DECATUR, Ill. – The MJDP went into the Decatur Civic Center Saturday night and posted a 5-0 shutout over the Decatur Blaze.

Freddy Soderberg stopped all 36 shots he faced while Nick Twombley (pictured front) had two goals and an assist and Samuel Westerberg added a goal and an assist to pace the offensive attack.

“We will take the two points, especially on the road,” Metro Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell said. “I wouldn’t say it was one of the cleanest games. Both teams seemed off. We didn’t execute very well, but we were able to capitalize on some fortunate bounces and mistakes that Decatur made.

“Ultimately, that made the difference. That, and the fact that our goalie was perfect in net. Freddy was a bright point for us tonight. He has been really good and gives the team a lot of confidence, but we will need to be much better tomorrow. We have got to make stronger plays and manage the puck better if we expect the same end result as tonight.”

Nolan Bruxvoort and Josh Boze (pictured below) also scored for the MJDP.

“We got to the loose pucks and won battles, got the pucks deep and got pucks on net,” Bruxvoort said. “We have to keep the same energy we had today and come ready for tomorrow’s game.”

Sean Knudtson finished with 33 saves in the Blaze cage.

The two teams meet again Sunday at 1:15 p.m. Eastern.

All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio – The Metro Jets used a four-goal second period to pull away from the Columbus Mavericks and went on to take a 7-2 win Friday night at the OhioHealth Chiller North.

Kam Hellman had two goals and an assist for the Jets, while Herman Ahokas added a pair of goals to back Daniel Miscavish’s 24 saves in goal.

“We knew what to expect from Columbus,” said Jets associate coach Dan Pszenyczny. “They are a gritty team that plays hard. We used our speed and quick puck movement to open up our game and it created scoring opportunities and goals.

“As a whole, the team played a well-rounded game in all three zones.”

Braydon Lewis tacked on four assists and Niko Murgic contributed three helpers to go along with a goal and an assist from Matt Cole and single goals from Anders Grongstad and Andreas Fleutot.

“What went right for us tonight was our ability to be opportunistic and take advantage of what Columbus was giving us,” Ahokas said. “We also forced Columbus to play our type of game, which helped the overall team production.

“To get those goals was huge for me. Coming back from a long break is never easy, but to have a strong center like (Jets captain) Cody Mastay and a big body like Seth Francois for sure helps the transition of getting back to a game mindset.”

Roman Boffa and Chance Settles scored the Mavericks’ goals and Zach Waizmann and Frank Murphy combined to make 39 saves, Waizmann suffering the loss between the pipes.

The Jets are off Saturday before heading back on the road to play the Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones Sunday at 4 p.m. from the Heritage Bank Center.

“We don’t know too much about Cincy, but we are going to go down there and play our game,” Pszenyczny said.

All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Alex Schauburger leads the Metro Jets in scoring this season and added to his totals with the game-winning goal at 19:17 of the third period Wednesday night to give the Jets a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Toledo Cherokee at the Team Toledo IceHouse.

Just 11 seconds into a five-minute power play, Schaumburger’s goal beat Toledo goalie Andrew Quarles up high. Quarles replaced starter Joey Cormier at 9:48 of the third period.

“Very intense game, especially in Toledo, a place where absolutely no one likes us,” said Schaumburger. “We were able to deplete the emotional part of the game which led to the success late in the third. The game-winner was just a shot from a roll off the wall. We’ve been working on that type of chance and opportunity all week preparing for this game.

“Lucky for me, it developed in our favor, and I was able to get the shot through high blocker.”

After Kieran Carlile gave Toledo an early 1-0 lead at 4:05 of the first period, Devon Mastay answered for the Jets at 6:54.

The game remained 1-1 until Lucas Rumburger gave Toledo the lead at 14:10 of the third period, only to have Alex Bedenko tie it at 17:10, setting the stage for Schaumburger’s heroics.

“Toledo came out hard, and we knew they were going to come out hard playing in their own barn,” said Jets assistant coach Tina Ciraulo. “They looked look a different team from last Saturday night’s game (in Mount Clemens, a 5-2 Jets win). In the first, we weren’t playing our game. The boys picked it up in the second and definitely in the third with (Will) Augustine playing strong in net for us and a huge goal by ‘Schaumie’ that won it.

“It definitely felt good getting the win.”

