Tampa Bay Juniors - USPHL

The Tampa Bay Juniors wrapped up the 2019 portion of the season on Monday as hosts of the USPHL Florida Showcase.
The 4 day showcase, which saw 35+ college scouts, was widely considered a huge success!

Premier-

TBJ finished the showcase with a 1-2-1 record, good enough for 3 crucial points in the standings. Tampa currently sits a single point behind Charleston for second place in the “Florida” division, with 2 games in hand.

Friday’s match against defending champions Hampton Roads saw a tightly contested game throughout, with Hampton chipping away for a 4-1 victory. Stanley Lucas converted on the power play, with assists coming from Garrett Sandberg and Keegan Johnson.

Saturday evening’s game against the 7th overall Richmond Generals saw TBJ hand the generals just their 9th loss on the season. Paul Flidr’s 8th goal on the season proved to be the game winner as Cade Kujawski was solid between the pipes for a 3-2 win.

Sunday’s contest with the Potomac Patriots featured a goalie battle for the ages. Both net minders turned aside 33 of 34 shots through regulation and over time. Zach Puterbaugh picked up his 5th goal of the year before Potomac tied it at 1 apiece. Milton Rosen’s effort in net was good enough to secure a point for TBJ, as Potomac won in the shootout.

Monday brought an end to the showcase with a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Jr. Canes. the Canes scored the eventual game winner with just 4 minutes left in the game to break the 2-2 tie. Goals from Sam Adler and Connor Reed helped Tampa on the scoreboard.

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Elite

Carson Schuldt opened the scoring against the Hampton Roads Whalers, in what would prove to be a tightly contested showcase opener. Ronan Keenan added a pair of goals, and Evan Spinella turned aside 30 of 34 shots in a 4-3 loss.

Saturday’s rematch of the 2018-2019 Elite finals between the Tampa Bay Juniors and the Richmond Generals felt eerily similar in many aspects as the championship game last season. The exciting chaos of this matchup saw each team score 3 times in the first 13 minutes of the game. No team carried a lead for more than 3 minutes after the initial goal of the period. Things finally settled down into the second period, before Richmond would score for a 4th and final time. Their tally, would prove to be the game winner as the rest of the game became a defensive battle.

Alexander Higginbotham turned aside 28 of 29 shots on Sunday to help the Tampa Bay Juniors as they beat the Potomac Patriots 4-1.  Ryan Bahula, Ronan Keenan, Jonny Scheer, and Adam Custable found the back of the net.

Monday’s game against the Carolina Jr. Canes did not start off promisingly. TBJ found themselves down by 3 with under a minute left in the second period, before a power play tally by Max Weinstock gave them life. At the intermission the message was clear; 110% effort on every shift, and let’s see what we are made of. Jonny Scheer converted on the rebound off a point shot from Ronan Keenan to pull them within 1. With 3:12 left on the clock, Matthew Menkhaus buried a beautiful pass from Nevada Woodring to tie the game. After an exciting, back and forth over time session came to a scoreless conclusion, the shootout was next. In the 4th round of a scoreless shootout, Ronan Keenan slid the puck into the back of the net with one hand, to seal the game and pull off a huge comeback victory for TBJ.