#USPHLPlayoffs Series Preview: Northern Cyclones vs. Springfield Pics

by Joshua Boyd

March 3, 2023March 3, 2023

By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com North Division All Games At Cyclones Arena Friday, March 3, 4 p.m. EST Saturday, March 4, 4 p.m. EST Sunday, March 5, 4 p.m. EST (if necessary) There exists the possibility that, by Saturday evening, we may know our first USPHL Nationals participant. The Springfield Pics will travel to […]

USPHL Elite, Midgets Alum Picard Called Up To Air Force Academy NCAA Division I Team

by Joshua Boyd

January 13, 2023

Pictured: Picard’s commitment graphic from 2021-22, when the former USPHL Elite goalie committed to Air Force Academy’s ACHA team. Courtesy of the Springfield Pics. By Joshua Boyd / USPHL.com It was a dream come true on Friday the 13th of January when former Springfield Pics officially became an NCAA athlete when the Air Force Academy […]

WBS Knights 7, Chicago Crush 1

Sean Stewart scored two goals and added two assists for the victorious WBS Knights. Jake Kanzinger and Colin Evans each had one goal and one assist, and Matvei Orlov had two assists. Goaltender Alexander Insana had 26 saves on 27 shots for WBS.

Islanders Hockey Club 4, Tampa Bay Juniors 2

The Islanders improved to 2-0 at the Nationals after defeating the top-seeded Tampa Bay Juniors by a 4-2 score on Friday. Bo Dailleboust scored the game-winning goal, and Tagger Tamburo stopped 30 of 32 shots for the IHC. Marcus Benzrihem was also strong for Tampa with 34 saves on 38 shots.

Carolina Jr. Hurricanes 6, Northern Cyclones 2

The Jr. Canes were powered by a hat trick from Kester Sadler as they pushed to a 6-2 win over the Northern Cyclones in a showdown between the past two Elite Champions. Stadler also had two assists. Lincoln Burns put up three assists and Arsenii Abakumov posted two helpers. Owen Nasholds stopped 35 of 37 shots for the win and the Jr. Canes are now 2-0.

Islanders Hockey Club 4, Chicago Crush 2

The Islanders Hockey Club jumped out to a 1-0 record in the USPHL Elite round robin with their 4-2 defeat of the Chicago Crush in the Elite opener on Day 1 in Wayne, N.J. Vincent Leclerc scored twice and Cole Kelly stopped 17 of 19 shots. In net for the Crush, Johnny Augusta stopped 40 of 44 shots.

Carolina Jr. Hurricanes 5, WBS Knights 3

Liam Geyer scored twice – including the GWG – and the Jr. Canes came back from being down 3-1 to win 5-3 against the WBS Knights in Day 1 action on Thursday. Anthony Trantas made 28 saves on 31 shots to help the Jr. Canes win.

Northern Cyclones 4, Tampa Bay Juniors 1

The No. 6 seed Northern Cyclones defeated the No. 1 seed Tampa Bay Juniors by a score of 4-1 on Thursday night to give the defending champion Cyclones a 1-0 record out of the gate. Brady Stevens scored a goal and added an assist, and Kail Burns earned two assists. Cooper Johnson scored the GWG. Osvaldo Agostini stopped 25 of 26 shots in net, and for Tampa, Shane Passaro made 40 saves on 44 shots.

Summaries By Joshua Boyd

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Hockey Franchise To Call Panthers IceDen Home

Coral Springs, FL – March 18, 2025 – Junior hockey is gaining momentum in South Florida as Coral Springs announces the launch of new USPHL Jr. Cats Premier and Elite teams for the 2025-2026 season. These teams will compete in the highly competitive Florida Division of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), with the goal of making a strong run at the national championship.

The Jr. Cats will call the IceDen in Coral Springs home. The IceDen is a premier facility known as the former practice venue for the NHL’s Florida Panthers. With a rich history of developing elite hockey talent, the IceDen provides an exceptional environment for player growth and competition at the junior hockey level.

The team is owned by Applesauce Hockey partners Ron Kinnear and Kevin Miller, who also field the USPHL team Bold City Battalion and are partners in the Florida Jr Blades. They bring extensive experience in hockey operations and a passion for player development. Their leadership and commitment to excellence will help establish a strong foundation for the new program.