Augustine finished with 26 saves for the win, while Cormier made 23 and Quarles three for Toledo.

The Jets next play in Columbus Friday night against the Mavericks. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. at the OhioHealth Chiller North.

All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Metro Jets played their home opener Saturday night and defeated the Toledo Cherokee 5-2 in front of a packed house at Mount Clemens Ice Arena.

Alex Bedenko scored twice and Braydin Lewis added a goal and an assist to back Louis-Pierre Fortier’s 26 saves in goal.

“It’s always a good win when we are playing a competitive team like Toledo,” Jets associate coach Jamie Lovell said. “That’s a rival for us, just down the highway, and it was our home opener, so everyone was feeling good about tonight. The atmosphere was great, and that’s why we made the move here. We have a smaller, more intimate setting and the guys were up for it.

“Tonight was a lot of fun.”

Alex Schaumburger and Matt Cole also scored, and Niko Murgic collected two assists in the win.

Lucas Rumberger and David Crandall scored for Toledo, Kieran Carlile assisted on both, and Joey Cormier took the loss in net, finishing with 40 saves.

“We respected the game plan, and we knew this was a big game for us,” Fortier said. “We practiced hard this week, and our players played very good in front of me.”

Earlier Saturday, the MJDP completed a two-game sweep of the Midwest Blackbirds with a 3-2 win, also at Mount Clemens.

Stone Bishop, Austin Combs and Robert Grasso scored, and Mason Kelly stopped 23 shots between the pipes.

Troy Clements and Kevin Uhlir tallied Midwest’s goals while Nick Meyering made 37 saves in goal.

Friday night, Combs and Josh Boze had a goal and an assist each, Grasso scored twice, and Freddy Soderberg finished with 17 saves as the MJDP knocked off Midwest 6-1 at Mount Clemens.

“I liked how we competed and finished our chances,” said Lovell. “We got pucks in behind their ‘D’ and supported each other well in the neutral zone. We were able to finish, so it was a good game and a good bounce-back from last Friday night (an 8-7 overtime win over Motor City).”

Steven Miller and Carson Finney added goals and Duke Allen, Nick Twombley and Ville Karlsson notched two assists apiece.

“We moved the puck really well tonight and created a lot of shots and a lot of offense,” Combs said. “We kind of struggled with the penalties, and those led to their goal there, but we’re good, we won 6-1 against a good, physical team. That’s what you expect in junior hockey.”

For the Blackbirds, Mason Perri scored early in the second period and Meyering made 34 saves in taking the loss in goal.

The Jets and MJDP both hit the road next week as the Jets are in Toledo on Wednesday at 7 p.m., at Columbus to play the Mavericks Friday at 7:30 p.m. and then Sunday in Cincinnati to play the expansion Jr. Cyclones at 4 p.m. The MJDP plays the Decatur Blaze Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EST and Sunday at 1:15 EST.

All USPHL games are streamed on HockeyTV.com.

REDFORD, Mich. – Stone Bishop scored twice and Freddy Soderberg stopped all 19 shots he faced as the MJDP blanked the Motor City Hockey Club 8-0 tonight at Redford Ice Arena.

Carson Finney added a goal and three assists, Austin Combs had a goal and two assists, and Nick Twombley and Josh Boze each had a goal plus a helper in the win.

“We were much better tonight across the board,” said Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville. “I’m happy our guys responded with another big start, but more importantly, finished the game the right way, winning our shifts, staying disciplined and earning Freddy his shutout. We will take the weekend sweep and move on.

“We know games upcoming will only get harder and this was a good learning experience for our guys out of the gates. We still have a lot to work on, and our guys are excited to continue growing together.”

Trevor Naiman and Jackson Moleski also scored in the victory.

“I really just want to thank my team and our ‘D,’” said Soderberg. “They cleared the front of the net, and I could see everything.”

The MJDP outshot Motor City 48-19.

Motor City goalie Max Hetman finished with 40 stops in taking the loss.

Next up for the MJDP is a two-game series at Mount Clemens Ice Arena next Friday and Saturday with the Midwest Blackbirds. Game times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

In Erie, Pa., the Metro Jets completed the sweep of the Lake Erie Bighorns with a 15-1 win at the ErieBank Sports Park.

