2017-18 USPHL-Elite Season

This is the 2017-18 United States Premier Hockey League Elite Division season.  This is the league's fifth season.  The league was known as the USPHL's Empire Division for 2013-14 and 2014-15.  The league was renamed the United States Premier 3 Hockey League for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.  The USP3HL was folded after the 2016-17 season with the remanining teams moving to the Elite Division, which was previously the USPHL's 2nd level league name (and renamed the Premier Division for 2017-18).  The division was originally formed from the Empire Junior Hockey League when it was absorbed by the USPHL when it was formed in 2013.
==Membership Changes==
*With the elimination of the USP3HL for the 2017-18 season, as of April 16, 2017 all of the members of the league except the Alpena Flyers appear to have members in the USPHL Elite League for the 2017-18 season.
*The Seattle Ravens withdrew from the USPHL and joined the Western States Hockey League as the Kent Ravens for the 2017-18 season. 
*The West Sound Warriors also withdrew from the USPHL and announced they were suspending operations for 2017-18; but the former Vancouver Rangers of the Western States Hockey League would move to Bremerton, Washington and assume the identity of the Warriors under the ownership of the original Vancouver team
*The Traverse City North Stars announced on July 5, 2017 that they were suspending operations for the 2017-18 season.
*The Kennewick, Washington based Tri-City Outlaws were no longer listed on the league website with no word on their fate
*The Eugene Generals are listed on the league website but are literally in a league all by themselves.  The team posted on its facebook page that it will paricipate in three USPHL showcase events and fill the balance of their schedule with independently scheduled games against teams such as the Wenatchee Wild and American Collegiate Hockey Association teams in the area (about a dozen teams are within 6 hour or so driving distance).
*The P.A.L. Jr. Islanders and Connecticut Nighthawks were apparently removed from the schedule just prior to the league schedule being posted.
*Team Beijing was renamed the Beijing Shougang Eagles
==Teams==
North Division 	North Division 	North Division
Team 	Centre 	Arena
Boston Bandits 	Bridgewater, Massachusetts 	Bridgewater Ice Arena
Boston Jr. Bruins 	Marlborough, Massachusetts 	New England Sports Center
Islanders Hockey Club 	Tyngsborough, Massachusetts 	Skate 3
New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs	Hooksett, New Hampshire 	Tri-Town Ice Arena
Northern Cyclones 	Hudson, New Hampshire 	Cyclones Arena
Springfield Pics 	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Olympia Ice Center
Mid-Atlantic Division 	Mid-Atlantic Division 	Mid-Atlantic Division
Team 	Centre 	Arena
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 	Cromwell, Connecticut 	Champions Skating Center
Jersey Hitmen 	Wayne, New Jersey 	Capital One Bank Ice Vault Arena
Jersey Shore Whalers 	Brick Township, New Jersey 	Ocean Ice Palace
New Jersey Rockets 	Bridgewater, New Jersey 	Bridgewater Sports Arena
New York Jr. Aviators 	Brooklyn, New York 	Aviator Sports and Events Center
Syracuse Stars 	Cicero, New York 	Cicero Twin Ice Arena
Beijing Shougang Eagles 	East Meadow, New York 	Northwell Health Ice Center
Southeast Division 	Southeast Division 	Southeast Division
Team 	Centre 	Arena
Atlanta Jr. Knights 	Marietta, Georgia 	Marietta Ice Center
Carolina Eagles 	Wake Forest, North Carolina 	Polar Ice House
Charlotte Rush 	Indian Trail, North Carolina 	Extreme Ice Center
Hampton Roads Whalers 	Chesapeake, Virginia 	Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex
Potomac Patriots 	Woodbridge, Virginia 	Prince William Ice Center
Richmond Generals 	Richmond, Virginia 	SkateNation Plus
Florida Division 	Florida Division 	Florida Division
Team 	Centre 	Arena
Daytona Racers 	Daytona Beach, Florida 	Daytona International Skateway
Florida Eels 	Fort Myers, Florida 	Fort Myers Skatium
Florida Jr. Blades 	Estero, Florida 	Germain Arena
Palm Beach Hawks 	Lake Worth, Florida 	Palm Beach Skate Zone
Tampa Bay Juniors 	Wesley Chapel, Florida 	Florida Hospital Centre Ice
