2017-18 USPHL-Premier Season

This is the 2017-18 United States Premier Hockey League Premier League season.  This will be the league's fifth season.
The USPHL's highest level league had this name from the 2013-14 to 2016-17 season and was re-organized as the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) for the 2017-18 season.  The team's in this league previous completed as the USPHL's Elite Division during the same period.
This is the league's first season NOT being sanctioned by USA Hockey.  The USPHL withdrew from USA Hockey over a dispute regarding the sanctioning of the NCDC as a Tier-II (Free to play) Junior league.
==Membership Changes==
*On December 22, 2016 the USPHL announced that the Boston Bandits, Connecticut Nighthawks, Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones organizations are leaving the Eastern Hockey League and joining the United States Premier Hockey League for the 2017-18 season. This move would bring six premier level and five elite junior teams. The 16U, 18U and youth programs of these organizations would also be involved in this move. The Boston Bandits, New Jersey Rockets, and Northern Cyclones would be also be part of the National Collegiate Development Conference when it commences play for the 2017-18 season. In March 2017, the league announced that the USP3HL was being retired with the Premier and Elite Divisions remaining. The league also announced that the Jersey Shore Whalers and Florida Jr. Blades would be added to the Premier Division along with the Skipjacks Hockey Club. The Jr. Blades were also moving their USP3HL team to the Elite division. With the reorganization of the leagues many of the teams would move up from the Elite to Premier Division and from the USP3HL to the Elite Division for 2017-18. As part of fallout from the rejection of Tier-II status for the National Collegiate Development Conference; the whole United States Premier Hockey League withdrew from USA Hockey sanctioning and will be unsanctioned for the 2017-18 season. Previous speculation indicated that the USPHL may affiliate with the Amateur Athletic Union's United Hockey Union for 2017-18.
*The Springfield Pics stay in the Premier Division and don't elevate to the NCHC.
*The Connecticut Jr Rangers return from leave and join the Premier Division.
*In addition to the six organizations joining from the EHL new organizations include the Spooner, Wisconsin based Wisconsin Muskies; the York, Pennsylvania based Skipjacks Hockey Club, and the Harrington, Delaware based Delaware Lightning. The Delaware Lightning would be gone from the Premier League listing by the time the league schedule was released.
*Eight additional organizations made the jump from the USP3HL to the Premier Division (Daytona Racers, Decatur Blaze, Florida Jr. Blades, Ironwood Fighting Yoopers, Kalkaska Rhinos, Motor City Hawks, Traverse City North Stars, and Tri-City Ice Hawks. 
*On May 18, 2017 the league announced that the Hudson, Wisconsin based Hudson Havoc organization will be added to the Premier Midwest West Division for the 2017-18 season. The team will be based out of the Hudson Sports & Civic Center.
*The West Sound Warriors announced they would go dormant for the 2017-18 season, but the Vancouver Rangers of the Western States Hockey League relocated to Bremerton, Washington and would assume the Warriors identity in the WSHL.
*The Seattle Ravens announced they would be renamed the Kent Ravens and join the WSHL as well.
*On June 14, 2017 the USPHL announced the addition of the Minnesota Blue Ox who will be based out of the Coon Rapids Ice Center in Coon Rapids, Minnesota.  The team's ownership includes Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau, his wife Crystal, and Jay Witta who will be the head coach and general manager.  The team will play in the Premier Midwest West Division.
*On July 4, 2017 the Traverse City North Stars announced on their facebook page that they would suspend operations for the 2017-18 season citing rising cost of operating a junior hockey franchise.
*The Blaine Energy appears to have folded and been replaced by a new team named the Minnesota Moose playing out of the same arena.  The Moose change appears to have been made around June 10th as the first post on the new team's twiiter page was on that date with the official announcement being made on June 12th.
*On December 1, 2017 the league announced that they were adding the Auburn, Maine based Twin City Thunder to the North Division of the Premier League for the 2018-19 season.  The team will be based out of the Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.