Alex Bedenko posted three goals with two assists, Alex Schaumburger added two goals and two assists, and Kam Hellman, Joey Mocnik and captain Cody Mastay all had a goal and a pair of helpers.

Chad Noetzel and Ryan Messing scored twice each, Matt Cole collected a goal and an assist, and Joey Carpenter picked up three assists. Owen Limback, Andreas Fleutot, Nick Ceccarini and Braydin Lewis all registered two assists.

Devon Mastay and Anders Grongstad added goals and Daniel Miscavish made 15 saves for the win in goal.

Noah Granata stopped 58 shots between the pipes for Lake Erie.

The Jets host the Toledo Cherokee next Saturday at Mount Clemens Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.

All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Metro Jets opened up Mount Clemens Ice Arena in a dramatic way Friday night as Alex Blankenship’s goal 38 seconds into overtime lifted the MJDP to an 8-7 win over the Motor City Hockey Club.

The MJDP led 6-1 after two periods before Motor City rallied to tie the game late in regulation time.

“It was exciting; I think the people got what they paid for, not so much for us on the bench,” said Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville. “It was a very unique game, I can say. In all my years doing this, I can’t quite recall a game where you just felt like nothing was going your way down the stretch.

“It was a difficult one, but definitely a learning experience for our guys.”

After Robert Grasso’s second goal of the game at 11:15 of the third period gave the MJDP a 7-4 lead, Motor City’s Demian Tychenko scored three goals in a span of 51 seconds (18:23, 18:58, 19:14) to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Grasso added two assists in the win to go along with a goal and two assists each from Nick Twombley and Carson Finney and a goal and an assist from Josh Boze, Steven Miller and Blankenship.

“We had some ups and downs in the third period, but we were able to capitalize and come out with the two points,” said Grasso. “We play these guys again Saturday and I’m expecting us to play all 60 minutes and not look down.”

Duke Allen also scored, and Nolan Bruxvoort tacked on two assists to back Ethan Ryan’s 22 saves in goal.

Motor City goalie Andrey Malykhin stopped 39 shots in suffering the defeat.

The two teams rematch Saturday at 4:15 p.m. at Redford Ice Arena.

Also Friday night, the Jets defeated the Lake Erie Bighorns 16-2 at ErieBank Sports Park in Erie, Pa., as all but one player registered at least one point in the win.

Alex Schaumburger scored twice and added three assists, Chad Noetzel picked up two goals and an assist, and Anders Grongstad also notched a pair of goals as Will Augustine finished with 15 saves between the pipes.

Cristian Adragna added four assists, Andreas Fleutot scored once with two assists, Owen Limback collected three assists, and Jets captain Cody Mastay, Joey Mocnik, Kam Hellmann, Matt Cole and Nick Ceccarini all had a goal plus an assist in the victory.

Noah Granata made 57 saves in the loss for the Bighorns.

The finale of the series is set for Saturday at 5 p.m.

All USPHL games are available on HockeyTV.com.

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids area has long been a hotbed of hockey talent and the Metro Jets have taken advantage in recent years.

This season, Nolan Bruxvoort is the latest from the Western Michigan town to join the Jets with hopes of developing his overall game at the junior hockey level.

“My (Kenowa Hills) coach (Matt Wiedenhoeft) encouraged me to meet with (Jets scout) Ray Hyde and talk about the team and then I ended going to a couple of the summer skates and thought it was a good fit for me,” said Bruxvoort, a 2002-born forward. “One thing that really stood out to me is that the Jets really focus on the players’ development and focusing on the next step after junior hockey.”

For Jets coach-GM Justin Quenneville, having Bruxvoort in the lineup this season can only mean positives across the board.

“Nolan came to us via our scout who resides on the west side, Ray Hyde,” Quenneville said. “We were fortunate enough to see him skate several times over the course of the summer and took notice right away. He’s a big kid who has versatile skill set. He’s used to being the big fish in a small pond, so he knows he needs to continue to develop his game, and he’s been doing just that.

“We are excited to see him come out of his shell more and continue to impress.”

Other than goals and assists, Bruxvoort wants to bring the intangibles to the Jets this season.

“I want to support and encourage the other players,” Bruxvoort said. “I will help build the team stronger as a group. My youth hockey days help with juniors because I know the true value of a team and what it means to be there for each other and work hard for what you want.”

Down the road, Bruxvoort wants to “continue playing hockey for as long as life takes me” and “maybe start a career on the way.”

