USPHL Elite: Southeast Showcase Weekend Recap | 09/27-09/30

On Monday, Sept. 30, the 2024 United States Premier Hockey League Southeast Showcase came to a close as 38 games between the USPHL Elite and Premier Divisions were played. The weekend was a huge success, despite some setbacks from teams not being able to make the trip due to hurricane Helene, causing many schedule changes 24 hours before the first puck drop on the weekend.

Weekend Scores

September 27

Hampton Roads Whalers (2) vs. Florida Jr. Blades (1) Final

• The hosts, Hampton Roads, opened the weekend with a big win in a tightly-contested game. Through two periods of play, the teams were knotted at one goal a piece. Blake Marvici (HRW) and Liam White (FJB) were the goalscorers. In dramatic fashion, the Whalers came away with the win as Keegan McArthur broke the hearts of the Junior Blades with the game-winning goal with just 2.9 seconds to go in the game.
• Taryk Filipuzzi had a hand in both goals, collecting his first two assists of the season.
• Zsigmond Megyeri was great in net for the Junior Blades as he stopped 24 shots in the loss.
• Janic Kennedy picked up his third win on the season as he made 26 saves to help his team secure the win.
• The Whalers moved to 4-1-0-0 on the season with the win and the Junior Blades dropped to 1-2-0-0.

Potomac Patriots (0) vs. Atlanta Mad Hatters (3) Final

• After a scoreless first period that was controlled mostly by the Mad Hatters, they broke through 9:15 into the second period as Joseph Walter picked up the eventual game-winning goal on the powerplay in a 3-0 win for Atlanta. Marek Klos and Jesse Zonana tallied the second and third goals as all three collected their first goals of the season in the win.
• After an 0-3 start, Zen Janik picked up his first win on the season, with a 23-save shutout performance. It was his first shutout of his junior career, having played for the Columbia Infantry Elite last season.
• In the loss, Trevor Walmsley made 24 saves on 27 shots.
• The Mad Hatters moved to 1-3-0-1 on the season with the Patriots falling to 1-3-0-1.

Tampa Bay Juniors (0) vs. Carolina Jr. Hurricanes (2) Final

• The Jr. Canes opened their weekend with a 2-0 shutout win over Tampa Bay. The last second of the first and third period just about summed up the game. Just when it was believed the first period was going to end scoreless, Cooper Thomas did not let that happen as he put the Jr. Canes in front with .2 seconds to go in the first for his first goal of the season. Stellar goaltending kept the game at 1-0 until an empty-net goal with 1 second to go in the game by Zachary Rich for his second of the season, put a wrap on an already secured win.
• Despite losing, Tampa Bay controlled most of the game, tallying a 29-16 shot advantage for the game.
• Dom Walton picked up the tough loss for Tampa Bay, stopping 14 of 15 shots.
• Anthony Trantas stole the show, stopping all 29 shots for his second win of the season.
• The Jr. Canes improved to 2-1-0-0 on the season while Tampa Bay fell to 2-1-0-0.

Atlanta Mad Hatters (0) vs. Tampa Bay Juniors (3) Final

• Hours after losing their first game of the weekend, Tampa Bay looked to change their luck around and continue their dominating performance from the previous game. They did so successfully as they came away with a 3-0 shutout win over Atlanta. With two goals and an assist, Kelan Jamison was the hero for Tampa Bay. He opened the scoring just two minutes into the first period. 20 seconds later, Max Ratliff found the insurance goal to give them a 2-0 lead. The next goal came at 14:13 of the third period as Jamison notched his second goal of the game on the powerplay.
• In what seemed to be an easy night, Shane Passaro picked up his second shutout win to move to 2-0 on the season.
• Despite taking the loss in his first start of the season, Devin Diller stood on his head, stopping 38 saves on 41 shots.
• Tampa Bay moved to 3-1-0-0 on their season while Atlanta fell to 1-5-0-0.

Carolina Junior Hurricanes (5) vs. Florida Junior Blades (1) Final

• A four-goal first period put the game to bed as the Jr. Canes ran away with the win over the Jr. Blades by a 5-1 final. Gregory Harter got the scoring started at 4:40 of the first period, and Liam Geyer got, what would be, the game-winning goal exactly three minutes later. Morgan Kaminski hopped in on the fun as he tallied the Jr. Canes third goal just under two minutes later. Kestler Stadler tallied the fourth goal at 14:35 of the first. Zachary Rich finished off the scoring for the Jr. Canes at 15:51 of the second period. Caleb Rae scored the lone Jr. Blades goal in the dying minutes at 15:07 of the third period.
• Rich had himself a night, tallying one goal and two assists.
• Christopher Zwirblia tallied two assists of his own.
• Nikoli Dunne picked up the loss in net for the Jr. Blades, allowing four goals on 11 shots. Blake Moore came on in relief, stopping 18 shots.
• Owen Nasholds picked up his first win of the season, stopping 33 shots that came his way.
• The Jr. Canes moved to 3-1-0-0 on the season with the Jr. Blades falling to 1-3-0-0.