*On January 28, 2018 the Kalkaska Rhinos forfeited a game and appear to have folded due to a lack of players.https://thejuniorhockeynews.com/the-death-pool-kalkaska-rhinos-dead-on-the-sceen/
==Teams==
North Division 	North Division 	North Division
Team 	Location 	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
Rochester Monarchs 	Rochester, New York 	Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex
South Shore Kings 	Foxboro, Massachusetts 	Foxboro Sports Center
Springfield Pics 	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Olympia Ice Center
Syracuse Stars 	Cicero, New York 	Cicero Twin Ice Arena
Mid-Atlantic Division 	Mid-Atlantic Division 	Mid-Atlantic Division
Connecticut Jr Rangers 	Stamford, Connecticut 	Chelsea Piers
Connecticut Nighthawks 	Simsbury, Connecticut 	International Skating Center of Connecticut
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 	Berkeley Heights, New Jersey 	Prudential Center
New York Jr. Aviators 	Brooklyn, New York 	Aviator Sports and Events Center
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 	Hauppauge, New York 	The Rinx-Hidden Pond Park
Skipjacks Hockey Club 	York, Pennsylvania 	York City Ice Arena
Southeast Division 	Southeast Division 	Southeast Division
Atlanta Jr. Knights 	Marietta, Georgia 	Marrietta 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 & Richmond Ice Zone
Florida Division 	Florida Division 	Florida Division
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 	Ellenton, Florida 	Ellenton Ice
Midwest East Division 	Midwest East Division 	Midwest East Division
Chicago Cougars 	West Dundee, Illinois 	Leafs Ice Centre and Sears Centre
Decatur Blaze 	Decatur, Illinois 	Decatur Civic Center
Detroit Fighting Irish 	Brownstown Township, Michigan 	Ice Box Sports Center
Kalkaska Rhinos 	Kalkaska, Michigan 	The Kaliseum
Motor City Hawks 	Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan 	Fraser Hockeyland
Tri-City Ice Hawks 	Bay City, Michigan 	Bay County Civic Arena
Midwest West Division 	Midwest West Division 	Midwest West Division
Dells Ducks 	Lake Delton, Wisconsin 	Poppy Waterman Ice Arena
Hudson Havoc 	Hudson, Wisconsin 	Hudson Sports & Civic Center
Ironwood Fighting Yoopers 	Ironwood, Michigan 	Pat O'Donnell Center
Minnesota Blue Ox 	Coon Rapids, Minnesota 	Coon Rapids Ice Center
Minnesota Moose 	Blaine, Minnesota 	Fogerty Arena
Minnesota Mullets 	Forest Lake, Minnesota 	Forest Lake Sports Center (Lichtscheidl Arena)
Steele County Blades 	Owatonna, MN 	Four Seasons Arena
Wisconsin Muskies 	Spooner, Wisconsin 	Spooner Civic Center
Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 	South Wood County Rec Center
==Standings==
===North Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs	44	35	8 	1 	218	100	71
Islanders Hockey Club 	44	29	9 	6 	179	113	64
Syracuse Stars 	44	30	12	2 	198	135	62
South Shore Kings 	44	27	11	6 	177	109	60
Boston Bandits 	44	26	15	3 	151	124	55
Northern Cyclones 	44	25	16	3 	156	125	53
Springfield Pics 	44	25	18	1 	149	144	51
Rochester Monarchs 	44	22	20	2 	169	145	46
Boston Jr. Bruins 	44	16	23	5 	123	193	37
===Mid-Atlantic Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
New Jersey Rockets 	44	35	5 	4 	221	114	74
Skipjacks Hockey Club 	44	27	10	7 	176	137	61
Jersey Hitmen 	44	25	16	3 	160	142	53
New York Jr. Aviators 	44	21	16	7 	202	189	49
Jersey Shore Whalers 	44	22	20	2 	158	186	46
Connecticut Nighthawks	44	14	22	8 	128	164	36
Connecticut Jr Rangers	44	15	25	4 	155	203	34
Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 	44	10	33	1 	117	221	21
P.A.L. Jr. Islanders 	44	6 	38	0 	96 	270	12
===Southeast Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Charlotte Rush 	44	40	2 	2 	280	76 	82
Hampton Roads Whalers	44	30	13	1 	166	102	61
Carolina Eagles 	44	26	17	1 	131	132	53
Richmond Generals 	44	23	19	2 	145	149	48