LEWIS CENTER, Ohio – Five different players scored, and Daniel Miscavish made 23 saves in goal as the Metro Jets kicked off the 2021-22 USPHL season with a 5-2 win over the Columbus Mavericks Friday night at the OhioHealth Chiller North.

Kam Hellman, Joey Mocnik, Andreas Fleutot, Anders Grongstad and Tim Washburn all found the back of the net, while Washburn and Mocnik added assists for multi-point games.

“Getting the win on the road in our first game is always good,” Jets assistant coach Tina Ciraulo said. “We did a lot of positive things but definitely have some areas to work on. Credit to their goalie (Zach Waizmann) on making a lot of saves, standing on his head and keeping them in the game. We got timely goals in the second and then Grongstad scoring in the third to seal it with a shorthanded goal.

“A little adversity at beginning of the year is always good, but I will take our two points and focus on tomorrow’s game.”

Niko Murgic and Alex Schaumburger collected two assists apiece in the win.

For Columbus, Ethan Bishara and Nik Jozefiak scored, Ryan Mackey assisted on both, and Waizmann finished with 53 saves between the pipes.

“Yeah, a huge win to start the year, and it was great to get back into the swing of things,” said Jets defenseman Owen Limback. “We came into today with the goal of being 1-0 and that’s exactly what we did. We would’ve liked to clean up a few things throughout the game, but on the bright side, we have another game tomorrow to work out those kinks. A win is a win and anytime we can do that, I’d say we’re headed in the right direction.”

The Jets are back on the road Saturday to play the Wooster Oilers at 6:30 p.m. from the Alice Noble Ice Arena.

“Another big road game tomorrow against Wooster and we look to keep improving as a team committing to the process,” Limback said. “It was great to get the first game out of the way and come out on top. Now our focus is on to Game 2, and we look to do the same thing. A lot of positives today as well, and we look to keep that momentum going forward.

All USPHL games are streamed on HockeyTV.com.

WOOSTER, Ohio – The Metro Jets scored early and often and defeated the Wooster Oilers 12-1 Saturday night at the Alice Noble Ice Arena.

Rookie Chad Noetzel collected two goals and two assists in his junior hockey debut, while Alex Schaumburger (pictured front) had two goals and two assists and Cristian Adragna two goals and an assist to go along with a goal and three assists from Jets captain Cody Mastay.

“At first, I was a little nervous, but it didn’t take much time to settle in,” said Noetzel. “All I had to do was focus on making the right play and never stop moving my feet. The biggest key to the win tonight was to never stop moving and not fall for the dirty plays. Moving forward, we always need to have the same mindset and be ready for the next game.”

Austin Ieuter chipped in with four assists from the back end, Kam Hellmann added a goal and two assists and Tim Washburn and Niko Murgic tacked on two helpers each with Braydin Lewis and Anders Grongstad each scoring once with an assist.

The Jets registered four goals on the power play and only allowed a power-play goal to Jordan Huffman midway through the second period.

Louis-Pierre Fortier (pictured below) stopped 17 shots in goal as the Jets outshot the Oilers 57-18.

“Nice to see our guys convert on the power play tonight,” Jets associate head coach Jamie Lovell said. “The message going into the game was we needed to convert scoring chances and do it early. Don’t let Wooster hang around and give them hope. That’s what happened last night in Columbus and we didn’t want a repeat of that putting ourselves in a tough situation coming down to the third period.”

Ryan Messing added a shorthanded goal and Joey Mocnik also scored to round out the Metro offense.

Wooster goalie Rob Holden finished with 45 saves in suffering the loss between the pipes.

“Good start to the season, especially on the road, but we need to refocus this week as it doesn’t get easier as we continue next weekend on the road in Erie,” Lovell said.

The Jets hit the road next weekend to play the Lake Erie Bighorns from the Erie Bank Sports Park in Erie, Pa. Game times are 7 p.m. Friday night and 5 p.m. for the finale on Saturday.

All USPHL games are streamed on HockeyTV.com.

The Metro Jets Development Program gave the Jets organization, located in Mount Clemens, Mich., not one but two USPHL Premier Division championships for the 2020-21 season.

The MJDP will certainly be pushing for another division title along with the Metro Jets of the Great Lakes Division – but only so far as that comes along with success in their primary objective of developing players to have their best success at the college hockey level.

