Photo credit: @paulspicsnj

Last week the Huntsmen EHL Team had a big test against the New Jersey Bears. The Bears are 1st in the South Division and 5th overall in the league. The Premier Team faced the Philadelphia Little Flyers and the Union Jr. Thunder looking to gain ground in the division.

EHL vs Bears (Wed)

Ryan Arendes continued his stellar season scoring his 23rd goal of the year. Enzo Giuliani entered the offensive zone and dropped it back to Arendes and he fired a shot from the faceoff circle for the 1-0 lead. The Bears tied the game at the 15:11 mark of the period. In the 2nd period two early goals that were scored a minute apart from each other gave New Jersey a 3-1 lead through 40 minutes. In the 3rd, the Bears were called for a double minor for high sticking and that ignited the Huntsmen comeback. Eddie Mirigliano scored on the sharp angle and went top shelf for the power play goal making it 3-2. Guiliani credited with his 2nd assist of the game. Pennsylvania remained on the power play and Trevor Rissor found John Manzi alone on the backdoor and Manzi tied the game with his 7th of the season. Mirigliano gave the Huntsmen a 4-3 lead.  He took the puck at the PA blue line and proceeded to fly through the neutral zone and then beat the defense to the net, scoring his 2nd of the game and 14th of the season. The three goals by the Huntsmen were scored less than four minutes apart. In the final minute, the Bears tied the game 4-4. Both teams had chances in overtime, but the game was decided in a shootout. Mirigliano and Xavier Tremblay scored for the Huntsmen to give them a 5-4 win. Alex Illus had a big game making 41 saves for the win.

“The end of the season is coming up real quick and every day is a battle. We wanted to be physical against them (Bears). They are a skilled team, but we have to make it as difficult as possible for them. We are a good team and we are trying to send a message that we can compete with anyone.” Xavier Tremblay.

“I viewed this game as a playoff game. Every point matters from here. We have such a positive group and a hard-working group and I'm excited to see what happens next for us.” Alex Illus

“After being down we were just trying to keep it positive on the bench. We’ve been in that situation before so we just had to stick to the process and take it one goal at a time. We are getting down to the final games and these are the most fun.” John Manzi

EHL at Bears (Fri)

There was no scoring in the 1st period, but the Huntsmen were successful killing off two New Jersey power plays. In the 2nd,  Mirigliano, off a nice feed from Manzi, scored his 15th of the season giving the Huntsmen a 1-0 lead. Rissor also credited with the assist. In the opening minute of the 3rd, the Bears tied the game. New Jersey took the lead shortly after the midway point of the period. Theo Lountzis tied the game late with his 2nd goal of the year. Auge Cisar and Arendes worked the puck to Lountzis at the point. He shot through a screen to tie the game with just over two minutes left in regulation. In overtime the Huntsmen were called for high sticking putting the Bears on the power play. The penalty kill and (G) Andrew Knox were up to the task and kept New Jersey off the board. Once again, the game was decided in a shootout. This time David Cook was the hero to give the Huntsmen a 3-2 win. Knox had a solid day stopping 23 shots in goal for the win.

Premier at Little Flyers (Sat)

Vilho Lahtela scored his 1st goal since joining the Huntsmen (3rd overall) for the 1-0 lead. Johnny Reis slid the puck to the far side for Lahtela and he sent a slap shot to the back of the net. Less than a minute later the Little Flyers tied the game. In the final minute of the period, Philadelphia scored to take a 2-1 lead. In the 2nd period Shane Hill scored a power play goal, tying the game 2-2. Cullen Heintz sent the initial shot on goal and Hill was there for the rebound and his 2nd of the season. Anthony LoGiurato gave the Huntsmen the lead with another power play goal. Hill won the faceoff to Evan Mostoller at the point. Mostoller sent the puck to LoGiurato in the near side faceoff circle and he buried it for his 3rd of the year. LoGiurato wasn’t done as he scored again a few minutes later. Hill and Reis were working hard in the corner of the offensive zone. Reis sent the puck to LoGiurato and his first shot was blocked but he got his own rebound for his 2nd of the night and 4th overall. The Huntsmen had a 4-2 lead at the end of the 2nd.  Hill scored his 2nd of the game in the 3rd period and the Huntsmen took care of the rest and won 5-2. Strnad picked up the win in goal making 35 saves.

Premier vs Thunder (Sun)

The Huntsmen started off hot in the game. Evan Mostoller ripped a shot top shelf for his 5th goal of the year. Less than two minutes later Lahtela doubled the lead. Shane Hill took the puck into the zone, but it was poked away from him. Lahtela was there for the follow up chance and scored from the slot for his 4th of the season and a 2-0 lead. The Huntsmen got into penalty trouble and Union answered right back to make it 2-1. There was no scoring in the 2nd period, but the Huntsmen killed off a Thunder power play opportunity. In the 3rd Johnny Reis and Raleigh Radkowski help Cullen Heintz score his 8th of the season to give the Huntsmen some insurance. Holden Bates made 27 saves in the 3-1 win

Up Next

               EHL  

The two wins over the Bears, and Philadelphia Hockey the week before, have the Huntsmen on a four game win streak and five game point streak (4-3 OT loss at Little Flyers on Jan.18th). The Huntsmen have been playing much better coming back from break. January was a packed month with 9 games in 27 days and the Huntsmen went 6-1-2 in that span. It doesn’t get any easier this week and the Huntsmen have another tough test against the New Jersey 87s. The 87s are right behind the Bears in the South in 2nd place at 24-9-1 with 49 points, 6th overall. New Jersey is on a 4-game win streak after defeating the New York Applecore 7-2, the Connecticut Roughriders 8-1, and a sweep of the Little Flyers 7-1, 6-2. The Huntsmen and 87s haven’t gone head-to-head since November. The 87s won the first three matchups 5-2, 6-3, and 5-2. The Huntsmen won the fourth meeting 5-3. The Huntsmen currently sit in 4th place in the South at 16-14-3 with 35 points. Mirigliano earned Forward of the Month Honors for January after scoring 10 goals and adding 5 assists. Mirigliano tallied at least 1 points in all 9 games in January.

South Division Standings

** As of 2-4-25

NJB  GP 36  24-8-0-4   52pts

87s  GP 34  24-9-1  49pts

PHC  GP 36  19-14-3  41pts

PAH  GP 33  16-14-3  35pts

PLF  GP  33  13-17-1-2  29pts   

               Premier

The four point weekend for the Huntsmen has them in 4th place in the South at 13-17-1 with 27 points. The Huntsmen only have one game this weekend as they face the New Jersey Bears. The Bears are 2nd in the division with a 16-11-3-1 record for 36 points. In five meetings against the Bears this season, the Huntsmen are 3-2. Two of the wins have come in overtime. The Bears are coming off a 4-2 win against Union, and a 3-1 loss to the 87s.

South Division Standings

**As of 2-4-25

87s  GP 32  28-4  56pts

NJB  GP 31  16-11-3-1  36pts

UJT  GP 14-14-0-2  30pts

PAH  GP 31  13-17-0-1  27pts

NJR  GP 31  12-16-2-1  27pts

PLF  GP 30  5-25  10pts

By: Joe Sindoni

Staff Writer

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