Atlanta Jr. Knights 	44	20	19	5 	155	159	45
Potomac Patriots 	44	11	31	2 	105	226	24
===Florida Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Tampa Bay Juniors 	44	30	13	1 	231	168	61
Florida Eels 	44	27	15	2 	199	152	56
Palm Beach Hawks 	44	20	20	4 	182	191	44
Florida Jr. Blades	44	18	22	4 	154	177	40
Daytona Racers 	44	8 	36	0 	155	262	16
===Midwest East Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Chicago Cougars 	43	30	11	2 	176	104	62
Motor City Hawks 	44	20	22	2 	166	208	42
Detroit Fighting Irish	43	18	22	3 	156	162	39
Kalkaska Rhinos 	44	15	28	1 	123	135	31
Decatur Blaze 	44	13	29	2 	114	176	28
Tri-City Ice Hawks 	44	5 	37	2 	82 	324	12
Kalkaska Rhinos fold after forfeiting a January 28th game and forfeit last 8 games 
===Midwest West Division===
Team 	GP	W 	L 	OL	GF 	GA 	Pts
Minnesota Moose 	44	37	5 	2 	236	94 	76
Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	44	33	10	1 	193	86 	67
Minnesota Blue Ox 	44	31	10	3 	182	136	65
Minnesota Mullets 	44	26	15	3 	165	122	55
Wisconsin Muskies 	44	22	18	4 	148	136	48
Ironwood Fighting Yoopers 	43	16	25	2 	164	208	34
Steele County Blades 	44	15	25	4 	129	174	34
Dells Ducks 	44	15	26	3 	109	173	33
Hudson Havoc 	44	8 	34	2 	87 	219	18
==Playoffs==
===North Division===
====Quarterfinals====
*New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs defeated Rochester Monarchs 2 games to none
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Springfield Pics 2 games to 1
*Northern Cyclones defeated Syracuse Stars 2 games to 1
*South Shore Kings defeated Boston Bandits 2 games to none
====Semifinals====
*Northern Cyclones defeated New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs 2 games to 1
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated South Shore Kings 2 games to 1
===Mid-Atlantic Division===
====Quarterfinals====
*New Jersey Rockets defeated Hartford Jr. Wolfpack 2 games to 1
*Connecticut Jr Rangers defeated Skipjacks Hockey Club 2 games to none
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Connecticut Nighthawks 2 games to none
*New York Jr. Aviators defeated Jersey Shore Whalers 2 games to none
====Semifinals====
*New Jersey Rockets defeated Connecticut Jr Rangers 2 games to none
*Jersey Hitmen defeated New York Jr. Aviators 2 games to none
===Southeast Division===
====Semifinals====
*Charlotte Rush defeated Richmond Generals 2 games to none
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Carolina Eagles 2 games to none
===Florida Division===
====Semifinals====
*Tampa Bay Juniors defeated Florida Jr. Blades 2 games to none
*Florida Eels defeated Palm Beach Hawks 2 games to 1
===Midwest-East Division===
====Quarterfinals====
*Decatur Blaze defeated Tri-City Ice Hawks 2 games to none
====Semifinals====
*Chicago Cougars defeated Decatur Blaze 2 games to none
*Motor City Hawks defeated Detroit Fighting Irish 2 games to 1
===Midwest-West Division===
====Quarterfinals====
*Minnesota Moose defeated Dells Ducks 2 games to none
*Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings defeated Steele County Blades 2 games to none
*Minnesota Blue Ox defeated Ironwood Fighting Yoopers 2 games to none
*Minnesota Mullets defeated Wisconsin Muskies 2 games to none
====Semifinals====
*Minnesota Moose defeated Minnesota Mullets 2 games to none
*Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings defeated Minnesota Blue Ox 2 games to none
==National Play Downs==
The event was scheduled to be held at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough, Massachusetts.  However, a storm caused havoc with the schedule for the tournament and players.  The NESC was without power for over 2 hours in the middle of the tournament and the players were staying in hotels that were without power.  Several of the games had to be moved to other rinks.
