2018–19 USPHL Premier season

2018–19 USPHL Premier season
2018–19 USPHL Premier season
League	United States Premier Hockey League; Premier
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	Regular season; September 7, 2018 – February 24, 2019; Post-season; March 2019
Number of games	44–4
Number of teams	52
Regular season
Season champions	Metro Jets
USPHL Premier Playoffs
Finals champions	Hampton Roads Whalers
Runners-up	Metro Jets

The 2018–19 USPHL Premier season was the 6th season of the Premier Division of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The regular season ran from September 7, 2018 to February 24, 2019 with an unbalanced schedule. The Metro Jets won the regular season championship and reached the league final where they were defeated by the Hampton Roads Whalers 5–2.

Member changes

On December 1, 2017, the Twin City Thunder were approved as an expansion team to the Premier Division for this season.^[1]

On March 10, the USPHL approved the addition of the Philadelphia Hockey Club as an expansion team for this season.^[2]

Five days later, the Wisconsin Muskies announced that their home rink, the Spooner Civic Center, had terminated the team's lease.^[3] The Muskies were unable to find a new home and folded before the start of this season.

On April 19, the USPHL approved the entry of the entire NA3HL Great Lakes Division into the Premier Division.^[4] The teams were the Lansing Wolves, Metro Jets, Pittsburgh Vengeance, Southern Tier Xpress, Toledo Cherokee and Wooster Oilers. Additionally, the Jets' development team, called the Metro Jets Development Program, also joined the Premier Division as well.

Shortly afterwards, the Southern Tier Xpress were sold to the owner of the Lake Erie Eagles. The team relocated to Erie Pennsylvania and were renamed as the Lake Erie Bighorns. However, just before the start of the season, the Bighorns were forced to suspend operations due to a lack of players and insufficient recruiting time.^[5]

In May, the Kasson Vipers and Niagara Falls Thunder were added as an additional expansion teams.

Over the summer, the Midwest Blackhawks returned from their two-year hiatus and promoted their program from the Elite Division to the Premier Division.

In the offseason, the Atlanta Jr. Knights rebranded as the Atlanta Kings, the Motor City Hawks rebranded as the Motor City Hockey Club, while the Daytona Racers rebranded as the DME Swamp Rabbits.

Additionally, the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers relocated and became the Rum River Mallards.

Before the start of the season, the P.A.L. Jr. Islanders suspended play for the season. They would return to league for the following season.

On October 8, the Palm Beach Hawks withdrew from the league after playing just 4 games (all losses).^[6] The organization folded shortly afterwards.

Regular season

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:^[7]

Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title

Standings

Florida Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – DME Swamp Rabbits	44	30	11	3	63	171	105
x – Florida Eels	44	28	13	3	59	208	121
x – Tampa Bay Juniors	44	15	24	5	35	121	165
x – Florida Jr. Blades	44	10	31	3	23	90	187
Palm Beach Hawks	4	0	4	0	0	6	47

Great Lakes Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xyz – Metro Jets	44	39	4	1	79	197	79
x – Pittsburgh Vengeance	44	26	12	6	58	158	109
x – Metro Jets Development Program	44	27	17	0	54	175	119
x – Lansing Wolves	44	23	18	3	49	140	151
Wooster Oilers	44	16	25	3	35	113	153
Toledo Cherokee	44	13	28	3	29	111	170

Mid-Atlantic Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – New York Aviators	44	34	6	4	72	255	116
x – Skipjacks Hockey Club	44	29	11	4	62	172	108
x – New Jersey Hitmen	43	26	13	4	56	148	120
x – New Jersey Rockets	43	21	20	2	44	124	150
x – Philadelphia Hockey Club	43	14	26	3	31	121	191
x – Jersey Shore Whalers	43	9	27	7	25	109	198

Midwest East Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Chicago Cougars	44	28	14	2	58	201	118
x – Motor City Hockey Club	44	26	18	0	52	177	134
x – Midwest Blackbirds	44	17	25	2	36	139	178
x – Decatur Blaze	44	17	26	1	35	153	167
x – Detroit Fighting Irish	44	9	33	2	20	90	268
x – Tri-City Ice Hawks	44	2	39	3	7	79	346

