New Jersey Showcase Has Scouts Watching Multiple USPHL Divisions
Wayne, NJ (October 10, 2016)- The Jersey Hitmen Classic closed on Monday afternoon after an intense weekend of hockey in front of over 100 scouts to watch teams and players from the Premier, USP3HL, 18-and-under, 16-and-under, and 16U Futures divisions.
In the Premier division, the Islanders Hockey Club skated away with three wins and jumped all the way up to a tie for second place, just one point out of the league lead. This was accomplished by way of wins over the PAL Jr. Islanders, Connecticut Jr. Rangers, and Jersey Hitmen.
Despite the loss, the Hitmen still had an excellent weekend, knocking off the Springfield Pics on Friday and the Junior Bruins on Sunday.
The Syracuse Stars enjoyed a superb five-point weekend. After falling to the Junior Bruins in overtime on Friday, the team reeled off an overtime win over Springfield on Saturday and closed out with a win over the South Shore Kings on Sunday.
In their other action, Springfield picked up a win over the Philadelphia Flyers to close out the weekend.
Prior to the game against Springfield, the Flyers defeated South Shore to open their weekend but fell to the Okanagan Eagles in a shootout on Saturday.
The Rangers kept pace in the division with wins over Okanagan and Junior Bruins.
PAL notched a win over Okanagan on Friday but fell to South Shore on Saturday.
In USP3HL Division action, the two in-state teams, the Jersey Hitmen and Jersey Shore Whalers, had huge weekends. Jersey Shore a win over the Junior Bruins and three wins over the Springfield Pics. Their only blemish on the weekend was a loss on Monday to the Hitmen, who also knocked off the Pics and took both of their games against the Bruins.
The Bruins also recorded a win over the Pics on Sunday.
In the 18U Division, the Junior Bruins made the biggest statement. Entering the weekend with a 1-2 record, the Bruins shot up the standings by going 4-0 in New Jersey. The team started off with a win over the New Jersey Rockets on Friday. On Saturday, the Bruins handed the Skipjacks Hockey Club their first loss of the season and capped off the weekend with wins over the Connecticut Jr. Rangers and Jersey Shore Whalers on Sunday.
Despite the loss to the Bruins, the Skipjacks continued their torrid start, picking up wins over the PAL Jr. Islanders and Islanders Hockey Club on Sunday and knocking off Jersey Shore on Monday.
The Hitmen also finished the weekend undefeated, starting off with a win over the Rangers on Thursday. The team survived a scare on Saturday, edging PAL 3-2, and finished by downing the Islanders Hockey Club on Monday.
The Islanders Hockey Club also registered a win over Jersey Shore on Sunday.
The 16U Division saw the Jersey Hitmen take advantage of the home-ice and end the weekend with a perfect record. After putting away the Connecticut Jr. Rangers on Thursday, the hosts skated away with victories over the Islanders Hockey Club on Sunday and the PAL Jr. Islanders on Monday to close out the tournament.
In their only other action in New Jersey, the Rangers downed the New Jersey Rockets on Sunday.
The Skipjacks Hockey Club posted a 3-1 record, starting with a win on Saturday over the Jersey Shore Whalers. The team fell to PAL in the early game on Sunday, but regrouped for a win over the Rockets in the late game before ending on a high note by beating the Islanders Hockey Club on Monday.
The Islanders Hockey Club came away with two points, thanks to a 3-2 win over Jersey Shore on Sunday.
The 16U Futures Division saw the New Jersey Rockets pick up seven of eight possible points. After beginning the showcase with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Hitmen on Friday, the Rockets knocked off the Jersey Shore Whalers on Saturday before beating the Hampton Roads Whalers and Connecticut Jr. Rangers on Sunday.
The Hitmen bowed to the Rangers on Saturday but picked up shutout wins over the New York Aviators on Sunday and PAL Jr. Islanders on Monday.
Jersey Shore left after wins over the Rangers, PAL, and Aviators.
The Rangers finished on a high note, knocking off Hampton Roads on Monday.
Hampton Roads earned four points over the weekend thanks to wins over PAL and the Aviators, while PAL earned a win over the Aviators on Friday.
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