USPHL Premier Final Buzzer: P.A.L. Climbs, Metro Fills The Net And Showcase Drama Takes Over | Oct. 2-4, 2026

USPHL • News • USPHL Premier Final Buzzer: P.A.L. Climbs, Metro Fills The Net And Showcase Drama Takes Over | Oct. 2-4, 2026

Final Buzzer

Twenty games were decided by one goal, 10 required overtime or a shootout and nine ended in shutouts during a USPHL Premier weekend that changed several early-season conference races.

The P.A.L. Junior Islanders climbed from seventh into a share of first place in the Atlantic Conference. The Metro Jets scored 25 goals during a three-win weekend, while MJDP swept four games to move within two points of the Midwest Conference lead. Tampa Bay remained perfect, Northern swept Utica and the Salt Lake Ghost Riders and Santa Clarita Lakers each won three times.

At the Ice Vault in Wayne, N.J., the Jersey Hitmen Showcase supplied both ends of the hockey spectrum: an 8-7 shootout thriller between Boston and South Shore, a scoreless battle between Mercer and Universel Sherbrooke and several important crossover results.

Atlantic Conference – P.A.L. Makes The Weekend’s Biggest Move

The P.A.L. Junior Islanders entered the weekend seventh in the Atlantic and finished Sunday tied for first with West Chester after sweeping four games.

P.A.L. defeated St-Lazare, the Hudson Knights and Universel Collège Gatineau before closing with a 10-3 victory over Ottawa Valley. Sean Roach and Ciaran Pollard each recorded a hat trick Sunday as the Junior Islanders scored six times in the opening period.

West Chester kept pace with three victories. The Wolves defeated the Hudson Knights before scoring nine goals across Sunday wins over St-Lazare and Somang Hockey. Robert Wahl Jr. scored twice in the 4-2 victory over Somang.

Mercer took six of eight available points during a four-game showcase schedule. The Chiefs and Universel Sherbrooke remained scoreless through regulation and overtime Friday before Mercer won the shootout, 1-0. Mercer then shut out Deux-Montagnes 2-0 and closed with a 6-1 win over Universel Collège Gatineau.

The Rockets also remained in the early Atlantic race with victories over the New York Dynamo and Universel Sherbrooke.

Red Bank’s weekend included a 3-1 win over St-Lazare and a 2-1 overtime victory against the Hudson Knights. Nathan Riendeau buried Sunday’s winner 2:44 into overtime.

The Jersey Hitmen closed with a 9-3 victory over Kingston behind Victor Michagin’s hat trick and two goals from Anthony Prunty.

Atlantic finals

  • Friday: Mercer 1, Universel Sherbrooke 0 (SO); P.A.L. 5, St-Lazare 3.
  • Saturday: Mercer 2, Deux-Montagnes 0; Rockets 5, New York Dynamo 2; P.A.L. 4, Hudson Knights 2; Red Bank 3, St-Lazare 1; Jersey 8, Ottawa Valley 5; West Chester 3, Hudson Knights 1; P.A.L. 4, Universel Collège Gatineau 1.
  • Sunday: WBS 3, Universel Collège Gatineau 1; Jersey 9, Kingston 3; West Chester 5, St-Lazare 1; Red Bank 2, Hudson Knights 1 (OT); WBS 5, New York Dynamo 3; Rockets 3, Universel Sherbrooke 2; P.A.L. 10, Ottawa Valley 3; Mercer 6, Universel Collège Gatineau 1; New Jersey Renegades 11, Kingston 1; West Chester 4, Somang 2.

Florida Conference – Tampa Bay Stays Perfect

Tampa Bay took control of the Florida Conference by sweeping its two-game series against Coral Springs.

The Juniors held on for a 3-2 victory Friday behind goals from Ethan Palso, Reece Smock and Elliott Hernandez. Tampa Bay completed the sweep Sunday with a 6-0 shutout, receiving goals from six different players.

The Florida Eels also swept their weekend series. The Eels defeated the Florida Surge 5-1 Saturday and scored three times in the third period of Sunday’s 4-1 victory. The two wins extended Florida’s streak to three.

Typhoon Hockey Club earned its first victory by edging the Florida Jr. Blades 4-3 Saturday.

Florida finals

  • Friday: Tampa Bay 3, Coral Springs 2.
  • Saturday: Typhoon Hockey Club 4, Florida Jr. Blades 3; Florida Eels 5, Florida Surge 1.
  • Sunday: Florida Eels 4, Florida Surge 1; Tampa Bay 6, Coral Springs 0.