“I am thrilled to announce that the USPHL Florida Division is now part of the Coral Springs hockey market,” said former NHL player Mark Kumpel, the USPHL Premier and Elite Director of Hockey Operations. “The Ice Den, with its first-class facilities, demonstrates a strong commitment to the growth and development of hockey in the area. With the proven leadership of Ron Kinnear and Kevin Miller, whose track record speaks for itself, I have no doubt this program will align with the passion and high standards of the Coral Springs Hockey Community.”

Players looking to earn a roster spot with the Coral Springs Jr Cats for the inaugural season are encouraged to submit their hockey resume to the coaching staff at
www.jrcats.hockey.

About The United States Premier Hockey League

Founded in 2012, the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is comprised of over 150 teams, fielding more than 20,000 players aged 8-21 in more than 100 organizations across the North, South, Midwest, West, and Canada. Our Junior Divisions consist of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), a tuition-free junior hockey division and our Premier and Elite Divisions, all geared toward college and pro placement.Our youth and midget divisions (operated through the Tier 1 Hockey Federation) field full season 8U through 18U teams. The USPHL has sent over 8,000 players to all levels of college hockey all-time including over 4,200 into NCAA college hockey, with more than 550 advancing to NCAA Division I hockey. The USPHL has also had 18 players who played in the NCDC drafted by NHL teams.

Media Contact: Joshua Boyd

United States Premier Hockey League

media@usphl.com

The USPHL Elite National Championships will begin on Thursday, March 20, and will feature all Five Premier Divisional Champions from across the country, plus one Wild Card selection (the Northern Cyclones). Although six teams will enter, only one will leave with the Elite National Championship trophy!

The 2025 USPHL National Championships are taking place March 20-24 at the Ice Vault in Wayne, N.J., a full-service facility featuring three rinks and a top-notch restaurant with views of two of the three rinks.

Team Profiles:

You can read about all 10 USPHL Premier Division Champions and the Wild Card selection by visiting www.usphlelite.com/category/usphlnationals

The Format

Each team will play a three-game round robin.
In the semifinals, with seeds determined from the round robin results, the No. 1 seed will play the No. 3 seed, and the No. 2 seed will play the No. 4 seed.
The National Championship will take place on March 24, with puck drop set for 1:30 p.m. EST.

Full Schedules – Including Links To Team Rosters (Click on Team Name)

Division 1

Seeds

1. Tampa Bay Juniors

2. Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

3. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights

4. Islanders Hockey Club

5. Chicago Crush

6. Northern Cyclones

USPHL NCDC New Jersey Combine

Running Friday through Sunday in conjunction with the Premier and Elite National Championships will be the 2025 USPHL NCDC New Jersey Combine, a new addition to the league’s Combine Series. Players born between the birth years 2005 and 2011 in Juniors (2005-09) and Futures (2009-11) Divisions will be hitting the ice to put their skills on display in front of NCDC and other USPHL coaches to build connections with coaches towards future playing opportunities and potential selection in the 2025 NCDC Entry Draft on May 15.

For more information or to register a player, go to usphlpremier.com/usphl-ncdc-combines

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights are running the table for trips to the USPHL Elite Championships since they opened play in 2021-22. The Knights defeated the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 4-1 in Game 3 on Sunday to advance to the USPHL Nationals for a fourth straight time.

Brody Polacek and Wyatt Stasik each scored twice, Stasik also had an assist, and Jake Kanzinger registered two assists. Anthony Shaw made 30 saves on 31 shots for the win. Dominik Feiler made 26 saves on 30 shots for P.A.L. in net.

The Knights will hold the No. 3 overall seed in the National Championships. Click here for their team schedule in the round robin.

“The WBS Knights are excited to be returning to the USPHL Elite Nationals for the fourth year in a row. Head Coach Jason Zaleski did a nice job blending some late season additions into a core of players that had a tremendous regular season,” said General Manager Andy Scott. “Although the team had already secured the wild card before the start of the final series, they didn’t want to get to Nationals through the back door. The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders, under head coach Aleksey Nikiforov, played a really tough series and gave our club all we could handle. Goaltender Tony Shaw was excellent in the deciding game, making several key stops for us at critical points in the contest.

“The road ahead will only be more challenging, but the team is focussed on reversing the disappointment we experienced at our first three Nationals,” added Scott.

