33-6-4-1, the Cyclones finished second in the league overall with 71 points, just three points behind the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. The Cyclones have always made the semifinals or better every time they’ve made it, including the aforementioned championship game on their own home ice in 2022.

The path to get to the Nationals went through the Boston Junior Bruins, the No. 4 seed in the New England Division. Having seen the Premier Junior Bruins oust the Premier Cyclones in a shocking 7-over-2 upset, the Elite Cyclones weren’t going to let that happen to two teams in Hudson, N.H.

“I thought we played solid in our series leading up to it. Obviously goaltending and defending was a factor as we didn’t let any in the back of the net,” said Plummer, whose team won 4-0, 4-0 against the Junior Bruins. “We stuck to our systems and did what we needed to for us to advance.”

Michael Anstey and Nick Cowles each got the shutout wins in net, but neither was greatly tested, stopping a total of 18 shots between them in the series. Offensively, the Cyclones were second in goals per game (4.84) and shots on goal per game (46.89) in the Elite during the regular season, as well as second in the main defensive measures of goals against (2.07) and shots on goal against (23.64).

During the playoff series, the same leaders from the regular season were the leaders against the Junior Bruins. Josh Bruno led with five points, and both Noah Malcolm and defenseman Matthew Taylor scored three apiece.

Plummer understands it is a long time, nearly three weeks between his team’s last game against the Junior Bruins and first in the Nationals, against the Rockets Hockey Club.

“We have been skating every day, doing a lot of maintenance work in the gym, spending a bunch of time together to prepare,” said Plummer. “Working on fine tuning everything for what will be a large task at hand.”

The Cyclones have gone 8-4-2-0 against fellow Nationals teams, including a recent 6-0 victory on Feb. 8 against the Rockets Hockey Club, their Day 1 opponent.

That was followed shortly thereafter by an 0-1-1-0 weekend against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. The Cyclones went 5-2-1-0 against the Islanders Hockey Club, their fellow New England Division foes.

They also faced the Tampa Bay Juniors (5-4 loss) and Atlanta MadHatters (4-3 shootout win) at the USPHL Florida College Showcase in December. They face Atlanta on Day 2 at the Nationals.

“Honestly I think every team attending is a threat, there are no layups this time of year,” said Plummer. “I took some time to watch all the teams play this past weekend and I think it’s anyone’s game.

“We have to show up and be prepared to play at our best level and work to compete at the highest level,” he added. “We have to show up with the right mindset and attitude to be able to take it one game at a time and go from there.”