The Atlanta Knights, defending USA Hockey Tier III Junior National Champions, have earned the right to defend their title by winning the EJHL South playoffs in Tyngsboro, MA.

The Knights had a strong 2011-2012 season, winning the regular season title and the national championship.  This year they again won the regular season, and fought a hard battle to place first in the EJHL Playoffs.  The tournament play was marked by challenging, fast paced hockey.  The opponents were well-matched which made for exciting playoff hockey.

Coach Scott Fankhouser said, "It was a competitive season, and playoffs showed that the teams in the league have the talent that makes it hard to win.  The Florida Eels played hard in the finals.  We had a couple of lucky bounces and were fortunate to win.  We hope to have a great showing at nationals in Minnesota."

Atlanta's success comes in part from their commitment to playing defensive hockey.  The standings for the season stand at 83 goals against in 41 games within the larger record of 30 wins, 6 losses and 5 overtime losses.  Atlanta's leading scorer Hunter Scott had 19 goals, 15 assists and 44 points.  The Knight's goaltenders, Austin Campbell and Brandon Haase - ranked 1^st and 3^rd in goaltending standings - have a combined 2.02 goals against and 92% save percent.  Nine Atlanta players have twenty or more points, and sixteen have ten or more points. 

The strides that the EJHL South member teams have made this season in terms of skill level and competitiveness has made this league an extremely attractive recruiting destination for Division 3 colleges for the 2013-2014 academic year.