There will be at least one new USPHL Premier Florida Division representative at the USPHL Nationals.

Last year, the former Charleston Colonials were one of two representatives, along with the Florida Eels. The Eels reached the Championship Game, eventually falling in a close showdown with the Charlotte Rush.

With the Colonials no longer playing, the door is open for two Florida Division teams to hit Hudson, N.H. Will the Eels make the return trip to try and push even further than in 2021? Will there be another big upset as there has been in this division the last two years? Tune in to HockeyTV to find out!

#1 Florida Eels vs. #4 Atlanta Mad Hatters 

Florida Eels: 33-8-0-3, 69 points

Atlanta: 18-24-0-1, 37 points

All Games At Tampa Bay

Game 1: Saturday, March 12, 7:30 p.m. EST

Game 2: Sunday, March 13, 4:30 p.m. EST

Game 3: Monday, March 14, Time TBD*

* = If Necessary

Team Notes

• The Eels finished the regular season with an eight-game winning streak.

• The Eels stood tall with a 7-1-0-0 season series record against Atlanta. That came on Feb. 6, when the Mad Hatters won, 3-2.

• The Eels defeated the Mad Hatters in two games in 2021 to advance to Nationals.

• The MadHatters had one more point on the road (19) than they had at home this season.

• The Eels outscored opponents by a 2:1 margin in the first, with the ratio shrinking but the differential remaining roughly the same from +28 to +27 to +31 by period. The MadHatters’ closest period was the second, where they were slightly outscored 59-56.

• The Eels outshot opponents by almost a 2:1 margin in overtimes, 26-14.

Player Notes

• The Eels’ Taurin Haddon-Harris (a Curry College commit) had the longest active goal-scoring streak coming into the playoffs, as he posted 12 goals in his final 10 games. That also tied the Rockets’ Jason Finan for the longest goal streak of the season.

• Haddon-Harris registered 20 power-play assists (fifth in the USPHL Premier) and 29 power play points (fourth).

• Haddon-Harris scored 27 points eight games against the Mad Hatters this year.

• Florida’s Easton Moore had the second-longest active assist streak at the end of the season, registering 10 assists in six games. He also has six goals for a 6-10-16 line over those six games.

• Atlanta’s Gavin Graham had 3-4-7 totals over his final four games. Ben Baker had a line of 2-3-5 in his last four games of the regular season, and Owen Larson had 1-5-6 in his last five games.

• Troy Andrews has posted 4-8-12 totals in his five games since joining the Eels from the Potomac Patriots.

• Other Eels on hot streaks include Gage Dill (21 points in 14 games), Kayde Budgell (14 points in eight games) and Colin Patterson (23 points in 10 games).

#2 Tampa Bay Juniors vs. #3 Florida Jr. Blades

Tampa Bay: 30-10-1-2, 63 points

Florida Jr. Blades: 16-20-5-1, 38 points

All Games at Tampa Bay

Game 1: Saturday, March 12, 4:30 p.m. EST

Game 2: Sunday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. EST

Game 3: Monday, March 14, Time TBD*

* = If Necessary 

Team Notes

• The Juniors defeated the Blades in six out of their eight meetings this year. The Blades swept an Oct. 15-16 weekend series.

• The Jr. Blades defeated the Juniors in a three-game series in 2019 to advance to their most recent Nationals.

• Tampa Bay finished its regular season on a 12-0-0-1 run.

• The two teams have the same basic goals for from the regular season, with the Jr. Blades scoring 187 this year to Tampa’s 186.

• The Jr. Blades are 14-0-1-0 when leading after two periods this year.

• The Juniors were never defeated in regulation this year when tied after the first or second. They were 8-0-0-0 after the first period and 6-0-1-0 when tied after two.

• Tampa Bay was one of the few teams to have a positive record (9-6-0-0) when being outshot by opponents.

Player Notes

• Connor Nelson and Beau Courneya each had 11 points in their eight games against the Jr. Blades this year. Lebanon Valley College commit Cameron Croteau had 10 points for the Jr. Blades in the matchup.

• Florida’s Brody Weitzel has 2-5-7 over his last three games, while Cole Ketola and Jared Salminen each had 2-3-5 in their last three games for the Jr. Blades.

• Croteau, Connor Crawford, Giovanni Perillo and Jerome Pegrum scored five in their last weekend series against Palm Beach. Patrick Roginski had six points (two 2-1-3 lines).

• A few of Tampa’s players are on very hot streaks, including Courneya (11-16-27) in 13 games, and Jonah Mortenson had 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in his last 13.

• Onni Taskila is on a nine-game winning streak for the Juniors, and his creasemate Blake Mons has an active 5-0-0-1 65-minute undefeated streak.

 

https://www.usphl.com/news_article/show/1214872