Great Lakes Conference  – Metro’s Offense Takes Over

The Metro Jets scored 25 goals and won three times to remain atop the Great Lakes.

Joseph Rebone recorded a hat trick in Friday’s 15-3 victory over the Northwest Express. Metro added a 5-0 win over Decatur Blaze J18 before defeating the Dells Ducks 5-1 Saturday. Cameron Staskowski supplied another hat trick against Dells.

Columbus took five of six available points. The Mavericks defeated Dells 5-1 and Fresh Coast 9-0, with their only setback coming in an 8-6 shootout against the Chicago Crush.

Toledo swept its series with Flint to improve to 4-0-0-0. Liam Martin scored twice in Friday’s 5-1 victory before the Cherokee completed the sweep 4-2 Saturday.

Metro, Columbus, Toledo and Chicago all finished the weekend with winning records, leaving four points between first and fourth.

Great Lakes finals

  • Friday: Toledo 5, Flint 1; Metro 15, Northwest 3; Metro 5, Decatur Blaze J18 0; Columbus 5, Dells 1; Chicago Crush 8, Columbus 6 (SO).
  • Saturday: Metro 5, Dells 1; Columbus 9, Fresh Coast 0; Toledo 4, Flint 2.

Midwest Conference – MJDP Sweeps Four

MJDP produced one of the weekend’s most important standings moves by winning four games and climbing into second place.

The run began with a 9-2 victory over the Hudson Havoc. MJDP defeated Decatur Blaze J18 3-2 Saturday before taking a 2-1 overtime decision from the Chicago Crush. A 4-2 victory over Dells on Sunday completed the sweep.

Anthony Doucet, Hayes Hanson, Ronald Lubbers and Daniel Hanzal supplied the goals Sunday.

MJDP finished the weekend with eight points, moving within two of the idle Cincinnati Cyclones.

Midwest finals

  • Friday: MJDP 9, Hudson Havoc 2.
  • Saturday: MJDP 3, Decatur Blaze J18 2; MJDP 2, Chicago Crush 1 (OT).
  • Sunday: MJDP 4, Dells 2.

New England Conference – Northern Sweeps Utica

The Northern Cyclones opened their Premier season with two victories over the Utica Jr. Comets.

Northern posted a 4-0 shutout Saturday. The Cyclones then broke a 1-1 tie by scoring three times in the third period of Sunday’s 4-2 victory, completing a sweep in which they allowed only two goals.

Cyclones Academy also delivered an overtime result, edging the New England Wolves 4-3 Saturday.

The conference’s wildest game came Friday at the Hitmen Showcase. The Boston Jr. Terriers defeated the South Shore Kings 8-7 in a shootout after the teams combined for 15 regulation goals. Tyler Lessard and Logan Souza scored twice for Boston, while Garrett Sager recorded a hat trick for South Shore.

New England finals

  • Friday: Boston Jr. Terriers 8, South Shore Kings 7 (SO).
  • Saturday: Northern Cyclones 4, Utica 0; Cyclones Academy 4, New England Wolves 3 (OT).
  • Sunday: Northern Cyclones 4, Utica 2.

North Conference – Hudson Wins A 13-Goal Battle

Hudson and Fresh Coast produced one of the weekend’s best back-and-forth games.

Austin Smith scored four times Saturday as the Havoc held off the Freeze 7-6. Brad Cook recorded a hat trick for Fresh Coast in the loss.

Dells earned its second victory of the season by defeating Chicago T-Rex J18 4-2 Saturday.

North finals

  • Saturday: Hudson Havoc 7, Fresh Coast 6; Dells 4, Chicago T-Rex J18 2.

Pacific Conference – Two Teams Finish 3-0

Salt Lake and Santa Clarita each completed perfect weekends and moved into a tie for second place behind the idle Long Beach Bombers.

Salt Lake opened with a 13-2 victory over San Diego. Michael Higginbotham recorded a hat trick in Saturday’s 8-1 win before the Ghost Riders completed the sweep 5-2 Sunday. Salt Lake scored 26 goals across the three games.

Santa Clarita also swept Iron County, winning 7-3, 6-2 and 5-4. The Lakers scored four times in the second period Saturday and held off a third-period Yeti comeback Sunday to extend their winning streak to five.

