The Whalers knew they were in for a dog fight this weekend against the high octane offense of the 2nd place Charlotte Rush.  The Whalers shut the Rush down and a late goal propelled the Whalers to a clutch 2-1 win.

Matthieu Doucet scored mid-way through the 2nd period to give the Whalers a 1-0 lead and captain Gary Eastlack tallied the game winner with 3:15 to play in the game.  Cody Wilson tallied 2 assists, Jonah Lainesse and Caelan Bolanowski each had 1.  Veteran net minder Everett Yasinski notched his 4th win in a row in net with 33 saves.

Charlotte held a 34-32 shot on goal advantage.  The Whalers went 1 for 4 on the man advantage while the Whalers held the league’s top ranked Rush power play to 0 for 2.

Nothing went right for the 22-1-1 Whalers Saturday night with a lethargic effort against a much more determined Charlotte Rush squad, dropping a 5-3 decision.

John Horn, John Moncovich, and Nick Richards scored goals for the Whalers.  Roman Gaudet had 2 assists, John Moncovich had 1.  Sean Dickson suffered his 1st loss of the season in net with 26 saves.

Charlotte held a 31-25 shot on goal advantage, one of the rare times the Whalers have been outshot this season.  Hampton Roads went 0 for 2 on the power play, Charlotte was 0 for 3.

Brandon Osmundson was ejected for the Whalers.  

Sundays re-match with Charlotte followed much of the same script for the USP3 team.  The two teams played neck and neck all game before the Whalers scored late to pull out the 3-2 win and the weekend sweep.

Ryan Lorenz and Mathieu Doucet scored in the opening period and co-captain Max Loga notched the game winner with just 1:03 left on the clock.  Cody Wilson tallied his 2nd straight 2 assist game while Nolan Cavanagh, Gary Eastlack, Ryan Lorenz, and Matthieu Doucet each tallied 1 assist.  Newly acquired net minder Steve McGuire scored his 1st win in net as a Whaler with 33 saves.

Charlotte held a 35-22 shot on goal advantage aided by a dominant 14 shot middle period.  Hampton Roads finished 1 for 3 on the power play while the Whalers again held the strong Rush power play to 0 for 2.

If Saturday looked bad, Sunday looked even worse for the Whalers, suffering a 7-3 trampling at the hands of the Rush, marking the 1st time the Whalers Elite team has been swept in over 3 seasons. 

John Moncovich scored twice and Colton Seeman tallied once.  Brandon Osmundson had 2 assists, John Moncovich, Colton Seeman, and Brenden Zack had 1.  Sean Dickson took the loss in net, being chased after 4 goals on 30 shots, Zach Alvarado surrendered 3 goals on 9 shots in relief.

Charlotte dominated the shot department 43-21.  Hampton Roads went 0 for 1 on the power play, while the Rush went 1 for 6.

Seamus O’Kane was ejected for the Whalers.   

The Whalers will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with their families, taking 8 days off for the holiday before returning to practice in preparation for a weekend set with the Atlanta Knights December 10th and 11th at the Chilled Ponds.

Whalers USP3 (14-8-2, 30pts, 6th) vs. Atlanta Knights (16-9-1, 33pts, 5th)

Whalers Elite (22-3-1, 45pts, 2nd) vs. Atlanta Knights (14-12-2, 30pts, 4th)

Saturday December 10th

USP3- 10am (showcase format)

Elite- 530pm

USP3- 830pm (showcase format)

Sunday December 11th

Elite- 930am

USP3- 1230pm

Catch all the action live online on Hockey TV.

News and Notes

Elite forward Brandon Osmundson has been recalled by the Corpus Christi Icerays of the NAHL.

Elite forward Andriy Denyskin will join the Ukrainian National team for the 2017 IIHF World Championships.

The Whalers acquired 1998 goaltender Steve McGuire from the Forest Lake Lakers.

USP3 captain Gary Eastlack scored his 5th game winning goal of the season Saturday night, pulling him into 2nd in the league in GWG.

League Leaders- Elite forward John Moncovich's 26 goals are the most in the USPHL Elite division, while Brandon Osmundson's 33 assists rank him 1st.