Photo Credit: @paulspicsnj

It was a busy week filled with important points for the Huntsmen. The EHL Team had a home and home series against the Little Flyers, then faced the New Jersey 87s to end the weekend. The Premier Team matched up against the New Jersey Bears and the Little Flyers.

EHL vs Little Flyers (Wed)

It felt like the playoffs came early for the Huntsmen. This home and home series was crucial for both teams as they fight for a playoff spot in the South Division. In the final moments of the 1st period Tristan Fallon (3) beat the buzzer for the lead. The puck was dumped into the zone by PA and the Little Flyers goaltender went behind the net to play it. Fallon was strong on the forecheck and deflected the puck from the goalie and it landed in front of the net and Fallon tucked it home with less than a second remaining. Philadelphia fought back early in the 2nd and tied the game in the opening minute. Damon Warren (20) scored a power play goal giving the Huntsmen a 2-1 lead. Arendes and Tremblay with quick passes set up Warren on the doorstep. Auge Cisar (3) extended the lead for PA. Giuliani and Arendes clogged up the neutral zone while the Little Flyers were moving out of their territory. Giuliani deflected a pass and then Arendes fought through pressure and kicked the puck forward. Cisar got to the puck and fired top shelf, and it was 3-1. Late in the 2nd the Huntsmen were shorthanded. Manzi intercepted and then Fallon got to the loose puck. He skated on goal and was slashed along the way and was awarded a penalty shot. The try was no good, the Little Flyers remained on the power play and scored to make it 3-2. In the 3rd period, Devin Schaeffer (7) re-established a two-goal lead. Brett Linker and Tucker Miller credited with assists. Philadelphia continued to fight back and about four minutes later they scored to cut the deficit to 4-3. In the final minutes the Little Flyers pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. Pennsylvania handled the pressure and Warren scored on the empty net from his own blue line, his second of the day, and the Huntsmen won 5-3. Andrew Knox had a big day in net for the Huntsmen making 47 saves in the win.

Tristan Fallon on his goal to end the 1st period. “I was just on the forecheck and saw the goalie out and saw an opening. I lifted his stick and was able to wrap the puck into the net. I knew there wasn’t much time left, and I wasn’t sure if I got it or not, but saw the referee point and was happy it counted.”

EHL at Little Flyers (Thurs)

Xavier Tremblay started the scoring for the Huntsmen late in the 1st period. Eddie Mirigliano stole the puck in the corner of the offensive zone. He centered the puck to Tremblay (9) for the goal. In the 2nd period the Little Flyers scored twice, taking a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes. It the 3rd period, Devin England (10) tied the game. The Little Flyers had an offensive zone faceoff. John Manzi got control of the puck and sent it across to Damon Warren. Warren saw England breaking up ice so he elevated the puck to the neutral zone. The puck went over the Philadelphia defense and England caught up to it and scored on the breakaway tying the game 2-2. Neither team scored after that, and the game headed to overtime. Both teams had chances, but the game was decided in a shootout. The Huntsmen were kept off the board in the shootout and the Little Flyers won the game 3-2. Despite a tough loss, the Huntsmen picked up a point on the road.

“We knew that these two games meant a lot. The emphasis in practice was to come out strong and treat this series like playoffs. We wanted to be physical and play as hard as we could.” Auge Cisar

Here’s what the captain Damon Warren had to say about the series. “We had a playoff mentality coming into these two games against them (Little Flyers). You can’t get too low or too high, you have to keep it even because anything can happen. Our intensity and our compete level was high because we knew they were gonna bring it as well. There wasn’t a lot of space out there and pucks were jumping. (Referring to Thursday’s game) Thankfully I'm on the power play with a guy like Ryan Arendes because he's gonna find ya on your tape backdoor with an empty net. I couldn’t have asked for a better pass on that play, if I didn't put that in, he was gonna be mad at me.” Damon Warren

EHL vs 87s (Sunday)

After a couple of days off the Huntsmen had another big test against the New Jersey 87s. Devin England got the party started scoring his 11th goal. Less than two minutes into the game Warren’s shot was blocked, it bounced into the slot for England, and he fired away for the 1-0 lead. The 87s tied the game shortly after and then took the lead with a power play goal. Ryan Arendes continued his stellar season with his 27th goal to tie the game 2-2. Xavier Tremblay (10) reclaimed the lead for the Huntsmen. David Cook found Tremblay wide open on the far side, his initial shot was saved but sent his own rebound into the net, Theo Lountzis credited with the secondary assist. A combined 5 goals were scored less than 9 minutes into the game. The whirlwind of scoring in the 1st period was capped off by Trevor Rissor. Tristan Fallon cleared the puck out of PA territory. Rissor raced to it and the New Jersey goalie came out of the net to play the puck. Rissor got a piece of it and then was tripped by the goalie and the puck slid into the open net making it 4-2 Huntsmen to end a wild 1st period. It was his 4th goal of the year. In the 2nd period, the 87s took the momentum back. Shortly after the midway point of the period, New Jersey tied the game with two goals less than two minutes apart. Once again, Pennsylvania responded. Rissor won an offensive zone draw to Cooper Walling at the point. Walling fired through traffic, the save was made but Auge Cisar sent the rebound in for his 4th of the season and it was 5-4. Just like in the 2nd period, New Jersey scored two quick goals right after the midway point of the 3rd to take the lead. With under four minutes to go in regulation, Damon Warren tied the game 6-6. John Manzi dropped the puck off to England in the near circle. England sent a saucer pass to Warren and he deflected into the net for his 22nd of the year. The final meeting of the regular season went to overtime. The Huntsmen had chances, but it was the 87s coming away with a 7-6 win in what was one of the most thrilling games of the season.

