Folks this weekend’s home and away series of the Florida Eels USP3 team vs. the Jr. Blades are the biggest rivalry in Tier III Junior hockey. Nowhere will you find a more competitive battle amongst two organizations. Last season’s playoff games were amongst the best games ever played in the USPHL. The Eels won the first game 10-1. The Blades came back the very next day and refused to let the Eels sweep them. Despite the previous night’s total dismantling of the Jr. Blades team, the Eels lost game two 5-3. OMG everyone was dismayed of the 360 degree Blades comeback to put them back into a single game elimination.

The drama was set and all eyes were on these two teams. Who would come out victorious? Who wanted it more? They were both hungry and knew everything was on the line. What team would show up? One might argue there were 4 different teams competing here for that playoff spot that goes to Boston. The Eels had home ice advantage, as they were in first place in the regular season in the Florida Division. In fact game three at the Fort Myers Skatium had over 600+ fans to witness the showdown. So many of the Blades parents had bought airline tickets to head to Boston to watch their Blades team play in the Frozen 4 USPHL playoffs. Indeed, even hotels had been booked. The Eels on the other hand had something to say about this presumptive notion that the Blades were going to win. In game three, the Eels defeated the Jr. Blades 3-2 in dramatic fashion in overtime no less. It was the biggest win in the Eels USP3 team’s organization history.

This year, the battle is once again a competitive barnburner. But this year the Blades come in with a much older team than accustomed in the USPHL USP3 Divisional make up. The Blades roster is packed with much older and experienced players.

The Blades roster is made up as follows:

5 1996s

6 1997s

4 1998’s

8 1999’s

Of these 23 players 17 are veterans

The Eels on the other hand are built on a completely different framework. Compare:

0 1996’s

6 1997’s

3 1998’s

9 1999s

2 2000’s

Of the 20 Eels players only 7 are veterans compared to the Jr. Blades, which have 17 veteran players!

Now, one would hear the Jr. Blades say well “they don’t have an Elite team so this is all they have – one team.” But that is disingenuous as the Jr Blades are part of the NY Islanders Pal group who have an Elite and a Premier team in New York. You can look at the standings: The Jr Blades are 23 -0 owning first place. The Eels are in 5th place with 13 wins and 8 losses. The Blades scoring virtually all is emanated from their veteran players with:

Tyler O’Mara with 14 goals

TJ Zebley 19 goals

Jonas Hostovecky 17 goals

Evan Maxey 15 goals

Riley Degler 12 goals

Hudson Grote 10 goals

Compare this to the Eels

There two top scorers are

Kellen Crowther with 9 goals

Gavin Medina with 9 goals

Six of the Blades veteran players have been named “ Stars of the Week” over the season thus far.

Look at the other record: They have 350 penalty minutes compared to the Eels with 213

No doubt this is a David Vs. Goliath battle this weekend for the Eels. But one thing to rest assure, the Eels will come out on fire and won’t be giving the Jr. Blades any respect. The Eels players are hungry and not afraid to battle with and against any team. With their very young squad, the Eels just won 3 of their 4 games at the IHC Showcase in Boston. In fact of the three showcases attended this season, the Eels won 3 of their 4 games in all three events. That is truly incredible when you look at the experience of these Eels players. But so much goes to their dedication to training, determination and fortitude. These young guns work very hard every day. In fact they train 1-½ hours on ice and another 1 ½ off ice 5 days per week. They also shoot an additional 1-hour every day to develop their shooting skills. We took a page out of the USA Olympic Gymnastic athletes training manual so to speak. They train every day. They are so dedicated and determined. They sacrifice everything to gain the opportunity to advance to the highest plateau they can accomplish. For our players we realize it is not where you start in hockey it is where you finish. The USP3 team players know they will move on to college. Playing veteran teams like this is exactly what they want. When they finally get to college the players will be 3-4 years their senior. So this is an excellent forum to garner the experience needed for their future.

These boys know full well the legacy of the Eels and they are playing on the Eels USP3 team as part of the Eels player development format. Unlike the Jr. Blades this is not an end all. It is their beginning….their path to advancement. The Eels USP3 team systematically and continuously advances its players to its Elite team. We have seen this every year. In fact last season, the Eels Elite team was made up of 18 players from our USP3 team. The same is true this season where ½ of the Eels Elite team advanced upward from their USP3 team.

In fact the Eels organization advanced 25 players to college last season. That is incredible numbers. The previous three seasons the Eels hit the 20+ benchmark as well in college advancement. In fact from last year’s USP3 team 10 players moved on to play college hockey. Yes that is right out of the USP3 Eels!

So yes this will be a herculean endeavor this weekend for the Eels but they are ready willing and able to preform the task. They train precisely for moments like this. The stats are for analytics. For the Eels players this is real and there is no place they rather be than right here playing these games vs. the Jr. Blades. The Eels are so hungry to take on this veteran team. No doubt we will see some of the best junior hockey in the country this weekend.

Game one will be played at the Fort Myers Skatium Saturday evening warm up is at 8:20 pm Drop of puck is 8:50 pm

Sunday the game is at the Germain Arena Drop of puck is noon.

Please be sure to come on down to the Fort Myers Skatium and or at Germian Arena to support our Eels players. Your attendance is very much appreciated.

If you cannot join us in person for one or both games please sign on to Fasthockey or Hockey TV to watch the games live.