September 28

Florida Jr. Blades (4) vs. Charlotte Rush (3) Final

• A resilient Jr. Blades team had the shock of the weekend. They were completely outplayed by the Rush, with the shots being 51-15 by the end of the game, but came away with a 4-3 win with under 30 seconds to go in the third. Vincent Faggioli-Delong opened the scoring and went on to have a two-point morning. A three-goal first period by the Rush had many wondering if the Jr. Blades would be able to climb back in. Cooper Christensen brought the Jr. Blades to within one, but the hero of the game was Caleb Rae, who tallied the game-tying and game-winning goals to go the Blades the win. He had a two-goal and one-assist morning.
• Blake Moore was between the pipes for the Jr. Blades and was the only reason the game stayed within reach. He made 48 saves.
• Nicholas Grosso had a terrible performance in the loss as he allowed four goals on 15 shots.
• Charlotte fell to 3-2-0-0 with the loss while Florida moved to 2-3-0-0.

Hampton Roads Whalers (7) vs. Atlanta Mad Hatters (1) Finals

• In their most dominating performance of the weekend that saw them have three five-minute major powerplays, the Whalers waltzed away with a 7-1 win over the Mad Hatters. Landon Cordova had himself a morning as he tallied three goals in the span of three minutes and 55 seconds. All his goals came on the same five-minute powerplay in the second period.
• Griffin Erickson picked up the game-tying and game-winning goals, both of which came on the powerplay.
• Taryk Filipuzzi also had himself a solid game, tallying two goals and an assist.
• Zachary Alberico was an assist machine, picking up four assists in the win.
• The Whalers powerplay was lethal to say the least, going 5-for-4 (yes, that is right). With the five-minute majors, they were able to capitalize plenty.
• Janic Kennedy picked up his fourth win of the season, moving to 4-0.
• Ryan Tolbert was the only positive for the Mad Hatters. Despite giving up seven goals due to his defense being nowhere to be seen, he still made 35 saves.
• Hampton Roads improved to 5-1-0-0 while Atlanta dropped its sixth game of the season.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights (2) vs. Tampa Bay Juniors (1) Final OT

• The meeting between the Knights and Juniors was a thrilling one from start to finish, despite the shot differential through the periods. After a scoreless first period, Tampa Bay opened the scoring as Max Ratliff notched his second goal of the season at 2:48. At 7:25, Timofei Korober notched his first goal of the season to tie the game at one. Neither team were able to find the GWG, the game went to a five-minute overtime where Ilya Baldin was the hero for the Knights at 4:18.
• Marcus Benzrihem took the overtime loss as he stopped 18 shots.
• Roberts Kravalis secured the win, stopping 27 shots in the contest.
• The Knights moved to 2-0-0-0 on their season.
• Tampa Bay dropped to 3-1-1-0, but still came away with a big point early in the season.

Charlotte Rush (4) vs. Bold City Battalion (1) Final

• In their first game of the showcase, the Battalion had a big task at hand as they faced a powerhouse of a team in the Rush. The Rush had a stranglehold on this game early as Darren Freeman struck twice in the first period for his fourth and fifth goals of the season. The Battalion were able to get within one off a goal by Brody Szostak at 6:28 of the second period, but the Rush proved to be too much for them as Mark Tagg would tack on to the Rush lead in the second, and Aiboluly Temirlan added a fourth goal for the Rush in the third to end the game 4-1.
• Cale Puzey had a slow afternoon in net as he faced 11 shots, stopping 10 of them.
• Kael Woolverton stood tall as he faced 39 shots in the game, but stopped 35 of those.
• The Rush improved to a 4-2-0-0 record.
• The Battalion fell to 1-2-0-0.