Midwest West Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Minnesota Moose	44	32	12	0	64	205	98
x – Hudson Havoc	44	31	11	2	64	180	97
x – Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	44	29	14	1	59	163	103
x – Minnesota Blue Ox	44	25	17	2	52	191	145
x – Rum River Mallards	42	25	16	1	51	170	108
x – Minnesota Mullets	44	22	19	3	47	155	145
x – Dells Ducks	43	18	23	2	38	124	156
x – Kasson Vipers	43	10	31	2	22	110	249
Steele County Blades	44	6	38	0	12	59	213

New England Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Northern Cyclones	44	34	6	4	72	177	95
x – Boston Bandits	44	33	7	4	70	145	88
x – South Shore Kings	44	28	14	2	58	140	124
x – New Hampshire Junior Monarchs	44	27	14	3	57	155	108
x – Islanders Hockey Club	44	25	14	5	55	128	108
x – Twin City Thunder	44	21	17	6	48	147	136
Boston Junior Bruins	44	16	22	6	38	125	157

Northeast Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Connecticut Nighthawks	44	28	11	5	61	163	111
x – Springfield Pics	44	24	17	3	51	139	105
x – Syracuse Stars	44	21	18	5	47	147	141
x – Connecticut Jr. Rangers	44	19	21	4	42	171	203
x – Niagara Falls Thunder	44	17	25	2	36	121	150
x – Rochester Monarchs	44	11	30	3	25	113	192
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack	44	11	31	2	24	108	198

Southeast Division

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
xy – Hampton Roads Whalers	43	37	5	1	75	188	82
x – Charlotte Rush	43	33	8	2	68	186	96
x – Richmond Generals	43	27	13	3	57	160	116
x – Carolina Eagles	44	22	20	2	46	105	113
Atlanta Kings	43	19	21	3	41	127	134
Potomac Patriots	44	8	31	5	21	76	165

Premier Division playoffs

Divisional Round

Teams are reseeded after the quarterfinal rounds.

Florida

Semifinals (Best-of-3)

1	DME Swamp Rabbits	?

4	Florida Jr. Blades	?



2	Florida Eels	2

3	Tampa Bay Juniors	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Great Lakes

Semifinals (Best-of-3)

1	Metro Jets	2

4	Lansing Wolves	0



2	Pittsburgh Vengeance	2

3	Metro Jets Development Program	0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Mid-Atlantic

Quarterfinals (Best-of-3)			Semifinals (Best-of-3)

			1	New York Aviators	2
3	New Jersey Hitmen	2	4	New Jersey Rockets	1
6	Jersey Shore Whalers	0

			2	Skipjacks Hockey Club	1
4	New Jersey Rockets	2	3	New Jersey Hitmen	2
5	Philadelphia Hockey Club	0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Midwest East

Quarterfinals (Best-of-3)			Semifinals (Best-of-3)

			1	Chicago Cougars	2
3	Midwest Blackbirds	2	4	Decatur Blaze	0
6	Tri-City Ice Hawks	0

			2	Motor City Hockey Club	2
4	Decatur Blaze	2	3	Midwest Blackbirds	1
5	Detroit Fighting Irish	0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Midwest West

Quarterfinals (Best-of-3)			Semifinals (Best-of-3)

1	Minnesota Moose	2

8	Kasson Vipers	0
			1	Minnesota Moose	2

			7	Dells Ducks	0
2	Hudson Havoc	1

7	Dells Ducks	2



3	Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	2

6	Minnesota Mullets	0
			2	Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	0

			3	Minnesota Blue Ox	2
4	Minnesota Blue Ox	2

5	Rum River Mallards	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

New England

Quarterfinals (Best-of-3)			Semifinals (Best-of-3)

			1	Northern Cyclones	1
3	South Shore Kings	2	4	New Hampshire Junior Monarchs	2
6	Twin City Thunder	0

			2	Boston Bandits	2
4	New Hampshire Junior Monarchs	2	3	South Shore Kings	0
5	Islanders Hockey Club	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Northeast

Quarterfinals (Best-of-3)			Semifinals (Best-of-3)

			1	Connecticut Nighthawks	2
3	Syracuse Stars	2	4	Connecticut Jr. Rangers	1
6	Rochester Monarchs	0

			2	Springfield Pics	0
4	Connecticut Jr. Rangers	2	3	Syracuse Stars	2
5	Niagara Falls Thunder	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Southeast

Semifinal (Best-of-3)

1	Hampton Roads Whalers	2

4	Carolina Eagles	0



2	Charlotte Rush	2

3	Richmond Generals	0

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

National Round

The 16 qualifying teams were sorted into four separate pools for Round Robin play. The top team from each pool would advance to the Championship round.

