Last weekend the Huntsmen had another two games against Mid Atlantic Division Rivals. Saturday, they ended their seven game road stand vs the Philadelphia Little Flyers, and on Sunday they finally returned home to take on the New Jersey Renegades.

Saturday vs Little Flyers 

The Huntsmen got off to a fast start with an early power play opportunity. Gilmore setup the chance and Ryan Arendes was there for the rebound goal for the 1-0 lead. Shortly after the goal, the Huntsmen were shorthanded after a 5-minute major was called against them. PA was aggressive on the penalty kill, and Ben Watson knocked down a clearing attempt from the Little Flyers. Watson took a shot in front of the net (G) Giuliano made the save and Arendes was there for the shorthanded goal and his second of the game making it 2-0. Penalties continued to stack up on the Huntsmen and the Little Flyers would have a long 5 on 3 power play. Philadelphia would cash in on a rebound chance left by (G) Jones to cut the deficit 2-1. About a minute later, Wilson would win the race to a loose puck, crash the net and at the final moment send a pass across to a wide-open Jacob Chow for the tap in goal giving PA a 3-1 lead. Penalties was the theme of the 1st period, but now it was the Huntsmen’s turn for a powerplay chance. Arendes had the initial shot, and Ben Watson with a great effort falling to the ice scores the goal to increase the lead 4-1. Philadelphia would quickly respond to end a wild period at 4-2. There was barely any 5 on 5 hockey in the 1st period, and right before it ended the Little Flyers would be called for back-to-back penalties that would carryover to the 2nd period. Carpenter would setup Arendes as he would blastoff for the hat trick goal on the powerplay and make it 5-2. The rout was on. Justin Kratz would add on, and Arendes would add his fourth goal in the game, while Danill Diukin capped off the scoring and the Huntsmen were dominating 8-2. Things would settle down in the 3rd, no scoring in the period as PA would take home an 8-2 victory over Philadelphia.

Sunday vs Renegades

The Renegades would strike first, fighting a chance past (G) Baradgie for the 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, Ben Watson would tie the game 1-1 with help from Gilmore. In the 2nd period, the Huntsmen would run away with the game. Goals by Daniil Diukin, Chase Canestra, and a PPG by Conlan Carpenter had Pennsylvania up 4-1 after 40 minutes. In the 3rd period, Diukin would add his second of the game on the powerplay. PA stayed hot as Arendes would score on a redirection chance about a minute and a half later. The final goal came late as the Huntsmen would be shorthanded. Gilmore forced a turnover near the renegades blueline, and Jaeger Daniels ripped a shot top shelf and the Huntsmen cruised to a 7-1 win.

“We didn't start the game off right, but coach put us in the right mindset. We were able to turn it around and work hard starting in the second period.” Draves

“Everything is clicking for us right now. We have a great bunch of guys, and great attitude.” Gilmore

October was a great month for the Huntsmen. They finished the month on a 5-game win streak and overall went 9-1-1. A couple of new additions have been paying off and contributing to the team’s success. Daniil Diukin and Jaeger Daniels have fit nicely, and the Huntsmen keep on rolling. “Both Daniil and Jaeger are big strong players. Daniil is extremely fast, so is Jaeger and he has a wicked shot. Daniil is a solid defenseman and knows what to do with the puck and communicates well. They are both really helping out the team,” says Captain Cody Draves 

“I grew up in this area and started playing hockey right here. I have a lot of pride playing in this organization. They have a professional style culture, and I feel like as a player who wants to play NCAA hockey this was the perfect steppingstone in my career.” Jaeger Daniels

“I like this team so far. I like how we are practicing; we practice hard. I talked with coach (Kilroy) and Zach (Overholtzer GM), and they’ve helped me out a lot, they are good guys. The locker room atmosphere is very good.” Diukin

It has been said repeatedly, the locker room is strong. It’s basically the subject every week. The Huntsmen are putting up great numbers on game day, but it is happening because of the bond the players are forming. The players have already formed a brotherhood and they’ve only played 15 games this season. That is incredible considering this is a brand-new organization at the junior level.

“I think we have a lot of good players on this team with a lot of skill. The depth we have throughout our lines is great. They want to be where they are, and want to succeed, and the will to win is very good throughout this team.” Arendes

“We have good leadership in the locker room, and players are taking leadership roles not just the captains. A lot of hard work has been done by the staff to put us in the right mindset and we just keep rolling.” Cody Draves

 It’s not easy to break into an established league with players who have never played at the junior level, or a coach who never coached juniors. The benefit is seeing the success on the ice, but the work behind the scenes is just as important and as an organization, the Huntsmen are doing it right.

Up Next

A light weekend coming up for the Huntsmen as they only have one game. They will be back on home ice hosting the Union Jr. Thunder. The Thunder are 3-9 on the season, but they come into Exton having won 3 of their last 4 games. Union’s win streak was snapped last Sunday in a 4-1 loss to the Connecticut Chiefs. This will be the third meeting against the Thunder. The Huntsmen won the previous matchups 7-1 and 4-0. Pennsylvania will be looking to extend their win streak to 6 and add to their lead in the Mid Atlantic Division Standings.

Schedule

Saturday vs Union Jr. Thunder           6:15pm

Standings

PAH     11-3-1              23pts

87s      8-2-3                19pts

UJT      3-9                   6pts

PLF       2-9-1                5pts

NJR      1-10-2              4pts

 By: Joe Sindoni

Play by Play Announcer

Staff Writer