Photo Credit: @paulspicsnj

 

 

Last season was the inaugural campaign for the Pennsylvania Huntsmen at the EHL level. It ended in disappointment after the showcase missing the playoffs by 5 points as the Huntsmen finished with a record of 16-27-3 with 35 points. Year two, was totally different. The Huntsmen had a solid core of returners but under a new coaching staff. Head Coach Eric Progen along with his Assistant Coaches John Musella and Ryan Bertelsen reinvented this team and the players bought in. The Huntsmen finished 3rd in the South Division at 23-18-5 with 51 points. In the 1st round they will face the New Jersey 87s. They finished 2nd in the division, 1 point behind the New Jersey Bears. The 87s went 33-12-1 with 67 points in the regular season. Head-to-head, the 87s were 6-1 vs the Huntsmen this season (PAH 1-5-1). The last time they met was late February in one of the most thrilling games of the season. Damon Warren tied the game late 6-6 but the 87s won the game in overtime.

Let’s dive into some numbers

 

Regular Season Totals

Goals For

NJ 207  2ND

PAH 176  6th

Special Teams

NJ Power Play   22.8%  3rd

PAH Power Play  19.9%  7th

NJ Power Play Goals  33  3rd 

PAH Power Play Goals  28  6th

NJ Penalty Kill  89.0%  2nd

PAH Penalty Kill 81.1%  13th

NJ Power Play Goals Against   16   19th

PAH Power Play Goals Against  32  4th

Top Scorers

               *Listed Goals,Assists,Points

NJ

Legkov 31-66-97 / Adams 22-31-53 / Kuligan 20-24-44 / Lasky 7-28-35 / Shcherbakov 6-26-32

PAH

Arendes 28-32-60 / Warren 22-23-45 / Cook 18-24-42 / Giuliani 11-30-41 / Tremblay 12-27-39

Legkov 1st points/assists, 2nd goals // Adams 8th points

Arendes 5th goals/points

Top Goalies

Florentin Fally-Puskas  18-6, GAA 2.29, SV% .919 3rd   Wins 3rd, Shutouts (4) T-3rd 

Andrew Knox 7-5, GAA 3.15, SV% .909

 

One thing both teams have is scoring depth. The 87s have 9 players with 23+ points while the Huntsmen have 10 players with 21+ points. Defense is going to be the key for the Huntsmen success in this series, and that’s exactly what Coach Progen is focused on. “We are going to take a different approach to play them defensively. They are a unique opponent and can score in waves. They have the top player in the league in (Alexander) Legkov, so we have to be attentive to that and make sure our matchups are good. We have to play good defense; offense will be created by good defense and that’s an area we can improve on.”

 

Around the EHL Playoffs

North Division

#1 Avalanche vs #4 Warriors

#2 Wolves vs #3 Lumberjacks

East Division

#1 Express vs #4 Eagles

#2 Wizards vs #3 Seahawks

Central Division

#1 Capitals vs #4 Roughriders

#2 Rhode Island vs Nor’Easter

South Division

#1 Bears vs #4 Philadelphia HC

 

Schedule

Best of 3 Series

Game 1 – Huntsmen at 87s  Tues.  12:30pm

Game 2 – 87s at Huntsmen Thurs. 3:05pm

** Game 3 – Huntsmen at 87s  Fri. 1:30pm

 

By: Joe Sindoni

Staff Writer

Play by Play Announcer