The Chicago Cougars joined the MJDP at Nationals, marking their third straight trip (and fourth straight qualification, counting the canceled 2020 Nationals). The Cougars had been the regular leaders of the Midwest East until the MJDP just nipped them at the finish line last year by a few points. Expect both teams to reassert their dominance early on, but also expect them to both be chased mightily by five other teams hungry to get to the top of the mountain in both standings and college advancements.

Below, we profile all seven Midwest East Division teams. Order is 2020-21 regular season finish.

Metro Jets Development Program (MJDP)

Season Opener: Fri., Oct. 1, vs. Motor City Hockey Club

The Jets Development Program did a fine job in their Nationals debut, racking up a 2-1 record at the playoffs for the National Championship. Though they didn’t make it out of their pool, they still showed just how deep the organization is with two Jets organization teams present.

“We are excited about our group again this year. We had a lot on-ice success last year winning the Midwest Division and even more off ice success with players moving up as well as committing to colleges,” said Head Coach/General Manager Justin Quenneville. “We will be very young and energetic, but it’s a great opportunity for our players to take advantage of our program.”

The success in moving players on from the MJDP to higher levels has changed the face of the team almost entirely for 2021-22.

“Given that we had a lot of success graduating players from MJDP last season, we have nearly an entire new group of young and hungry players,” added Quenneville. “They will get the same opportunities as everyone in our organization with a difficult schedule and four or more showcases. But we are confident, based on what we have seen thus far, that they will continue to improve to develop and be difficult to play against.”

Nick Twombley, an ‘01 who played for DeLaSalle High in Michigan, is back for his second MJDP season after scoring 37 points in 44 games. He is joined by several players from last year’s Metro Hockey Club (MHC) now jumping on to the MJDP as the MHC is not playing this year. This includes ‘01 goalie Ethan Ryan, defensemen ‘02 Jake LaVack and ‘03 Matt Vanderworp, and forwards ‘01’s Jackson Moleski and Connor Hilliker and ‘02 Ethan Smith.

Newcomer Steven Miller (‘03) has had a lot of success with Howell (Mich.) High School, while other top forwards coming from the high school ranks are Carson Finney (‘03) – a big-time scorer for the Mid-Michigan Marauders – and Lucas Millmine (‘03) from Orchard-St. Mary’s.

Defensemen Josh Boze, an ‘03 with a big shot from Livonia-Franklin, and smooth-skating ‘03 Alex Blankenship from Plymouth are also new to the MJDP.

Additional new MJDP players to watch include Robert Grasso an ‘04 coming out of the USPHL 16U Division and ‘02 goalie Freddy Soderberg, a former DeLaSalle teammate of Twombley’s, joining from Meijer 18U AAA hockey.

Chicago Cougars

Season Opener: Fri., Sept. 24, at Dells Ducks

The Cougars just keep doing what they’re doing, finding success in the win-loss column while moving players on to fantastic colleges that will provide great futures whether on or off the ice.

It is a continuous result that comes from a total dedication to their players and everything to do with development of these student-athletes. With that in mind, the Cougars upped their game by joining forces with the Chicago Blackhawks to share the same facility where the Blackhawks practice, Fifth Third Arena (also the site of two USPHL NCDC Combines).

Cougars players will also get to work out at Goodman Elite Training, the same on-site off-ice facility where Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and other Blackhawks train.

It’s no wonder then that the team has nearly 10 returning players from last year who want to take advantage of this. Goaltenders Michael Lenhart (a 2020-21 Midwest East All-Star) and Ian Young, both ‘01’s were among the first in line. Jack Parks, an ‘01 defenseman, is also back after playing 17 games with the Cougars last season.

Up front, Michael Sliwinski (‘01) marks two returning All-Stars for Head Coach Josh Dallmann’s crew. He posted a 14-24-38 line in 34 games last season and is back for more. Additionally up front, the team returns T.J. Haas (‘03) who is the other top 10 scorer coming back from last year, scoring 29 points in 2020-21.

Add to the mix veterans Matthew Hagerstrom and Alex Hertlein (both ‘01) and Brendan Miranda (‘03).

With an additional group of highly-anticipated newcomers, you can expect that the Cougars will remain a going concern for the Midwest East and all of their non-divisional opponents.