Bold City Battalion (0) vs. Carolina Junior Hurricanes (4) Final

• In their third game of the weekend, the Jr. Canes came away with a 4-0 win over the Battalion. Jack Ray notched his first goal of the season at 14:40 of the first period. Kester Stadler picked up a couple of goals in the second period for his third and fourth goals of the season, while Keoni Bolte recorded the Jr. Canes fourth goal in the third period.
• Stadler had a solid game as he recorded an assist on the fourth goal to secure himself a three-point night.
• Jack Horst picked up the loss in his first start this season.
• Owen Nasholds picked up his second win and first shutout of the season.
• The Jr. Canes improved their record to 4-1-0-0.
• The Battalion’s struggling season continued, as they fell to 1-3-0-0.

Atlanta Mad Hatters (2) vs. Potomac Patriots (5) Final

• In the second meeting of the showcase between the Patriots and Mad Hatters, the Patriots took game two by a 5-2 final for their first win of the showcase. Braylen Cox picked up the opening goal of the game just 52 seconds in. Owen Wilkinson extended the Patriots’ lead to 2-0 at 2:08 of the first period. At 11:19 of the first, the Made Hatters closed the deficit to one as Joey Bledsoe picked up his third goal of the season. No scoring would come in the second, but the Patriots struck early in the third to regain their two-goal lead just 43 seconds into the period thanks to Kjolby Meslo. At 11:23, Atlanta closed the gap again as Nikalas Freeman tallied his first goal of the season. Kayden Suy would give the Patriots a two-goal lead once again at 12:01 of the third. Cox picked up his second goal of the night at 15:39 to put the game to bed.
• On top of his two-goal night, Cox picked up the secondary assist on Meslo’s early third-period goal.
• Zen Janik was unable to repeat his performance from his last meeting with the Patriots as he made 22 saves in the loss.
• Liam Kelly picked up the win in net, stopping 23 shots.
• Atlanta dropped to 1-7-0-0 on its season as Potomac moved to 2-3-0-1.

September 29

Tampa Bay Juniors (2) vs. Charlotte Rush (1) Final SO

• From start to finish, Tampa Bay and Charlotte played a tight-knit game with little mistakes being made from either side. The Rush opened the scoring with just 59 seconds to go in the first period as Viktor Pettersson would get the goal. The Rush held the lead all the way through, until the final 45 seconds of the game when Paul Johnson knotted things up at one goal a piece. Neither team could find the back of the net in overtime, and to a shootout the game went.
• Kelan Jamison collected the shootout winner in the fourth round, and Tampa Bay would win the shootout 3-2, and the game 2-1.
• Not seeing as much action as the Tampa netminder, Cale Puzey was still excellent for the Rush as he stopped 23 shots in the loss.
• Shane Passaro was spectacular to keep his team in it all game long, making 35 saves and stopping 2 of the 4 shooters.
• The Rush dropped to 4-2-0-1 on the season, while the Juniors moved to 4-1-1-0.

Carolina Junior Hurricanes (1) vs. Hampton Roads Whalers (4) Final

• The first of nine meetings between the Whalers and Jr. Canes was a great preview of what is to come this season. After a scoreless first period, the Whalers popped off in the second, putting up three goals. Dylan Sedlak got things started at 1:43. Less than two minutes later, Taryk Filipuzzi collected his fourth goal of the year to give the Whalers a 2-0 lead. At 8:09, Preston Michels notched his third goal of the season as he used his speed to give himself a breakaway, slipping the puck under the pad of the Jr. Canes netminder. In the third period, Griffin Erickson tallied his fourth goal of the season to give the Whalers a 4-0 lead. They were on their way to securing their second shutout win of the season, but costly penalties with under two minutes to go in the game put them down 5-on-3. At 15:36, Gregory Harter recorded the Jr. Canes only goal of the game, putting an end to the well-earned shutout of Nick Kremnister.
• Filipuzzi and Erickson both recorded one goal and one assist mornings in the win.
• Kremnister picked up win number two on the season with 28 saves.
• Anthony Trantas picked up the loss, making 16 saves.
• The Whalers moved to 6-1-0-0 on their season.
• The Jr. Canes dropped to 4-2-0-0.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights (4) vs. Potomac Patriots (2) Final

• The Knights continued their perfect start to the season with a 4-2 win over the Patriots. Braylen Cox notched his eighth goal of the season to get the scoring started for the Patriots. Just over two minutes later, Kirill Serebryakov tied the game for the Knights. With 14 seconds to go in the period, Tiomfei Korober took the lead for the Knights. On a powerplay goal in the second period, the Knights extended their lead to two thanks to Artem Zharikov. Krober notched his second goal of the game, this time shorthanded, at 6:24 of the third period to give the Knights a 4-1 lead. A consolation goal at 14:20 of the third period from the Patriots’ Brady Kirchner brought them game to 4-2
• Korber had a two goal and one assist performance in the win.
• Trevor Walmsley picked up the loss as he made 28 saves.
• Anthony Shaw had a lackluster performance, making just 12 saves.
• The Patriots dropped to 2-4-0-1 while the Knights improved to 3-0-0-0.