Pacific Division 	Pacific Division 	Pacific Division
Team 	Centre 	Arena
Eugene Generals 	Eugene, OR 	The Rink Exchange
==Standings==
===North Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Islanders Hockey Club 	44	36	4 	4 	245	109	76
Boston Jr. Bruins 	44	31	11	2 	199	114	64
Boston Bandits 	44	30	11	3 	191	119	63
Northern Cyclones 	44	26	15	3 	213	141	55
New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs	44	26	15	3 	226	128	55
Syracuse Stars 	41	8 	28	5 	110	243	21
Springfield Pics 	44	7 	36	1 	84 	278	15
===Mid-Atlantic Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Jersey Hitmen 	44	28	12	4 	175	107	60
New Jersey Rockets 	43	23	16	4 	208	154	50
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 	44	21	21	2 	161	147	44
Beijing Shougang Eagles	41	21	19	1 	163	151	43
Jersey Shore Whalers 	43	16	27	0 	138	181	32
New York Jr. Aviators 	44	1 	42	1 	71 	376	3
===Southeast Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Charlotte Rush 	44	39	5 	0 	236	79 	78
Hampton Roads Whalers	44	32	8 	4 	187	113	68
Richmond Generals 	44	29	12	3 	179	114	61
Carolina Eagles 	44	27	17	0 	174	127	54
Atlanta Jr. Knights 	44	19	23	2 	142	167	40
Potomac Patriots 	44	2 	41	1 	56 	224	5
===Florida Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Tampa Bay Juniors 	44	32	10	2 	169	100	66
Florida Jr. Blades	44	29	14	1 	154	125	59
Florida Eels 	44	18	17	9 	121	130	45
Palm Beach Hawks 	44	17	21	6 	149	175	40
Daytona Racers 	44	6 	34	4 	111	259	16
===Pacific Division===
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Eugene Generals	14	7	7	0 	34	35	14
==Playoffs==
===Format===
The North and Mid-Atlantic Division held single elimination play-in games between the fourth and fifth place teams for the fourth spot in the division semifinals.  The division semifinal winners advance to the Round Robin portion of the playoffs where teams are paired off in two pools of four.  The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals and the semifinal winners advance to the championship game.
===Play-In Games===
*Northern Cyclones defeated New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs 5-1
*Hartford Jr. Wolfpack defeated Jersey Shore Whalers 7-1
===Division Semifinals===
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Northern Cyclones 2 games to none
*Boston Bandits defeated Boston Jr. Bruins 2 games to none
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 2 games to none
*Beijing Shougang Eagles defeated New Jersey Rockets 2 games to none
*Tampa Bay Juniors defeated Palm Beach Hawks 2 games to 1
*Florida Jr. Blades defeated Florida Eels 2 games to 1
*Charlotte Rush defeated Carolina Eagles 2 games to 1
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Richmond Generals 2 games to 1
===Round Robin===
====Pool A====
*Boston Bandits defeated Tampa Bay Juniors 6-3
*Charlotte Rush defeated Beijing Shougang Eagles 8-0
*Tampa Bay Juniors defeated Charlotte Rush 2-1
* Beijing Shougang Eagles defeated Boston Bandits 6-4
*Charlotte Rush defeated Boston Bandits 7-2
* Beijing Shougang Eagles defeated Tampa Bay Juniors 6-4
====Pool A Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Charlotte Rush 	3 	2	1	0 	16	4 	4
Beijing Shougang Eagles	3 	2	1	0 	12	16	4
Boston Bandits 	3 	1	2	0 	10	14	2
Tampa Bay Juniors 	3 	1	2	0 	9 	15	2
====Pool B====
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Islanders Hockey Club 5-1
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Florida Jr. Blades 7-1
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Florida Jr. Blades 5-1
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Islanders Hockey Club 3-2
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Jersey Hitmen  4-3
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Florida Jr. Blades 9-2
====Pool B Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Hampton Roads Whalers	3 	3	0	0 	14	5 	6
Jersey Hitmen 	3 	2	1	0 	13	7 	4
Islanders Hockey Club	3 	1	2	0 	12	10	2
Florida Jr. Blades 	3 	0	3	0 	4 	21	0
===Semifinals===
*Charlotte Rush defeated Jersey Hitmen 4-2
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Beijing Shougang Eagles 7-1
===Final===
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Charlotte Rush 5-4 (ot)
Category:USPHL Seasons
Category:2018 in hockey