Fort Wayne Spacemen

Season Opener: Fri., Oct. 1, at Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones

The Spacemen have been consistently a winning team in the USPHL Premier Division, not bad for just being two years out of their creation. Already, former Fort Wayne Komets Captain and current Spacemen Head Coach Lincoln Schrock has hit upon a strong recipe for player development, movement and on-ice success, all wrapped up in one big frustrating mix for opponents.

This year, the Spacemen figure to be deeper than in past years, also not good news for the rest of the Midwest East.

“Fort Wayne will be a well-rounded team this year. In the past we’ve relied on scoring from one or two players and now we feel we have depth at all three positions,” said Schrock. “Our goaltending has improved, especially from where we started at last year. All 12 forwards can play at both ends of the ice and we love our defensive core.”

Helping to lead the team will be returning Midwest East All-Stars Austin Buck (‘01), who is already fourth all-time in games played for the Spacemen. However, with the first game, returning forward Logan Robins (‘01) will become the all-time games played leader, as he sits tied with former Spaceman Jared Fisher in that category – Fisher owns all the offensive categories by a lot. Blake Ferris, an ‘02 who joined the Spacemen for eight games last season and was impressive in each.

Watch out for newcomers Mike Melnikov, Noah Maine and Matteo Daita. Melnikov (‘01) is a longtime North American-experienced goalie from Belarus, who already has one USPHL Premier season under his belt. Maine (‘02) put up good offense from the blue line with the Tri-State Spartans 18U AAA team, and ‘01 French forward Daita is playing in his first North American season after already earning experience in the pro ranks of his home country.

“This will be the most competitive the division has been in the past three years,” Schrock predicts. “Motor City should take a step forward with some of their new hires and the Fighting Irish program is heading in the right direction as well.”

Detroit Fighting Irish

Season Opener: Sat., Oct. 2, vs. Chicago Cougars

Fighting Irish Head Coach Sam Shaheen saw just how potent his team could be last year, when the team ended the season with a 3-0-0-1 run, including a big win over the Chicago Cougars, their first since Nov. 3, 2018, with a string of nine contests with only one overtime loss point in between.

With an All-Star back on defense, the Fighting Irish have the makeup that could lead to them having one of their best seasons in their recent history.

“We are very happy with the makeup of this year’s team. We have a lot of new faces and look to pick up where we left off last season,” said Shaheen. “We have upgraded on defense but have also lost our leader in points, so we feel like we have balanced out our roster better this year than previous years.”

Shane Romback, an ‘01 out of Macomb, Mich., put together an amazing two-way game last season, scoring 42 points in 42 games to lead the league in points by a defenseman, while also racking up 331 takeaways, more than 100 above his closest teammate.

“Shane is looking to pick up where he left off by leading the league in points as a defenseman, along with Cole Zalewski [‘01] who was second in points for us and looking to produce in the goal column some more,” said Shaheen.

There is a strong group of newcomers, one of whom Shaheen would be proud to send up to the next level any time he is ready.

“The Irish staff is very high on Owen Wilson, an ‘04 forward who is getting ready to sign [a Tier II] tender,” said Shaheen. “Jace Weimer, an ‘05 defenseman, brings a calmness to the blue line.”

Weimer is a local product from Brownstown Woodshaven High School, and Wilson – a Clio, Mich., native is out of the Meijer AAA program.

“We look to be the ones who will surprise, but we are continuing to worry about our rebuild and putting the best competitive team on the ice,” Shaheen added.

Decatur Blaze

Season Opener: Fri., Oct. 8, vs. Fort Wayne Spacemen

The core of the 2020-21 Blaze is back for another shot at keeping their name always in the conversation in the Midwest East Division, especially after earning a Nationals berth in 2020 for a tournament that was canceled due to COVID-19.

“For this year’s team, we went with all new goalies from the previous year,” said GM/Head Coach Zac Pearson. “We were able to bring back a great core group from the year before with players looking to take next the step after a year of juniors under their belt.”

Pearson searched high and low for players with a high work ethic in order to find the players who can give a hard 60 minutes in a game and leave everything on the ice.

“The biggest difference for this year’s team will be our work ethic. We are putting in the work right now at training camp that we will never be outworked for 60 minutes,” Pearson added. “In order for this to happen we have to make sure that we are in the best shape possible. We have been doing two-a-days for the past ten days and will continue that for the next two to three weeks.”

