The New Jersey 87’s EHL and Premier teams are both entering their final week of the regular season, and are both getting hot at the right time as they look to reach the Frozen Finals for the second straight year. 

Over the weekend the two teams went a combined 3-0-0, as the EHL team defeated Team Maryland 5-1 on Friday while the Premier team beat the Connecticut Chiefs 6-1 on Saturday and the Philadelphia Little Flyers 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. 

Coming off a back-to-back against New York Apple Core, the 87’s hosted Team Maryland on Friday afternoon and played one of their most complete games of the season. New Jersey controlled much of the pace throughout the game and scored the first four goals of the game, walking away with a 5-1 victory. 

The top line of Matt Anastasio, Robbie Seewagen and Jason Atkinson combined for eight points. Anastasio and Seewagen each had a goal and two assists while Atkinson recorded a goal and an assist. Payton Jones scored early in the third period to extend his point streak to 10 games, and Jeremy Connor made 19 saves on 20 shots to secure the victory. 

In terms of playoff seeding, the 87’s EHL team will have home ice for at least the first round. If they win their final game against the Connecticut Chiefs, then the Little Flyers would have to lose any one of their final three games for the 87’s to clinch the top spot in the South Division. 

The Premier team started their weekend in Newington, Connecticut for a matchup against the Chiefs, which could be a likely first round matchup in the South Division. Similar to the EHL team against Maryland, the 87’s Premier team scored the first four goals en route to a 6-1 victory.  

Shay Keating, a midseason acquisition, scored two goals including one on the power play. Geoffery Bokor had three assists and Adam Coley scored his first goal with the EHLP team. Jason LoRicco stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced to win his fifth consecutive start. 

The following day they went to Ice Works Skating Complex for a game against the Little Flyers, playing the showcase format of two 25-minute halves. In each half, the Little Flyers scored first, but the 87’s had a response each time, as Ian Lindberg and Caden Miller had the tying goals in the first and second halves respectively. In overtime, Alex Haar corralled a pass from Lindberg, went around the goaltender and stuffed home the game-winning goal to cap off a 3-2 victory.  

Since the beginning of 2022, the 87’s Premier team has a record of 8-2-1 and have won six of their last seven games. While they cannot win the South Division, a win against the Little Flyers in their final game of the season will give them a better chance of securing the number two seed and home ice for the first round of the playoffs.