Photo Credit: @paulspicnj

The Huntsmen continue to battle their way through the South Division Playoffs. They swept the New Jersey Renegades and after losing game 1 to the New Jersey Bears, the Huntsmen won games 2,3 to put themselves into the South Division Finals. It will be their biggest test as they face the New Jersey 87s. The winner of this series will head to the Regional Finals. The 87s won the South Division and were 2nd overall in the Premier with a record of 37-5 and 74 points (NE Wolves won regular season title with 76pts). New Jersey had no problem with the South Division this year and only lost two games to a divisional opponent (Lost to Union Jr. Thunder twice). The Huntsmen had their fair share of trouble against the 87s this year and went 0-7. They were shutout twice and outscored 39-9 in the seven meetings in the regular season.

New Jersey 87s Overview

The 87s have been an absolute force all season long. They ranked 3rd in goals scored with 184. They are even stronger defensively as they only gave up 66 goals against which was the least amount in the Premier. New Jersey had the #1 seed in the South Division earning them the first-round bye. They started their playoffs against the Philadelphia Little Flyers and made quick work of them by winning game 1: 4-1, and game 2: 6-1. In the regular season, the 87s were led by Alec Osher 20G 33A 53pts, Beknur Akmakhan 12-30-42, Sultan Kulumbek 20-21-41, Chris Erasmus 19-20-39, and Aliaksei Liseyenka 15-18-33. In the sweep against the Little Flyers, Alexandr Kolesnikov led the 87s with 1G 6A. Along with all that offensive firepower, New Jersey has a stellar goaltending tandem. Patrick McGillicuddy (’06) was 18-1 in the regular season with a save percentage of .932 and 6 shutouts. Frankie Smith (’04) was 12-1 with a save percentage of .963 and 4 shutouts. Smith started both games against the Little Flyers and was 42-44 in the two games.

Huntsmen Overview

James Mirigliano has been on a tear for Pennsylvania this postseason. He leads the league in playoff scoring with 6 goals and 5 assists. Braden Kozlowski 3G 5A, and Jan Bach 2G 5A have also been solid for the Huntsmen during the playoff run. Carter Hritz was also big for the Huntsmen against the Bears with 2G 1A in the series. Both goaltenders were in action against the Bears. Holden Bates started Games 1-2. Bates was 48-52 in the game 1 loss, but the following night made 38 saves to earn his first win of the playoffs. Victor Strnad was solid in the sweep of the Renegades going 2-0 making 66 total saves. Strnad got the start in Game 3 vs the Bears and went 47-51. Against the Bears, the Huntsmen power play scored 3 times and the penalty kill was busy but overall successful. The Huntsmen were shorthanded 11 times in the series and only gave up 2 power play goals against.

Schedule

Best of 3 Series

Game 1 at NJ 87s  Sat. 6:30pm

Game 2 at Huntsmen  Sun. 7:55pm

**Game 3 at NJ 87s  Mon. 7:30pm

By: Joe Sindoni 

Staff Writer 

Play by Play Announcer