The Hampton Roads Whalers and Richmond Generals finished off 4 straight games against one another this past weekend in Richmond, wrapping up a heated I-64 rivalry season series that was tilted heavily in the favor of I-64 East and the boys in Blue and Green.  The Whalers finished the season with a combined record of 13-1-2 over the Generals organization this season, claiming 28 of a possible 32 points in the standings.  The USP3 team swept the weekend, winning the season series 6-1-1, while the Elite squad picked up 3 points, with a win on Saturday and an OT loss on Sunday, winning the season series 7-0-1.

The Whalers came into the weekend looking to clinch home ice in round 1, and came away with 2 big wins to finish off a 3-0 week for the Whalers.  After a sloppy 1st period, the Whalers settled in, especially on the defensive end, and dominated the Generals to a 3-1 win, losing the shutout with just over 30 seconds left.

Austin Boyle, John Moncovich, and Brandon Osmundson each tallied a goal.  Alex Ouellet and John Moncovich tallied single assists, while Osmundson and Boyle each had 2 helpers.  Zach Alvarado continued his strong play in goal with 24 saves and the win.

The Whalers outshot Richmond 30-25.  The Whalers went 0 for 6 on the PP, the Generals went 0 for 5.

Saturday night the Generals 1-1-3 defense bottled up the high powered Whalers offense for 40 minutes, as the Generals lead 2-0 after 40.  The beast awoke in the 3rd period, as the Whalers rattled off 3 straight goals to snatch victory away from the home team on pro hockey appreciation night at Skate Nation.

Kyle Perkowski tallied 2 goals and Radek Sawicki buried the winner with only 1:27 left to play.  Domenic Moore had 2 assists, Kyle Perkowski and Radek Sawicki each had 1.  JT Ketzenberger picked up the win in goal with 13 saves.

The Whalers held a 30-15 shot on goal advantage.  Richmond finished 0 for 3 on the PP, the Whalers were 1 for 5.

On Sunday the Whalers offense produced 2 goals on 10 shots through 40 minutes, but woke up in the final frame, scoring 3 times on 13 shots en route to a 5-2 win and weekend sweep.

Austin Boyle, Phoenix Dreer, Brandon Osmundson, Peyton Midgette, and Caelan Bolanowski each scored for the Whalers.  Alex Ouellet and John Moncovich each had 2 assists, Jared Gale, Peyton Midgette, Cody Wilson, Billy Purdue, and Caelan Bolanowski each had 1.  Zach Alvarado had 33 saves in goal for the win.

The Whalers were out shot 35-23.  Neither team found the net on the PP.  The two teams combined for 154 penalty minutes.  For the Whalers, Phoenix Dreer, Jared Gale, Alex Ouellet, and Jaymen Swygert were ejected.  For Richmond, Alex Olschewske, Reed Wisnewski, Chandler Dorbin, Austin Petrie, and Cohen Macpherson were ejected.

On Sunday, two familiar trends stuck out for the Whalers Elite squad.  One, the ability to strike fast and strike often on offense, and two, their inability to kill a penalty, as Richmond went 5 for 5 on the powerplay.  The Whalers once again rallied from a 2-0 deficit to take leads of 3-2 and 5-4, but a late PPG forced OT and the Generals took advantage, winning their first game of the season over the Whalers just 12 seconds into the OT period.

Henry Hearon, Domenic Moore, Luke VanSchaack, Radek Sawicki, and Kyle Perkowski all scored for the Whalers.  Sawicki also had 2 assists, Brendan Zack, Jayson Dimizio, and Domenic Moore each had 1.  JT Ketzenberger suffered only his 2nd loss of the season in net with 16 saves.

The Whalers out shot the Generals 30-22.  Richmond went 5 for 5 on the PP, while the Whalers went 2 for 5.

The Whalers will wrap up the regular season this coming weekend with a 3 game set with the Potomac Patriots.  Friday night the Whalers and Patriots will play the 2nd of 2 make up games at the Chilled Ponds, then both teams will head to Woodbridge, VA for games 2 and 3 on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday 2/12

Potomac @ Hampton Roads

USP3- 4:30pm

Elite- 7:30pm

Saturday 2/13

Hampton Roads @ Potomac

Elite- 4:50pm

USP3- 7:50pm

Sunday 2/14

Hampton Roads @ Potomac

Elite- 9:10am

USP3- 11:40am 

News & Notes

The Whalers Elite team has claimed home ice advantage in rounds 1 and 2 of the USPHL Elite playoffs and will face either #8 Charlotte or #7 Potomac in Round 1.  The final 3 games will determine the Elite Southern Conference regular season champion, between the Whalers and Florida Eels.

The Whalers USP3 team has claimed home ice advantage for round 1 of the USP3 playoffs, and no worse than the 2nd seed and will face either #4 Richmond or #3 Carolina in round 1.  The Whalers need to win 1 of the 3 remaining games to clinch the USP3 Southern Conference regular season championship.  The Whalers currently sit with a .707 winning percentage, while the 2nd place Atlanta Knights finished the season with a .675.

USP3 forward John Moncovich had a big 3 game weekend, tallying 12 points on 6 goals and 6 assists.  Over his last 5 games, Moncovich has produced 16 points, including 10 goals, highlighted by a 5 goal performance Thursday vs. Potomac.  John became the 1st player in the USPHL this season to reach the 50 goal mark on Saturday night.

Likewise, Elite forward Radek Sawicki has been on his own little tear.  Over his last 5 games, Rado has tallied 13 points, including 9 assists.  His 37 assists on the season sit 2nd on the team and 6th in the USPHL.  His 57 points also rank 6th in the USPHL.

With back to back wins this weekend, USP3 all-star goalie Zach Alvarado moved into 3rd place in the USP3 in wins with 15.

With his win Saturday night, Elite goalie JT Ketzenberger sits 2nd in the USPHL Elite in wins with 16.