Meanwhile, the rest of the Northern Division the four Massachusetts team are playing in a more normal playoff format. The top-seeded Junior Bruins defeated the No. 4 Boston Advantage in three games, while the third-seeded Islanders Hockey Club beat the No. 2 South Shore Kings, also in three games.
The Jr. Bruins and Islanders HC will meet in the second-round playoff series for the chance to go to the final four.
Hodge said that the reason for the separate formats in the North Division is to keep teams as close as possible.
“It helps on travel and (keeps teams regionalized),” Hodge said. “We play the New Hampshire teams and the Mass. teams (will play against each other).”
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The United States Premier Hockey League held its National Collegiate Development Conference Futures Draft for players born in 2005 and 2006 on Sunday.
The Twin City Thunder selected three 2005-born players who will be eligible to play junior hockey next season: forwards Ryan Leonard, Spencer Hirsch and goaltender Hayden Rising. The Thunder’s other pick, 2006-born Aiden Pisano, can begin his junior hockey career in the 2022-23 season.
“You always try to get the best player that will fit in your organization,” Twin City Thunder co-owner and head coach Dan Hodge said. “You are obviously projecting a few years down the road. You never know. I want to get players from good programs, No. 1, and are doing well in their programs. Their advisers had reached out and sent us video.”
The Twin City Thunder are developing resiliency.
After letting a two-goal lead slip in the final five minutes of regulation, a goal by captain Nick Rashkovsky and an empty net goal by Hunter Schmitz gave the Thunder a 5-3 victory over the Utica Jr. Comets in a USPHL National Collegiate Development Conference contest at the Advent Health Center Ice in Wesley Chapel, Florida, on Tuesday.
“I thought we played a solid 60 minutes. I think we got into some penalty trouble late in the game and kind of gave them some life, but we found to pull out the two points,” Twin City Thunder assistant coach Alex Drulia said.
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The Twin City Thunder celebrate the victory over the Connecticut Junior Rangers Friday at the Advent Health Center Ice Rink in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
Josh Boyd/USPHL
Ever since the Twin City Thunder arrived in Wesley Chapel, Florida, NCDC head coach Dan Hodge has wanted more goal-scoring and being able to hold a lead. On Friday, he got both as the Thunder scored four times in the third period for a 5-4 victory over the Connecticut Junior Rangers at the Advent Health Center Ice Rink.
The players heard Hodge’s message during the second intermission after the team recently gave up leads to the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs and the Junior Bruins.
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After two periods, the Twin City Thunder had put up 26 shots but nothing to show for it. In the third period, they fired 10 shots and four found the back of the net in a 4-3 victory in a National Collegiate Development Conference game over the Boston Advantage at the Advent Health Center Ice Rink in the Wesley Chapel, Florida Tuesday morning.
The third period saw Thunder players driving to the net and making Advantage goalie Connor Bradford’s (26 saves) job more difficult.
“We took a lot of shots in (Bradford’s) glove and he made a lot of saves,” Thunder NCDC coach Dan Hodge said. “When you put the puck in his glove, he’s a good goalie. In the third period, we started to shoot off his body, going hard to the net and collecting rebounds.”