The Florida Eels have taken their space at the top of the Florida Division in each of the USPHL Premier and Elite leagues yet again.

As of Halloween, they held a 13-point lead in the Elite Division and were nine points up on their closest competition in the Premier.

“We have been on fire since the opening weekend of the season,” said General Manager Frank Scarpaci. “I am not surprised at how well the teams have been doing. It all reflects back to July when many of his players arrived. It is all about being November ready in September.”

The teams have worked four-plus hours per day since the summer, often doing double sessions on ice. 

This has paid off not just in their sound leads in the Florida Division of two leads, but also remaining among the top in both overall leagues. On Halloween, they were tied for the league lead in points in the Elite Division and they were two points back of first place in the Premier Division. 

“Moreover, what is even more interesting is that on the Premier side, you don’t find the Eels with a top 10 player in scoring,” Scarpaci added. “It is because the scoring has been extremely distributed amongst the top three lines. That is amazing to have such parity amongst the Eels players.”

The Eels were tops among all teams from the Premier’s South Region (Southeast and Florida Divisions) in goals for with 68, which was also good for sixth in the league. They were top 10 in goal differential in the league as well at +26.

The Elite team was second in goals for at 72, and they led their division and were ninth overall in goals against (41). Their +31 goal differential was ranked fifth.

“What is most impressive this year is our goaltending. We have five new goalies and they are all solid. On the Premier side they are world-class, very high-end netminders.

These guys could play on any team in North America,” Scarpaci added.

“On the Elite side we have some very talented up-and-coming goalies,” added Scarpaci. “Unlike years past where each team would have a clear-cut No. 1, it is not the case here. In fact, on the Premier side, both are our #No. 1 goalies. On the Elite, for the first time ever, we split the ice amongst all three. They are equally strong.”