It was a slow week for the New Jersey 87's with only one game for each team, but the EHL squad defeated the first-place Philadelphia Revolution on Friday while the Premier team beat the New York Bridgemen by a score of 8-2 on Saturday. In addition to the wins, Justin Vickers, Andrew Maynard and Tim DeBord were selected to the EHL All-Star team and will represent the league in a college exhibition series this weekend.

EHL Team bounces back with a 6-3 win over the Revs

Following a disappointing 0-2 performance at the West Chester, Penn. showcase, the 87's EHL team hosted the Philadelphia Revolution at Middletown Sports Complex on Oct. 18. Matt Bielinski opened the scoring at 5:49 of the first period, and the Revolution responded 2:58 later to make it a 1-1 game. Philadelphia scored again 17 seconds into the middle period, but New Jersey responded by scoring four out of the next five goals to make it 5-3 after two. Dante Terramani, Tim DeBord, Daniels Leja and Andrew Maynard found the back of the net in the second period, and Leja sealed the victory with his second goal of the game in the third period. Jon Kopack made 24 saves to help his team knock off the first-place team of the Mid-Atlantic Conference.

"The win was needed, there's no doubt about it. We haven't been playing good hockey, so it was a point for us all week that we needed to get back on track, and we had tough competition with the Revolution coming into town," said 87's head coach Adam Houli. "I thought we played well, we handled our business and walked out the win and corrected ourselves moving in the right direction again."

Vickers, DeBord, Maynard to represent EHL in All-Star exhibition

The Eastern Hockey League announced an All-Star team that would go up against three Division III colleges in Salem State, Fitchburg State and UMass Boston. Justin Vickers, Andrew Maynard and Tim DeBord were all selected by the league and will take part in the exhibition series.

"They're three returning guys and have done a really good job getting off to a hot start. Each one of them has been dominating games, and to be selected by all of the coaches, it's an impressive endeavor by them," Houli said of his players. 

DeBord leads the team in scoring with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points, while Maynard is right behind him with eight goals and five assists for 13 points. Justin Vickers leads all 87's defensemen in points with 10 (2g, 8a). Houli spoke about the opportunity for the players to showcase themselves in front of college coaches, as well as going up against former 87's Trent Shanley and Geoff LaMorre, who both play for Fitchburg.

"The EHL is the best league as far as getting players to the Division III level and they get to go up against guys they'll eventually face at the collegiate level. It's an awesome opportunity scouting wise for those three guys to show what they can do, especially against the college teams they're going to face," Houli said. "I'm also excited to see what Trent (Shanley) and Geoff (LaMorre) can do in the college game and seeing our guys go against them."

Premier team keeps rolling with 8-2 win over Bridgemen

The 87's Premier team traveled to Staten Island for their first road matchup against the Bridgemen and cruised to an 8-2 victory. Anthony Mule picked up his second hat trick of the season and tacked on an assist while Luke Satkowski (3a) and Dante Balsamo (1g, 1a) also had a multi-point performance. Cameron Carmen made 22 saves on 24 shots for the win as the team improves to a 5-1-1 record.

"They're starting to understand our systems, starting to play hockey the way we want them to play and they're benefiting from that," Houli said of the Premier team. "When they stay within our structure, they're a good team, and will be a team that will go deep. They work hard, they have their ups and downs, but they're buying into the process."

Upcoming games

EHL Showcase Series:

Thursday Oct 24: EHL vs. Fitchburg State - 6:00 p.m.

Friday Oct 25: EHL vs. Salem State - 5:00 p.m.

Saturday Oct 26: EHL vs. UMass Boston - 4:00 p.m.

Premier:

Saturday Oct 26: at NJ Renegades - 8:45 p.m.

Sunday Oct 27: vs. NJ Renegades - 7:45 p.m.