The Whalers and Patriots came into the weekend separated by 2 points in the standings, and battling for playoff positioning.  Goaltender Zach Alvarado and the Whalers stout defense helped propel the Whalers to 2 big victories and extend that lead to 6 points, with back to back 2-0 shutout victories.

Saturday 2-0 WIN

Caelan Bolanowski broke a scoreless tie in the 2nd period on a re-direct in front, and Peyton Midgette added the insurance marker about 6 minutes later as the Whalers cruised to a 2-0 victory.  Joe Sauer, Domen Perovsek, Brandon Osmundson, and Ty Ayers each notched assists and Zach Alvarado shut the door in net with 24 saves and his first shutout of the season. 

The Whalers finished 1 for 4 on the PP, while Potomac went 0 for 5.

Sunday 2-0 WIN

On Sunday, the Whalers couldn't get anything going offensively, but neither could the Patriots.  The two teams again went scoreless, this time well into the 3rd period before Zach McDaniel finally broke the tie at 3:14 to put Whalers ahead.  Zach Alvarado took over from there, turning aside all 47 Patriots shots for his 2nd straight shutout.  Jared Gale added an empty netter with 1 minute to go to seal the win.  Ty Ayers, Shawn Ziegler, and Brandon Osmundson all tallied assists in the game.

The Whalers and Patriots both finished 0 for 3 on the PP. 

With the wins, the Whalers pulled ahead of the Patriots by 6 points and the Atlanta Knights by 8 points in the battle for playoff positioning, while pulling within 1 point of the East Coast Eagles for home ice in round 1 with this weekends match-up looming large for both teams.

The Whalers Elite team came into the weekend with 1st place and the top playoff seed already locked in, while the Patriots jockey for home ice with the Richmond Generals.  The Whalers used the weekend to rest some banged up players, and came out with a weekend split.

Saturday 5-2 WIN

On Saturday, the Whalers held a 16-9 shot advantage after 20 minutes, but trailed 1-0 after a Patriots shorthanded goal.  In the 2nd period, the offense woke up, scoring 4 times in the middle frame to pull ahead, adding 1 more in the 3rd, to take the 5-2 win.

Captain Ryan Webber and Griffin Leach each scored twice, with Jacob Gerson also adding a marker for the Whalers.  TJ Sneath added 3 assists, Leach, Gerson, Webber, Oliver Lindstrom, Dominic Moore, and goaltender Blake Scott each chipped in with 1.  Scott made 34 saves for his league leading 17th win of the season.

The Whalers finished 2 for 12, and the Patriots 1 for 13 on the man advantage in what was a penalty filled affair as both teams combined for a total of 35 infractions, including 19 combined in the 2nd period.

Sunday 5-2 Loss

On Sunday, the Whalers just couldn't find their rhythm after taking an early 2-1 lead, and the Patriots rattled off 4 straight goals to take the win and weekend split. 

Kody Rodriguez and Griffin Leach notched the Whalers only goals, both on the power play, while Oliver Lindstrom and TJ Sneath each tallied 2 assists apiece.  Sean Tannenbaum took the loss in goal with 27 saves.

The Whalers finished 2 for 8 on the power play while Potomac went 1 for 4.

The long road comes to an end for the Whalers, after 12 straight games on the road which saw the Whalers travel to Boston, Florida, Richmond, and DC, the Whalers will return to the friendly confines of the Chilled Ponds to wrap up the regular season with a 2 game set with the East Coast Eagles.

Saturday

Empire 5pm

Elite 8pm

Sunday

Empire 10:30am

Elite 1:30pm