Both Patriots teams stumbled on Saturday on the road versus the East Coast Eagles this weekend.  The Empire squad just could not seem to close the flood gates, falling 9-3, while the Elite squad lost a hard fought game, 3-2 in a shootout.

Sunday, however, was a new day and a different story completely.

The Empire squad started the morning off with a decisive 5-1 victory behind a 24 save performace from veteran goaltender Ryan Framinan.  "East Coast is a great team so the win wasn't easy, but we battled hard and controlled the game.  My defense made my job relatively easy today," commmented Framinan.  Rookie Daniel Avdioukhin kicstarted the Patriots offense by netting the first two goals and assisting on the third tally.  Avdioukhin had a positive outlook when asked about his performance after the game: "It was great to bounce back today after a tough loss yesterday.  This was a great team win and it felt good to be able to contribute with three points.  We're coming together; there are many more wins in this teams future!"  Jordan Graves, a 97 birth year rookie from the Potomac Prospects program, added a goal and two assists in the game, showing some great chemistry with Daniel Avdioukhin.

The Patriots Elite team lost a heartbreaker in a shootout on Saturday, but still picked up a point in the standings.  Sunday they looked to take two more - and goaletneder Brian Parsons led the way.  Parsons would make 32 saves en route to the Pats 4-3 victory.  "This was a huge weekend for the boys," remarked Parsons.  "Taking three out of four points should help us gain some momentum going into our first showcase next weekend."  After scoring two goals on Saturday, forward Josh Malts would once again be active on the scoresheet, adding a goal and an assist on Sunday.  "We picked up a much needed two points today after a loss that disappointed the boys yesterday," said Malts.  "My teammates did a great job of finding me and I did what I'm expected to do.  We knew we were the better team, today we proved it - and we proved to oursleves that we belong.  This is the beginning of big things to come."  Mikey Carr would add two points in the win including a huge shorthanded goal.  Nick Gray contributed a goal today in the win to add to his two assists on Saturday.  

Elite Coach Andy Newton was happy with his teams effort today.  "A hockey season is not a sprint; it's a marathon.  We started off slow last weekend, but did some good things.  Yesterday we played pretty well but just didn't see the results.  Today we kept battling and the boys were rewarded with a big two points."

Next weekend both Pats teams return to Raleigh for the first USPHL Showcase of the season.  The league expects 15-20 schools to be in attendance recruiting at the event.  

Go P-Pats!