Round Robin

Pool W

		MET	FJB	CHC	CON
1	Metro Jets		2–2	5–1	7–1
2	Florida Jr. Blades	2–2		4–1	3–2
3	Chicago Cougars	1–5	1–4		2–1
4	Connecticut Nighthawks	1–7	2–3	1–2

Rank	Team	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
1	Metro Jets	2	0	1	5	14	4
2	Florida Jr. Blades	2	0	1	5	11	5
3	Chicago Cougars	1	2	0	2	4	10
4	Connecticut Nighthawks	0	3	0	0	4	12

Pool X

		HAM	FLE	SYR	PIT
1	Hampton Roads Whalers		1–3	4–0	5–1
2	Florida Eels	3–1		4–4	2–4
3	Syracuse Stars	0–4	4–4		2–1
4	Pittsburgh Vengeance	1–5	4–2	1–2

Rank	Team	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
1	Hampton Roads Whalers	2	1	0	4	10	4
2	Florida Eels	1	1	1	3	9	9
3	Syracuse Stars	1	1	1	3	6	9
4	Pittsburgh Vengeance	1	2	0	2	6	9

Pool Y

		MBO	CHA	NYA	NJM
1	Minnesota Blue Ox		3–3	6–3	2–1
2	Charlotte Rush	3–3		3–1	1–0
3	New York Aviators	3–6	1–3		2–0
4	New Hampshire Junior Monarchs	1–2	0–1	0–2

Rank	Team	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA
1	Minnesota Blue Ox	2	0	1	5	11	7
2	Charlotte Rush	2	0	1	5	7	4
3	New York Aviators	1	2	0	2	6	9
4	New Hampshire Junior Monarchs	0	3	0	0	1	5

Pool Z

		BOB	NJH	MNM	MCH
1	Boston Bandits		6–1	4–3	7–1
2	New Jersey Hitmen	1–6		2–1	8–0
3	Minnesota Moose	3–4	1–2		9–1
4	Motor City Hockey Club	1–7	0–8	1–9

Rank	Team	W	L	Pts	GF	GA
1	Boston Bandits	3	0	6	17	5
2	New Jersey Hitmen	2	1	4	11	7
3	Minnesota Moose	1	2	2	13	7
4	Motor City Hockey Club	0	3	0	2	24

Games in italics indicate overtime or shootout results.

Championship round

Semifinals			Championship

W	Metro Jets	7

Y	Minnesota Blue Ox	1
			W	Metro Jets	2

			X	Hampton Roads Whalers	5
X	Hampton Roads Whalers	5

Z	Boston Bandits	1

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

References

^ "USPHL Adds Twin City Thunder For 2018". The Junior Hockey News. December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
^ "The Philadelphia Hockey Club Joins the USPHL". The Junior Hockey News. March 10, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2025.
^ "The Death Pool – Special Report – Wisconsin Muskies Out Of Spooner". The Junior Hockey News. March 15, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
^ "USPHL ANNOUNCES PREMIER DIVISION EXPANSION FOR THE 2018 – 2019 SEASON WITH SIX NEW TEAMS IN THE GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE". United States Premier Hockey League. April 19, 2018.
^ "Lake Erie Bighorns suspend operations". Go Erie. September 16, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
^ "The Death Pool – Palm Beach Hawks Are Dead More Casualties On The Way". The Junior Hockey News. October 8, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
^ "USPHL Standings". United States Premier Hockey League. Retrieved May 30, 2025.

General reference

External links

Official website of the USPHL Premier Division

[1] "USPHL Adds Twin City Thunder For 2018". The Junior Hockey News. December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2025.

[2] "The Philadelphia Hockey Club Joins the USPHL". The Junior Hockey News. March 10, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2025.

[3] "The Death Pool – Special Report – Wisconsin Muskies Out Of Spooner". The Junior Hockey News. March 15, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

[4] "USPHL ANNOUNCES PREMIER DIVISION EXPANSION FOR THE 2018 – 2019 SEASON WITH SIX NEW TEAMS IN THE GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE". United States Premier Hockey League. April 19, 2018.

