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Jr. Whalers: 2016 Playoff Preview- Round 2

By Whaler Nation, 02/20/17, 4:30PM EST

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#2 Whalers Elite

Coming off a trip to last season’s USPHL Elite Championship, the Whalers Elite team will look to defend their title.  The Whalers finished with a record of 37-4-3 on the season as they fought with Charlotte up until the final game of the regular season for the top spot, good enough for 77 points and the 2nd seed entering the 2017 USPHL playoffs.  The Whalers tallied 264 goals on the campaign, ranking best in both the Southern Conference at #1 in the entire 27 team Elite division.  The team surrendered 84, ranking fewest in the Southern Conference and 2nd fewest in the Elite division.  The Whalers power play has been a consistent force all season, as they finished with the 3rd best unit of the 27 teams in the league at 26.9%.  The Whalers penalty kill has also been among the league’s best, finishing 5th at 85.8%.

The Whalers offense produced 5 forwards who tallied 50 or more points, including 3 who produced 70 or more points led by Brandon Osmundson with a league leading 94 points followed by John Moncovich who notched 83 including a league leading 50 goals, and veteran Billy Brock with 77 points.  Veteran rear guards Brendon Zack and Vaden McManus paced the back end with 41 and 40 points apiece.  In goal, Sean Dickson paced both the team and the league with a record of 22-5-0 along with a 1.61 GAA, .921 save% and a league leading 8 shutouts.

The Whalers knocked out the Atlanta Knights 2 games to 1 in round 1.

#4 Florida Eels

Coming off a trip to last season’s USPHL Elite Championship game, the Florida Eels Elite team will look to avenge their loss in the title game to the Whalers.  The Eels finished with a record of 26-17-1 on the season, good enough for 53 points and the 4th seed entering the 2017 USPHL playoffs.  The Eels tallied 194 goals on the campaign, ranking 3rd best in the Southern Conference.  The team surrendered 140, ranking 4th fewest in the Southern Conference.  The Eels power play has been a consistent force all season, as they finished with the 4th best unit of the 27 teams in the league at 25.5%.  The Florida penalty kill has also been decent, finishing 11th at 82.8%.

The Eels offense produced 5 forwards who tallied 50 or more points, including 2 who produced 60 or more points led by veteran Zac Boyle with 71 points followed by Clayton Boyd who notched 61, and veteran Jordan Court with 57 points.  Defense Nicholas Magill-Diaz led the back-end with 32 points while Brian Kozek notched 19.  In goal, Nolan Greene paced the team with a record of 19-13-0 with a 3.22 GAA and .908 save% with 1 shutout.

The Eels knocked out the Tampa Bay Juniors with a 2 games to 0 sweep in round 1.

Season Series

The Whalers and Eels met only twice this season, with the Whalers sweeping the series 2-0.  The Whalers won once on home ice and once in Florida by scores of 6-0 and 3-0.  This will be a rematch of last season’s USPHL Elite Championship game.

#5 Whalers USP3

Coming off a trip to last season’s finals in Boston, the Whalers USP3 team will look to return for another shot at the title this season.  The Whalers finished with a record of 25-15-4 on the season in the hotly contested USP3 Southern Conference, good enough for 54 points and the 5th seed entering the 2017 USPHL playoffs.  The Whalers tallied 184 goals on the campaign, good enough for 5th most in the conference, while surrendering 111, ranking 5th fewest in the conference.  The Whalers power play has been a consistent force all season, as they finished with the 3rd best unit of the 27 teams in the league at 26.5%.  The Whalers penalty kill on the other hand, has been good at times, but inconsistent at others, finishing at 82.6%, ranking 13th.

The Whalers offense produced 3 forwards who tallied 50 or more points, with veteran team captain Gary Eastlack leading the charge with 63 points followed closely behind by Matthew Hanchon with 57 points and rookie Max Loga with 56.  Veteran rear guard Jonah Lainesse paced the back end with 22 points while rookie Collin Markoski finished with 21.  In goal, veteran Everett Yasinski led the team with 15 wins on the campaign with a 2.53 GAA and .915 save% and 3 shutouts.

The Whalers knocked off the #4 Richmond Generals in round one 2 games to 1.

#2 Charlotte Rush

The Rush USP3 team took a big leap in year 2, a year after finishing out of the playoffs, Charlotte put together a strong sophomore season.  Charlotte finished with a record of 35-8-1 on the season, good enough for 71 points and the 2nd seed entering the 2017 USPHL playoffs.  The Rush tallied 218 goals on the campaign, well enough for 2nd most in the conference, while surrendering 93, ranking 2nd fewest in the conference.  The Charlotte power play has been a consistent force all season, as they finished with the 5th best unit of the 27 teams in the league at 25.4%.  The Rush penalty kill was also one of the league’s best, finishing at 87.2%, ranking 4th.

The Charlotte offense produced 3 forwards who tallied 40 or more points, with veteran Mark Kishko leading the charge with 61 points followed closely behind by Chris Dunne with 47 points and rookie 2000 birth year James Gold with 42.  Rookie rear guard Jacob Yoho paced the back end with 28 points while veteran and team captain Cameron Mazikowski finished with 22.  In goal, Anthony Keating led the team with 15 wins on the campaign with a 2.32 GAA and .903 save% and 3 shutouts.

The Rush swept the #7 seed Palm Beach Hawks in round 1.

Season Series

The Whalers went 3-1-0 over the Rush this season and are 8-1-0 against the Rush in their 2 year existence.  The Whalers have a 2-0 record at home and a 1-1 record on the road.  The Whalers have wins of 2-1, 3-2, and 4-3 while dropping a 5-2 decision in the last game of the season.

USP3 Schedule

Game 1

Thursday 2/23- 1:55pm

Game 2

Friday 2/24- 1:40pm

Game 3*

Saturday 2/25- 12:10pm

Location: Extreme Ice Center

Indian Trail, NC

USP3 Match-ups

#6 Atlanta Knights at #1 Florida Jr. Blades

#5 Hampton Roads at #2 Charlotte Rush

Elite Schedule

Game 1

Friday 2/17/17- 7:30pm

Game 2

Saturday 2/18/17- 7:30pm

Game 3*

Sunday 2/19/17- 12:30pm

Location: Chilled Ponds

Chesapeake, VA

Elite Match-ups

#6 Richmond Generals at #1 Charlotte Rush

#4 Florida Eels at #2 Hampton Roads