This weekend the Whalers continued their climb back to a spot atop the USPHL South Elite Division standings, a position they occupied all last season. After sweeping the Carolina Eagles, claiming 4 points, the Whalers have passed the Florida Eels and will hold the top spot in the standings heading into next weekends showcase. 

On Friday night, the Whalers continued their recent trend of taking leads and giving them back.  The two teams exchanged 1st period goals, with Kyle Perkowski converting from Dominic Moore just 3 minutes into the game.  In the middle frame, Perkowski would quickly add his second of the game from Moore and Radek Sawicki followed 8 seconds later by Jayson Dimizio from John Horn to make it 3-1 Whalers.  Then the troubling trend returned, as the Whalers allowed 3 straight goals in the back half of the period and trailed 4-3 heading to the locker room.  The Whalers would continue to show their resilency, as Kyle Perkowski would notch his hat trick at 9:10 from Moore and Sawicki then Moore would tally the game winner at 18:27 from Sawicki and Perkowkski for the 5-4 win.  Sean Tannenbaum would pick up the win in net with 24 saves.  The Whalers heavily outshot the Eagles 54-28.  Hampton went 0 for 2 on the PP, Carolina went 1 for 2.

On Saturday night the game looked much the same after 20 minutes of play.  Dominic Moore put the Whalers on the board first from Brendan Zack and Kyle Perkowski to make it 1-0, but again the Eagles would capitalize late and send the game to the locker room tied at 1.  In the 2nd period, the Whalers went up 2-1 on a goal from captain Jacob Gerson at 11:47 from Ryan Bochert and Henry Hearon.  In the final frame, Gerson would connect on his second of the night at 9:01 from Lainesse and Bochert to make it 3-1 Whalers.  Bochert would ice the game away with a back door tap in at 14:48 from Lainesse and Gerson to make it 4-1.  JT Ketzenberger would handle the rest in net, stopping 24 of 25 shots for his 1st win of the season in goal.  The Whalers outshot Carolina 37-25.  Hampton Roads finished 0 for 4 on the PP, the Eagles went 1 for 4.

The Whalers USP3 team continues to nip at the heels of Daytona and the Florida Eels for the top spot in the division.  After a weekend split with the Carolina Eagles, the Whalers will look to next weekends showcase for a chance to catch the Racers and Eels.

On Friday night, the Whalers were done in by a slow start.  Despite outshooting the Eagles 37-26 in the game, the Whalers feel behind 4-1 after 20 minutes of play and were unable to recover.  Gary Eastlack scored the Whalers lone goal of the 1st period from Peyton Midgette and Dustin White to cut the lead to 2-1 at the time, but the Eagles netted 2 more goals before the end of the frame.  In the 2nd period, the Whalers played with purpose, peppering the net with 18 shots, but were unable to beat Carolina goalie Matt Forsland.  In the 3rd, the Whalers picked up a goal from John Moncovich from Brandon Osmundson, but the Eagles connected on two odd man rushes to take the 6-2 win.  Zach Alvarado took the loss in goal with 4 saves on 8 shots in the 1st period.  Trevor Hawkes allowed two goals in relief, making 16 saves.  The Whalers finished 0 for 3 on the PP, the Eagles went 1 for 5.

On Saturday night the Whalers answered the call, playing a much more fast and physical game than the night before.  The two teams would skate 0-0 after 20 minutes of play with the shots at 7-7.  The 2nd period would prove to be the difference maker in the game.  Billy Purdue connected on his 1st career junior goal to make it 1-0 Whalers, as his point shot slipped in behind Eagles goalie Brandon Brown.  John Moncovich and Brandon Osmundson provided the assists.  Then Moncovich capitalized on an Eagles turnover, sniping one top shelf unassisted for a 2-0 lead.  With just 12 seconds left in the frame, Gary Eastlack would notch his 4th of the season to extend the lead to 3-0 after 40 minutes with Dustin White and Peyton Midgette picking up the assists.  The Eagles made a push in the 3rd period, as the Whalers were on their heels, but Trevor Hawkes stopped all 14 shots in the period, and 26 for the game to preserve his 1st career junior win and shutout 3-0.  The Whalers went 0 for 1 while the Eagles were 0 for 3 on the PP.

The Whalers are in the midst of 6 games in 10 days.  After a set with the Carolina Eagles this past weekend, the Whalers will have 4 days to prepare for the USPHL South Hampton Roads Whalers Showcase at their home rink, the Chilled Ponds in Chesapeake, VA.  Both teams will play 4 games over 4 days, starting Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Juniors.  The showcase weekend will feature 22 USPHL Elite & USP3 teams competing in 44 games over the 4 day showcase.

Whalers Schedule

Thursday Oct 1st

USP3 vs Tampa Bay Juniors 5pm

Elite vs, Tampa Bay Juniors 7pm

Friday Oct 2nd

USP3 vs. Florida Eels 1pm

Elite vs. Islanders Hockey Club 7pm

Saturday Oct 3rd

USP3 vs. Palm Beach Hawks 5:30pm

Elite vs. Florida Eels 7:30pm

Sunday Oct 4th

USP3 vs. Atlanta Knights 1:30pm

Elite vs. Atlanta Knights 3:30pm