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87's look to extend 10-game winning streak

By Anthony Di Paolo, 02/10/18, 1:45PM EST

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Coming off a shootout victory, the 87's aim for first place over the Jr. Flyers

The New Jersey 87's have a chance to vault themselves into sole possession of first place in the South Conference this weekend as they face the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers and New Jersey Renegades this weekend.

Last weekend, the team kept its winning streak alive with a 6-2 victory over New York Applecore and a 4-3 shootout win over the Jersey Wildcats. 

On Saturday's win in Brewster, Louie Kuka and Brad Heuer had two goals each. Heuer, who added an assist that game, joined Jack Lane (1g, 2a) and Leo Ukhlmylov (0g, 3a) as players who notched three points in the 87's dominating performance. Kyle DePalma added two assists while Tristen Gillispie made 15 saves on 17 shots to earn the victory.

Sunday's match against the Wildcats proved to be a bit more of a nail biter going into a shootout. Lane opened the scoring 54 seconds into the game, making it 17 consecutive games in which he has recorded a point. However, the Wildcats responded with two goals, as they rode into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead. 

Heuer picked up his third goal in two games at the midway point of the second period, tying the game. The score held for about 20 minutes, when Eric Honold scored his second of the game for the Wildcats at 9:40 of the third period. The 87's eventually pulled Alex Neverve for the extra attacker, and with 55 seconds left in regulation, Trevor Cear got the tying goal. 

In overtime, the 87's had to kill a penalty in the final 1:29 of the session, but they managed to take it to a shootout. From there, Ukhmylov, Braxton Kilgore and Cear all scored in the tie-breaker, while Neverve made a save in the third round to set up the captain's winner. They salvaged the extra point and extended the winning streak to 10 games. 

Today they will face the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, who are equal in the standings through 35 games each but have one less win than the 87's. If New Jersey wins today, they'll gain sole possession of first place. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. and will be streamed on hockeytv.com.

After the contest against the Little Flyers, the 87's will head back home for a Sunday tilt against the New Jersey Renegades in Middletown, with a 4:20 p.m. puck drop.