Tampa Bay Juniors - USPHL

Following a tough weekend against the Columbia Infantry, the Tampa Bay Juniors set sail for Palm Beach. The 3rd matchup between the teams prompted to be a good one for Tampa Bay as elite and premier came out victorious. The much-needed bounce back Tampa was looking for was the exact one they got.

Premier’s Close Contest

What looked to be a slow start to Tampa Bay’s game proved correct as the juniors were unable to get on the board in the first period. The shot totals favored Tampa Bay, but both goalies kept the score at a deadlock. The last two minutes of the 2nd period showed to be the turning point of the game as Aleksis Ostankovics was able to get the Juniors on the board. The 3rd period showed to be a battle between both offenses. The Juniors would collect three more goals one from Artjoms Kadnikovs and two from Milan Levcenko. Even though Tampa Bay held on for a 4-3 win the Juniors still gave up three in the 3rd which made this game a tight one till the last second. Onni Taskila who was in net for TBJ played an impressive game stopping 36 of 39 shots.

The 4-3 premier win was a big confidence boost. Premier who’s coming off two very close losses to Columbia needed a big win before they travel to estero for the “Florida Cup.” The team was able to continue their pressure throughout the game which finally led to some big goals.

What proved to be an issue for TBJ were the penalty minutes taken. The Juniors were fortunate not to allow any power play goals, but the team had 16 penalty minutes. Staying out of the box has been one thing Tampa’s been trying to work on. One thing Tampa Bay did good was take the puck away. Most of the first period and other parts of the game were played in the neutral zone.

Premier won the battle of the neutral for most of the game and were able to capitalize on opportunities entering the zone.

Elite’s Blowout Win

The Juniors elite team showed up in their competition against the Typhoon. Tampa Bay jumped out to a quick lead after the first up three to zero. The rest of the game proved to be the exact same way as the Juniors beat the Typhoon big 8-2.

Tampa Bay who arguably played their best game of the season was not going to be stopped in this contest. The elite squad was able to pound the offensive zone and put on 47 shots. Unlike premier, elite also did a good job of staying out of the box. Elite had six penalty minutes on three infractions, while Palm Beach had 40 minutes on five infractions.

The Juniors were also able to secure two power play goals. All around the elite team played a very impressive game. The team will hope to continue this streak of all around good play when they go to the “Florida Cup.” Spreading the puck around was an understatement in this game for Tampa Bay. Multiple different players were able to get on scoresheet in this game. There were 14 different players on the Tampa Bay roster that were able to notch their name on the scoresheet.

Nonetheless, Tampa Bay will hope to continue that hot streak to this coming weekend. Tampa Bay has struggled in some games that haven’t looked that close on paper, but with a performance like this you can only hope they can continue this amazing play.

The “Florida Cup”

As both teams will come back home for the week to fully regroup the focal point will now be set on the “Florida Cup.” Both teams will play the Florida Junior Everblades this coming weekend.

Considering this will be the first time these two teams meet should give the Juniors a chance to really see what the Everblades have in store. Regardless, this coming weekend will be an opportunity for the Juniors to truly prove themselves even more.