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Red Hot Juniors Head to Atlanta for Season Finale

02/26/2023, 9:15pm EST
By Christian Adams

The Tampa Bay Juniors will head to the ATL to close the season with a 3-game series with the Atlanta Madhatters. The team will do so on a massive hot streak. Premier has won seven in a row, which is the 5th longest active win streak in the league. Elite is just as hot as they have won 8 of their last 10 with the only two loses coming to the Florida Eels. Although Elite has clinched second place, Premier will be battling for second place and "home ice advantage" in the first round. 

 

Taking Care of Business

Both Elite and Premier were able to take of business against the Florida Jr. Blades last weekend. Premier grabbed the home finale 5-4 last Thursday. Overall it was a bit rough around the edges however, Connor Nelson would steal the show scoring four goals as well as picking up his 100th career point. Mons shutout streak would end at 144 minutes but nevertheless Premier was able to come away with the win. On Friday the Juniors got off to a slow start and found themselves down 2-0 after the first period. However, Tampa Bay would not miss their chance to clinch as they scored seven of the next eight goals to win 7-3. Premier sported six different goal scores with Aleksis Ostankovics scoring twice. The win clinch Tampa Bay's berth in the postseason and point them one point ahead of Atlanta heading into the last when of the season. 

Elite would take two of the three games they played this weekend. The team would sweep their home-and-home series with the Jr. Blades including a 6-2 win in the home finale on Thursday. Friday, was more of the same. Despite being down 1-0, Elite once again dominated the second period scoring four goals. Playing their third game in three days Tampa Bay traveled to Ft. Myers to face the Eels for the last time in the regular season. The skatium has been unkind to the Juniors this year. However, the team put together one of the best performances of year in Ft. Myers. The teams would trade goals before JJ Diaz made it 3-2 with under four minutes to go in the second. The Eels would hold on to the win, but the effort is a good sign for Tampa Bay heading in to the postseason. 

 

On to Atlanta

The Juniors will close out the regular season with a 3-game series against the Atlanta Madhatters. On the Elite side the series doesn't mean a whole lot to Tampa Bay. With second place locked up they are just looking to fine tune their game heading into the postseason. For Atlanta however, it means a lot. The Madhatters are currently tied for third place with the Palm Beach Typhoon. This series could very well determine who Tampa Bay plays in the round one. For Premier, this series  will determine who gets "home ice" in round. The Juniors will play Atlanta in the first round, it is just a matter of whether they finish two or three. 

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