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Short Shifts: The Home Stretch

By Anthony Di Paolo, 02/21/25, 9:00AM EST

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Just over two weeks remain in the regular season

Boston, MA -- The Eastern Hockey League (EHL) is in the home stretch of the 2024-25 season, most teams have a handful of games to play before heading to the end-of-season showcase in Aston, PA.

With the postseason looming, some teams are fighting to prolong their season while others are jockeying for a higher spot in the standings.

Here’s a look around the league in this week’s edition of Short Shifts.

Down (South) to the wire

  • In the South Division, six points separate the third, fourth and fifth place teams: Philadelphia Hockey Club, the Pennsylvania Huntsmen and Philadelphia Little Flyers.
     
  • The Little Flyers are five points behind the Huntsmen for the final playoff spot. They gained a point on Thursday with a 3-2 shootout win; Flyers defender Charles Antrilli had the lone shootout goal while Tadeas Bezdek made 34 saves in the victory. 
     
  • Despite the shootout loss, the Huntsmen are 3-0-1 in their last four games. Ryan Arendes, who has been with the Huntsmen since Day #1, is having a remarkable age-out season with 54 points (26g, 28a) in 37 games.
     
  • The Huntsmen currently occupy the 4th place spot in the division, and they trail Philadelphia Hockey Club by one point while having a game in hand. Those two teams will face each other twice next week before going to the showcase.
     
  • The New Jersey Bears and New Jersey 87’s both have 27 wins coming into the weekend; though the Bears have a three-point lead over the 87’s for the top spot in the South.
     
  • Duncan Stewart has completely bolstered the Bears’ offense, recording 23 points (4g, 19a) in his first 11 games with the team. He was also named an EHL Star of the Week, on Tuesday.

Late Season Push

  • A couple of teams have caught fire in the month of February, and the most notable team is the Seahawks Hockey Club. The team is 6-0-1 in their last seven games, and their most recent win was a 3-2 overtime thriller against the Express Hockey Club.
     
  • Jacob Gelman scored a beautiful OT goal, cutting between two defenders and wiring a wrist shot upstairs; he now has goals in three straight games and eight points over the last five games. Cory Kashul, who was also named an EHL Star this week, has nine points (4g, 5a) over his last four games.
     
  • The Seahawks are 12-3-2 since December 5th, and they are now one point ahead of the Boston Jr. Eagles for third place in the East Division.
     
  • Up in the North Division, the Vermont Lumberjacks have won three in a row to give themselves a 10-point cushion for third place. Their most recent game on Saturday was a 4-3 shootout thriller against H.C. Rhode Island. Brayson Bennett tied the game with 12 seconds left in regulation, and Leonardo Kahlhammer scored the lone goal in the shootout.
     
  • While the Valley Jr. Warriors are 10 points behind the Lumberjacks, they have three games in hand as well as three straight games against Vermont this weekend. A sweep could make that number three seed up for grabs in the North.
     
  • The Connecticut RoughRiders have won two straight, including a 5-3 win over the New Jersey Bears on Wednesday. Connor Hetherington and Korey Cardenas Aston each had a goal and an assist, and goaltender Colten McIntyre made 55 saves on 58 shots.

Cream of the Crop

  • The New Hampshire Avalanche continues their regular-season dominance, winning six straight while sporting a 32-3-4 record as of this writing. 
     
  • This is the Avs’ eighth season in the EHL, and they have recorded 30 or more wins in seven of them. Their only season with fewer than 30 wins was the 2020-21 campaign; recording 26 wins in 38 games.
     
  • The Express Hockey Club (30-3-6) and East Coast Wizards (29-8-2) have ran the East Division this season, creating a 24-point gap between second and third place.
     
  • Out of the two teams, however, the Wizards are surging with an eight-game point streak (7-0-1). The Wizards also beat the Express last week by a score of 3-2, JJ Alger had a goal and an assist. 
     
  • For the scoring race, 87’s forward Alex Legkov leads all players with 70 points (23g, 47a) through 31 games. Wizards forward Daxton St. Hillaire is right behind him with 64 points (29g, 35a). After that, Providence Capitals forwards Daniel Kroon (62 points) and Deaglan Kelly (55 points) round out the top four.

Around the EHLP

  • Two teams have already clinched their respective divisions. The New England Wolves (33-4-0) secured the number one seed in the North Division while the 87’s (30-4-0) took the top spot in the South Division.
     
  • In the East Division, the Providence Capitals (22-12-1) and Seahawks Hockey Club (22-13-1) are tied for first with 45 points each. Both teams are currently on winning streaks as the Caps have won six in a row while the Seahawks have won five straight.
     
  • Standings aside, the scoring race is unique in the EHLP. Goals have come in bunches specifically in the North Division; the top five scorers are all on the Wolves or the Adirondack Jr. Thunder.
     
  • Wolves forwards Cam Plumb (36g, 37a, 73pts) and Zach Spicuzza (21g, 49a, 70pts) are first and third in the EHLP scoring race. Charles-Etienne Roy is fourth with 65 points (34g, 31a).
     
  • Adirondack forward Cole Davidson is second in the EHLP with 72 points (32g, 40a), including nine shorthanded goals. Bradley Parker is fifth in the league with 61 points (27g, 34a) through 28 games.
     
  • Like the October showcase, the March showcase in Aston, PA will include all EHLP teams in addition to the EHL squads.

Anthony Di Paolo

Anthony Di Paolo covers the EHL for HNIB and can be followed on Twitter @DiPaolo_016

Anthony Di Paolo has been working in various levels of hockey over the last five years, ranging from juniors to the pros. Di Paolo spent four seasons as the Communications Director and play-by-play announcer for the New Jersey Titans of the North American Hockey League (2016-2020), and is entering his fifth season in a similar role with the New Jersey 87’s of the Eastern Hockey League. Graduating from Seton Hall University in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, the New Jersey native covered Division I athletics for his school’s radio station, WSOU, and spent two years writing for the Fischler Report, a newsletter run by U.S. Hockey Hall-of-Fame inductee Stan Fischler. In addition to writing features and player spotlights throughout the season, Anthony is a fixture on the weekly #EShow podcast.

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