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

With the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights’ win over the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders’ on Sunday, the Northern Cyclones were able to earn the Wild Card berth to the 2025 USPHL Elite Nationals. The Cyclones qualified as they had the highest Power Ranking behind other Elite teams that had won their divisional championship series.

The top three in the final Power Rankings were the Florida Division Champion Tampa Bay Juniors, the Southeast Division Champion Carolina Jr. Hurricanes and the Atlantic Division Champion WBS Knights. At No. 4 in the Power Rankings, the Cyclones were the highest ranked team that lost in their divisional championship series, falling to the Islanders Hockey Club. The New England Division will be the only Elite division at Nationals with two representatives.

The Cyclones won the 2024 USPHL Elite National Championship, and they will enter the 2025 Nationals as the No. 6 seed, the seed that was reserved for the Wild Card team.

Check out the Cyclones National Championships schedule!

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 10, P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 6

It was a real track meet between the WBS Knights and P.A.L. Jr. Islanders when the Knights evened up their W Atlantic Division Championship series with a 10-6 win. Alec James scored two goals and added two assists, Brody Polacek scored two goals, Matvei Orlov scored one goal and added five assists, and Ilya Buranov posted four assists. Samvel Barsegyan, Grayson Crowe and Owen Scott each had two points as well. Alexander Insana stopped 26 of 32 shots. The third and deciding game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. EST Sunday.

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com

The Chicago Crush have swept their USPHL Elite Midwest Division Championship series and are headed to the USPHL Nationals for a second straight season. They defeated the Fort Wayne Spacemen, 5-2, on Friday to advance.

Read the Crush’s own take on the series and their season.

Troy Naill scored the GWG in the final 26 seconds of the first period, Cole Darlas scored a goal and an assist, and Daniel Gurtner made 17 saves on 19 shots for the win. Brendan Kusbel played strong in net for Fort Wayne with 45 saves on 48 shots. The Crush will hold the No. 5 seed in the Nationals, which will begin on March 20 in Wayne, N.J.

The Crush reached the Nationals last year in Utica, N.Y., and they are thrilled to be making a return trip as only a second-year program.

After the series-clinching win, Head Coach Phil Bushbacher was both proud and reflective.

“Back-to-back trips to Nationals speaks volumes to the character of this group,” he said. “We’ve got a locker room full of guys who are willing to sacrifice, work hard, and play for each other. That’s what it takes to win at this level.”

But Bushbacher knows the job isn’t finished.

“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we’re not satisfied. Nationals is a different beast. We need to tighten up defensively, stay disciplined, and keep playing our game. If we do that, we’ve got as good a shot as anyone,” he added.

Chicago Crush 5, Fort Wayne Spacemen 2

The Chicago Crush have swept their Midwest Division Championship series and are headed to the Nationals for a second straight season. They defeated the Fort Wayne Spacemen, 5-2, on Friday to advance. Troy Naill scored the GWG in the final 26 seconds of the first period, Cole Darlas scored a goal and an assist, and Daniel Gurtner made 17 saves on 19 shots for the win. Brendan Kusbel played strong in net for Fort Wayne with 45 saves on 48 shots. The Crush will hold the No. 5 seed in the Nationals, which will begin on March 20 in Wayne, N.J.

P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 5, WBS Knights 4

The Jr. Islanders are up 1-0 in their #USPHLElite Atlantic Division Championship series against the WBS Knights, following a 5-4 regulation win on Friday. The Islanders scored five straight goals in the third period to come back from a 3-0 deficit. Anthony Galtieri and Nicholas Morolla each scored two goals and an assist. Morolla’s empty net goal for his second of the game stood up as the GWG in the end. Jake Strong scored a goal and added one assist. Dominik Feiler stopped 33 of 37 shots for the win. Anthony Shaw stopped 32 of 36 shots Game 2 is at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Chicago Crush 2, Fort Wayne Spacemen 0

The Crush are one win away from a return to the USPHL Elite Nationals, after they defeated the Fort Wayne Spacemen 2-0 in the Midwest Division Championship series for a 1-0 series lead. Johnny Augusta stopped all 24 shots he faced for the shutout win and John Martino scored both goals. Connor Edwards had two assists for the Crush. In net for Fort Wayne, Brendan Kusbel was impressive with 38 saves on 39 shots. Game 2 is at 12:30 p.m. CST Friday.