Pacific finals

  • Friday: Santa Clarita 7, Iron County 3; Salt Lake 13, San Diego 2.
  • Saturday: Salt Lake 8, San Diego 1; Santa Clarita 6, Iron County 2.
  • Sunday: Salt Lake 5, San Diego 2; Santa Clarita 5, Iron County 4.

Southeast Conference – Charlotte And Charleston Keep Winning

Charlotte remained perfect and finished Sunday at 4-0-0-0.

The Rush edged Potomac 5-4 Saturday before receiving goals from eight different players in Sunday’s 8-4 victory. Alex Aander Harwell scored the eventual winner early in the third period.

Charleston stayed one point behind Charlotte by sweeping Carolina. The Colonials won 5-3 Friday and posted a 5-0 shutout Saturday.

Yorktown held off Hampton Roads 5-4 Saturday, but the Whalers answered Sunday. Griffin Erickson scored with 2:10 remaining to give Hampton Roads a 4-3 victory.

Southeast finals

  • Friday: Charleston 5, Carolina 3.
  • Saturday: Yorktown 5, Hampton Roads 4; Charleston 5, Carolina 0; Charlotte 5, Potomac 4.
  • Sunday: Hampton Roads 4, Yorktown 3; Charlotte 8, Potomac 4.

St. Lawrence Conference – Showcase Results Tighten The Race

The Jersey Hitmen Showcase gave the St. Lawrence teams an early opportunity to measure themselves against opponents from outside their regular schedules.

Deux-Montagnes opened with an 8-0 victory over Jersey before being shut out by Mercer. The Ravens responded with a 4-3 overtime win against WBS, with Adriano Lisio scoring twice and burying the winner 4:43 into overtime. Michael Funaro’s hat trick powered Sunday’s 9-2 win over the Connecticut Junior Rangers.

Montreal swept its three weekend games. The Black Vees defeated CJR 9-3 Saturday, scored four times in the first period of Sunday’s 5-2 victory over the Rockets and later held off Red Bank 4-3.

Somang split its Sunday schedule in dramatic fashion. After shutting out the New Jersey Renegades 11-0, Somang fell 4-2 to West Chester. The Renegades responded to their shutout loss by defeating Kingston 11-1 later that day, with Cameron Guerra recording a hat trick.

St. Lawrence finals

  • Friday: Deux-Montagnes 8, Jersey 0; New York Dynamo 7, CJR 2; Hudson Knights 4, Connecticut Jr. Rangers 2; Universel Sherbrooke 6, CJR 4.
  • Saturday: Universel Sherbrooke 3, Connecticut Jr. Rangers 2 (OT); Kingston 4, CJR 2; Somang 4, Mercer 2; New York Dynamo 4, New Jersey Renegades 3 (SO); Deux-Montagnes 4, WBS 3 (OT); St-Lazare 6, Connecticut Jr. Rangers 1; Montreal 9, CJR 3.
  • Sunday: Montreal 5, Rockets 2; Somang 11, New Jersey Renegades 0; Deux-Montagnes 9, Connecticut Jr. Rangers 2; Montreal 4, Red Bank 3.

Alberta Conference – Late Goals And Overtime

Hanna and OLCN needed overtime Friday. Ciaran Henry scored 4:23 into the extra period to give the Havoc a 4-3 victory.

Chestermere produced one of the weekend’s best regulation comebacks. The Mustangs entered the third period trailing Three Hills 1-0 before scoring three times. Parker Ma buried the winner with 49 seconds remaining in the 3-2 victory.

Three Hills answered Saturday by defeating Calgary 7-4, while Bassano edged Claresholm 5-4.

Alberta finals

  • Friday: Chestermere 3, Three Hills 2; Hanna 4, OLCN 3 (OT).
  • Saturday: Bassano 5, Claresholm 4; Three Hills 7, Calgary 4.

By The Numbers

  • 76 games were completed from Friday through Sunday.
  • 20 games were decided by one goal.
  • 10 games required overtime or a shootout.
  • Nine shutouts were recorded.
  • P.A.L. won four games and climbed from seventh into a share of first.
  • Metro scored 25 goals during a three-win weekend.
  • MJDP swept four games and climbed into second place.
  • Salt Lake scored 26 goals while completing a three-game sweep.
  • Austin Smith scored four times in Hudson’s 7-6 victory.
  • Five teams reached double figures in a game: Metro, Salt Lake, P.A.L., Somang and the New Jersey Renegades.