“We all knew that this was a big game,” said Ryan Arendes. Our game plan was to keep things simple, putting the puck behind them and then go to work. It was a great atmosphere and the crowd was great. Even though we didn't win, earning a point was huge.”

“Every game in the last two weeks has felt like a playoff game,” says Devin England. Every game we gain a point in means a lot to us. We are trying to push away from one team and pass another. It was a tough game to lose but we are not gonna let it get into our heads, we have another tough series coming up and we will be ready for it.”

Premier vs Bears (Sat)

It was a dream start for the Huntsmen as Kegan Zelko scored :15 into the game. The Bears turned it over in their own zone and Zelko sent the puck to the back of the net for his 3rd of the year. Later in the period the Huntsmen had a powerplay, but the Bears tied the game with a short-handed goal. In the 2nd, New Jersey took a 2-1 lead. Pennsylvania had another power play opportunity. The Bears killed off the penalty, but the Huntsmen still had pressure in the zone. Cullen Heintz took a slap shot from the point and Zelko scored on the rebound for his second of the game. New Jersey answered back to regain the lead 3-2. In the 3rd the Bears gained some insurance with another goal under 5 minutes to play. The Huntsmen emptied the net looking for offense, but the Bears sealed the game with an empty netter and won 5-2.

Premier at Little Flyers (Sun)

James Mirigliano put the Huntsmen on the board first. Christian Starr sent the puck to Mirigliano and he skated into the offensive zone a fired a shot to the net for the 1-0 lead. The Huntsmen took a penalty shortly after that and the Little Flyers tied the game with a power play goal. In the 2nd period the Huntsmen scored two power play goals. Mirigliano sent a crisp backdoor pass to Zelko and he cashed in for his 5th of the year. Cullen Heintz set up Jaiden Batista (5) on the next power play and Batista scored from the slot giving the Huntsmen a 3-1 lead. Less than three minutes later the Little Flyers made it a 3-2 game. In the 3rd, Philadelphia tied the game with a power play goal with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game. There was no more scoring, so the game went into overtime. Pennsylvania had a power play, but the Little Flyers scored shorthanded to win the game 4-3.

Up Next

               EHL

Like the players said, “Every point matters.” The Huntsmen gained 4-6 this week against tough opponents. Taking 3-4 against the Little Flyers was crucial as they now have a 6-point lead on the Little Flyers. Philadelphia lost to the New Jersey Bears earlier today 4-2, and will face them again later this week. The Huntsmen are on a 5-game point streak and that has tied them in points with Philadelphia Hockey Club. PHC remains in 3rd with 20 wins, as the Huntsmen have 19. Another critical series awaits and in fact, it’s against Philadelphia Hockey Club. They are 20-17-3, 3rd in the South Division. The Huntsmen and PHC have had a different February. PHC is 2-4 this month, their last action was a 4-2 win over the Little Flyers and a 4-3 loss vs the 87s. The Huntsmen have dominated the season series and are 5-1-1 against PHC this season. They won’t play the home and home in back-to-back days like they did against the Little Flyers.  There will be a couple days in between. PHC will face the Little Flyers  before the second meeting this week.

               Premier

The Huntsmen remain in 4th  place in the division with a 15-19-3 record and 33 points. They lead the Renegades by 3 points and trail the Bears by 6 points. The Huntsmen will be on the road this weekend as they face the Union Jr. Thunder, and the New Jersey 87s. Union is 2nd in the division with 40 points, while the 87s have clinched the division title and have 62 points. The Thunder are coming off a 5-0 loss to the 87s and a 4-3 overtime win against the Bears. The 87s are on a 6-game winning streak which include the shutout win over Union and a 5-1 win over the Bears.

Notes

Ryan Arendes has committed to playing NCAA DIII Hockey Stevenson University! Congratulations Ryan! You can read the full article at easternhockeyleague.org.

Damon Warren has been awarded South Division Star of the Week! He had a solid week for the Huntsmen. In 3 games, Warren had 3 goals and 2 assists, congrats Damon!

Schedule

EHL vs Philadelphia HC (Wed)  11:30am

EHL at Philadelphia HC (Sat)   4:20pm

Premier at Union Jr. Thunder (Sat)  1:55pm

Premier at New Jersey 87s (Sun)  5pm

By: Joe Sindoni

Staff Writer

Play by Play Announcer