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights (7) vs. Florida Junior Blades (1) Final

• The Knights controlled play the entire game in their 7-1 win over the Jr. Blades in their third game of the showcase. An explosion of offense in the first period saw Timofei Korober (4), Ilya Baldin (3), and Kirill Serebryakov (2) give the Knights a 3-0 lead heading into the second period. Jaron Prokopetz (1) tallied the Jr. Blades only goal in the game. Korober (5) picked up his second of the game in the second period. Serebryakov (4) finished off the hat trick in the third period while Wyatt Stasik (2) joined in on the goal scoring.
• Stasik had a three-point night with one goal and two assists.
• Baldin had himself a four-point night with one goal and three assists.
• Artem Zharikov had a four-assist performance.
• Zsigmond Megyeri picked up the loss, making 29 saves. Nikoli Dunne came on in relief late in the third period, giving up one goal on five shots.
• Antoni Gauvin picked up the win in net, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced.\
• The Jr. Blades dropped to 2-4-0-0 while the Knights improved to 4-0-0-0.

Bold City Battalion (0) vs. Potomac Patriots (5) Final

• From start to finish, it was all Potomac in the game as they waltzed away with a 5-0 win to close out their showcase weekend. It did not come without a ton of penalties as the game saw 86 penalty minutes between the two clubs, 57 of them in the final 2:14 of the game. Joseph Kenneally got the scoring started, followed by Nikolai Shevchenko in the first period. The Patriots ran away with the game, scoring the other three in the second period. The first came from Adriel Bonilla for his first of the season. 10 seconds later, Braylen Cox notched his ninth of the season. At 12:24, Robert Dwyer tacked on a fifth for the Patriots.
• Carson Phillips took the loss for Bold City as he allowed four goals on 17 shots. Kael Woolverton allowed one on 18 shots he saw the rest of the way.
• Liam Kelly was perfect in net, stopping all 15 shots he saw.
• Bold City fell to 1-4-0-0 through the first five games. Potomac improved to 3-4-0-1 through it’s first eight games.

September 30

Hampton Roads Whalers (2) vs. Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights (4) Final

• To end the showcase, the Whalers came away with a hard-fought loss to the Knights in which the ref dictated the game. A missed cross check on the Knights lead to Taryk Filipuzzi being called for unsportsmanlike, giving the Knight a powerplay. Jake Kanzinger capitalized on the powerplay for his first goal of the season. Early in the second period, the Whalers tied the game as Dylan Sedlak notched his second goal of the season. Once again on the powerplay, the Knights took the lead thanks to Zans Mednis’ first goal of the season. On an early powerplay in the third period, the Knights extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to Kanzinger’s second of the games. Blake Marvici would score on the powerplay for the Whalers to bring them within one. With 26 seconds to go, Yaroslav Chelbayevsky notched his first of the season with an empty-net goal to win in 4-2.
• Janic Kennedy picked up the loss, making 22 saves.
• Roberts Kravalis picked up the winning, stopping 9 of 11 shots.
• The Whalers fell to a 6-2-0-0 record through three weekends of hockey, while the Knights improved to 5-0-0-0.

Charlotte Rush (5) vs. Bold City Battalion (1) Final

• In their second meeting of the weekend in the final game for the Elite side of the Southeast Showcase, the Rush held complete control of the game as they walked away with a 5-1 win, outshooting the Battalion 50-21. Mark Tagg opened the scoring at 12:10 of the first period. The Rush would go up 3-0 early in the second as Gavin Mulcahy and Aiboluly Temirlan both picked up their third goals of the season. Brody Szostak was the lone scorer for the Battalion as he tallied a powerplay goal at 7:02 of the second period. Mulcahy picked up his second of the period to make it 4-1. Ashton Lesher capped off the scoring in the third period with his first of the season.
• Cooper White was outstanding, stopping 45 of the 50 shots he faced in net for the Battalion.
• Nicholas Grosso picked up the win, making 20 saves.
• Bold City fell to 1-5-0-0 on their season, while the Rush moved to 5-2-0-1.