[5] "Lake Erie Bighorns suspend operations". Go Erie. September 16, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

[6] "The Death Pool – Palm Beach Hawks Are Dead More Casualties On The Way". The Junior Hockey News. October 8, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2025.

[7] "USPHL Standings". United States Premier Hockey League. Retrieved May 30, 2025.

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United States Premier Hockey League Premier Division
Alberta	Bassano Beavers Calgary Bandits Diamond Valley Rockies Hanna Havoc Southern Alberta Mustangs Three Hills Titans
Atlantic	Brooklyn Aviators Connecticut Jr. Rangers Elmira Impact Hershey Cubs Jersey Hitmen New Jersey Renegades P.A.L. Jr. Islanders Red Bank Generals Rockets Hockey Club West Chester Wolves Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
Florida	Bold City Battalion Coral Springs Jr. Cats Florida Eels Florida Jr. Blades Tampa Bay Juniors Typhoon Hockey Club
Great Lakes	Battle Creek Kernels Bearcat Hockey Club Cincinnati Jr. Cyclones Columbus Mavericks Fresh Coast Freeze Metro Jets Red River Spartans Toledo Cherokee
Midwest	Chicago Cougars Chicago Crush Chicago T-Rex Evansville Mariners Fort Wayne Spacemen Metro Jets Development Program
New England	Boston Junior Rangers Islanders Hockey Club Northern Cyclones South Shore Kings Springfield Pics Thunder Hockey Club Utica Jr. Comets Worcester Jr. Railers
North	Dells Ducks Hudson Havoc Minnesota Blue Ox Minnesota Mullets Minnesota Outlaws Minnesota Squatch Northwest Express Steele County Blades Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings
Northwest	Bellingham Blazers Bremerton Sockeyes Casper Warbirds Colorado Fighting Elk Iron County Yeti McCall Smokejumpers Rogue Valley Royals Seattle Totems Vernal Oilers
Pacific	Fresno Monsters Henderson Force Lake Tahoe Lakers Long Beach Bombers Ontario Jr. Reign San Diego Sabers Ventura Vikings
Southeast	Atlanta Madhatters Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Charleston Colonials Charlotte Rush Hampton Roads Whalers Potomac Patriots
St. Lawrence	Burlington Beavers Collège Universel Gatineau Hawkesbury Knights Kingston Wranglers Montreal Black Vees NY Dynamo Ottawa Valley Centennials St-Lazare Avalanche Somang Hockey Universel Quebec Universel Sherbrooke
Former teams	Anaheim Avalanche Atlanta Jr. Knights Atlanta Kings Bakersfield Roughnecks Bay State Breakers Boston Advantage Boston Bandits Boston Junior Bruins Bridgewater Bandits Buffalo Stampede Buffalo Thunder Carolina Eagles Casper Roughnecks Columbia Infantry Connecticut Nighthawks Connecticut Yankees Daytona Racers Decatur Blaze Detroit Fighting Irish DME Swamp Rabbits Elmira Jr. Enforcers Hartford Jr. Wolfpack Ironwood Fighting Yoopers Isanti Outlaws Jersey Shore Whalers Jersey Whalers Kalkaska Rhinos Kasson Vipers Lake Erie Bighorns Lansing Wolves Las Vegas Thunderbirds Long Beach Shredders MHC Midwest Blackbirds Minnesota Moose Motor City Gamblers Motor City Hawks Motor City Hockey Club Nashville Spartans New Hampshire Junior Monarchs New York Aviators Niagara Falls Thunder Northern Colorado Eagles Ogden Mustangs Okanagan European Eagles Palm Beach Hawks Philadelphia Hockey Club Philadelphia Jr. Flyers Pittsburgh Vengeance Portland Jr. Pirates Provo Predators Provo Riverblades Pueblo Bulls Richmond Generals Rochester Jr. Americans Rochester Monarchs Rochester Vipers Rock Springs Prospectors Rum River Mallards Skipjacks Hockey Club Southern Oregon Spartans Syracuse Stars Tri-City Ice Hawks Twin City Thunder Utah Outliers Wisconsin Muskies Wooster Oilers
USPHL Premier Seasons	2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25