Empire Mid-Season Review
The Patriots Empire squad is just over mid-way through its season and the results so far have been outstanding. "I'm really proud of what these guys have accomplished to this point," remarked GM RJ Zeigler. "They have a balanced attack up front, solid play on the blueline and great goaltending. They have the potential to do some great things as this season rolls on!" The balanced attack that Zeigler referred to includes eight players with at least ten points, led by Assistant Captain Aleks Stroud's sixteen points (five goals and eleven assists). Matt Kassab and Daniel Avdioukhin are tied for the team lead in goals with seven. Shane Barber has shifted to defense where he and veteran Ian Rush continue to solidify the blueline. In goal, Ryan Framinan leads the team in wins with six, while rookie Vito Matul holds the best GAA at 2.76 and the highest save percentage with a .914.
With 17 games left in the regular season the Empre team looks to continue to improve on its 13-9-0-1 record. Currently the Patriots sit in third place in the USPHL Empire Southern Division; just two points out of second place and six points out of first. However the Flroida Blades are just one point behind in fourth place with games at hand. The second half of the season will be full of heated competition - including two more games against the local rival Frederick Freeze. The Patriots have taken three out of four of the matches against the Freeze thus far this season. P-Pats!