The team brings back Captain Austin Floyd (‘01), who posted 55 points last season as the second-leading scorer. He will be joined up front with Walker Smith, an ‘02 who returns to the Blaze after a season away with the Omaha AAA Hockey Club. He was one of the leaders of hte 2020 Nationals-qualifying squad.

Returning Defenseman Alex Randall (‘03) was the youngest Midwest East All-Star last year, and comes back to be “our top defenseman [who will] eat up many minutes in all situations.”

Bringing in ‘03 Jonathan Gurgul from Providence Catholic High in Illinois will bolster the offense.

“Gurgul is a forward coming to us who we expect to have a good impact right off the bat,” said Pearson. “He has a tremendous work ethic that will help him be impactful right away. We also have Brendan Hirliman [‘03] and Jake Sullivan [‘02] on the back end who we feel will be top defensemen for us by the end of the year.”

He also has expectations about the division itself.

“We expect Chicago to be good as usual and at the top. But we think this year our division will have more parity than ever before without any easy weekends,” Pearson added. “I think that this year’s first and last place teams won’t be far apart from each other.”

Midwest Blackbirds

Season Opener: Fri., Oct. 8, at MJDP

It’s all about newness in Dyer, Indiana, where the Midwest Blackbirds are concerned. Ownership and home ice may be the same for the Blackbirds, but essentially everything has else has changed. Richard Greene was brought in as a new General Manager and was everywhere at once during the 2021 off-season, often in the company of new Head Coach Tom Philbin.

Philbin had success at the college level, leading Florida Gulf Coast University to the 2018-19 ACHA Division II National Championship. He and Greene are excited to build a whole new culture for the Blackbirds.

“I think we have a good mix of new and old. We got a few junior transfers from other teams to bring more experience,” said Philbin. “I feel this year’s team will be deeper and more skilled. We hope to be more structured and harder to play against as a whole.”

Coming back from the 2020-21 Blackbirds are ‘01 goaltender Nick Meyering, defensemen Mason Perri (‘01), Connor Homan (‘02) and Jake Funge (‘03), and forwards Kevin Uhlir (‘01) and Derek Eaton (‘03). Uhlir scored at better than a point-per-game pace last year, posting 23 points in 20 games.

“We have a number of experienced junior transfers – [‘02] Matt Lombardi, [‘02] Tyler Hebert and [‘01 fifth-year junior] Tyler Balcerak – along with some new players who are fighting for playing time,” added Philbin.

Among the many newcomers to watch closely are wing/centers Rylee Luebbers and Jason Romer, both ‘02’s, as well as ‘02 winger Jason LaBoy from Florida and ‘03 defenseman Reed Gilmore.

“We intend to be a very hard team to play against. Our goal is to be in a good playoff position when the season ends and that when teams see our name on their schedule, they know they’re going to have a tough game ahead of them,” Philbin added.

Motor City Hockey Club

Season Opener: Fri., Oct. 1, at MJDP

Jason McCrimmon took down the house and started from a strong foundation when rebuilding his Motor City Hockey Club for 2021-22, with help this time from longtime USPHL coach Joakim Falt, newly joining the team for the new season.

“We are a brand new squad 25 new faces ready to make their mark on the league. I look forward to the development of our guys as the season moves forward,” said McCrimmon. “Last year, we struggled to finish games the right way. This has been our main focus as we get set to start the season. We are also fortunate to Add Coach Joakim Falt to our staff. That is going to put us in an even better position to develop our guys the right way.”

The team brought back just three returning players in promising ‘04 forward Brandon Thomas, already a one-year USPHL veteran at his young age, along with ‘01’s Sebastian Stukel on defense and Ian Morton in goal.

“We added some good defensemen with ‘01 [third-year USPHL Premier veteran] Evan Cummings and ‘02 Max Savel and speedy forwards Ethan Lida, ‘04 Ukrainian Demian Tychenko and ‘03 Gavin Cline.”

Cline played in the 2021 USPHL Elite Nationals with the finalist Charleston Colonials.

“We have a host of rookies that are to make a huge difference in the program’s success this season,” said McCrimmon. “I expect our Midwest East division to make a statement all the way around. I’m excited for the season to start and get back to competing every night and moving our guys to the next level.”