===Format===
The twelve division semifinal winners advance to the national play downs.  The teams are paired off in black and gold pools.  The pools are further divided into 2 groups of three within each pool.  The teams play a modified round robin where the teams in one group play two teams in the other group in their pool and one in their own.  The round robin portion of the tournament will be held March 7th and 8th.  The top team in each bracket advance to the semifinals on March 9th.  The semifinal winners meet in the championship game March 10th.
===Black Pool===
====Bracket A====
Charlotte Rush, Jersey Hitmen, and Motor City Hawks
====Bracket B====
Florida Eels, Islanders Hockey Club, and Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings
====Black Pool Results====
*Charlotte Rush defeated Florida Eels 8-1
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Motor City Hawks 6-0
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings 2-0
*Charlotte Rush defeated Motor City Hawks 14-1
*Jersey Hitmen defeated Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings 2-1
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Florida Eels 5-1
*Charlotte Rush defeated Jersey Hitmen 6-0
*Islanders Hockey Club defeated Motor City Hawks 4-3
*Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings vs Florida Eels (cancelled)
====Black Pool A Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Charlotte Rush 	3 	3	0	0 	28	2 	6
Jersey Hitmen 	3 	2	1	0 	8 	7 	4
Motor City Hawks	3 	0	3	0 	4 	24	0
====Black Pool B Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Islanders Hockey Club 	3 	3	0	0 	11	4 	6
Wisconsin Rapids RiverKings	2 	0	2	0 	1 	4 	0
Florida Eels 	2 	0	2	0 	2 	13	0
===Gold Pool===
====Bracket A====
Chicago Cougars, Hampton Roads Whalers, and New Jersey Rockets
====Bracket B====
Minnesota Moose, Northern Cyclones, and Tampa Bay Juniors
====Gold Pool Results====
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Tampa Bay Juniors 6-1
*New Jersey Rockets defeated Chicago Cougars 6-2
*Minnesota Moose defeated Northern Cyclones 7-5
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Chicago Cougars 10-2
*New Jersey Rockets defeated Minnesota Moose 7-1
*Tampa Bay Juniors defeated Northern Cyclones 3-2
*Minnesota Moose defeated Tampa Bay Juniors 4-1
*Hampton Roads Whalers vs New Jersey Rockets (cancelled)
*Northern Cyclones vs Chicago Cougars (cancelled)
====Gold Pool A Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Hampton Roads Whalers	2 	2	0	0 	16	3 	4
New Jersey Rockets 	2 	2	0	0 	13	3 	4
Chicago Cougars 	2 	0	2	0 	4 	16	0
====Gold Pool B Standings====
Team 	GP	W	L	OL	GF	GA	Pts
Minnesota Moose 	3 	2	1	0 	12	13	4
Tampa Bay Juniors	3 	1	2	0 	5 	12	2
Northern Cyclones	2 	0	2	0 	7 	10	0
===Semifinals===
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Islanders Hockey Club 2-1
*Charlotte Rush defeated Minnesota Moose 5-2
===Final===
*Hampton Roads Whalers defeated Charlotte Rush 3-2
==References==
Category:2018 in hockey
Category:USPHL Seasons