On Saturday and Sunday, February 22 and 23, 2014, the East Coast Eagles took on the Potomac Patriots in the first round of the USPHL Playoffs. Both the Empire and Elite teams secured victories and berths to the second round with 2-0 series wins.

Saturday night has become hockey night in Wake Forest and February 22 was no exception as the largest crowd of the year filled the Factory Ice House to near capacity. The Empire team did not disappoint. Brendan Hoey led the scoring charge in the first period, putting the Eagles ahead 1-0 at the end of the period.

Hoey would go on to secure a hat trick in the game, and with Brandon Brown in the cage, East Coast secured their first playoff win by a final of 4-1.

Returning on Sunday, a plethora of Eagles including Sam Rehbock and Jake Raleigh put pucks in the net. A full offense surge, including a four-goal second period paved the way for the Eagles to take the second game 7-1, clinching the series.

 “We are peaking at the right time, nobody wants to play against us,” said Robin Farkas after the Sunday win. He cited the team chemistry and the blue-collar work ethic of the team.

Also playing this weekend was the Elite team who were on a two-game overtime streak.

Jordan Hall’s two goals led the team in scoring, albeit the newest Eagle Zack Keryluk tallied the game winner. East Coast won the game 4-1.

Sunday provided a bigger challenge for the Eagles, as Potomac quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 18 minutes remaining in the second period. However, the Eagles pulled out of the slump with goals from Michael Bunn and Jordan Hall among others.

A late third period tally put a scare into the Eagles, but Reed Kinsey stayed strong in net, preventing another from getting through and advancing the Eagles to the next round, 4-3.

Certainly, the Sunday showed a large amount of character and resiliency, and the Eagles will need that in their next series against top-seeded Hampton Roads.

Hampton who dodged a late scare from Atlanta will host the Elite Eagles in the second round with a trip to Marlborough, Massachusetts and the USPHL finals on the line.

The Empire team will host the Whalers in Wake Forest, North Carolina in another one-versus-two matchup. Those games will be at the Factory Ice House on Saturday, March 1, at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 2, at 10:30 a.m. with a possible game three (only spanning 20 minutes) that would take place after the second game.

The Elite game times have yet to be released, but should be out by Tuesday, February 25.

All games will be shown on FastHockey.com with full broadcast coverage

-Drew Blevins - play-by-play voice of the East Coast Eagles