The Potomac Patriots will make their return to the USPHL Nationals, making a second straight trip at the USPHL Premier level. The Patriots won 5-4 against the Hampton Roads Whalers, with Bryce Grandbois scoring the hat trick goal to send the Pats to Wayne, N.J., for the March 20-24 National Championships.
Yovanni Flores and Matvei Naumov each had two assists and Viggo Boston made 32 saves on 36 shots. For the Whalers, goaltender Timo Johner was also impressive with 45 saves on 50 shots.
“We are excited to be heading back to Nationals this year!” said Patriots Co-Coach Alex Grose. “The boys went into playoffs with their goal set, and executed a game plan! As a coaching staff, we are happy to see the work ethic, the commitment to our process, and to see what this team can do!”
The Patriots entered the Southeast Division playoffs as the No. 3 seed, though they finished just three points behind the regular season champion Charlotte Rush. In Game 1 of the double-elimination Southeast tournament, they defeated the Hampton Roads Whalers, riding their first of two straight shutouts by Viggo Boston, who made 43 saves in that first game.
They advanced in the winners bracket to face the Charlotte Rush, and defeated the Rush by a 2-0 score, and Boston earned another 43-save shutout. That second win gave them Monday off and a ticket to the championship round. If they had lost on Tuesday, they would have been able to play one more on Wednesday in the double elimination format – but they took care of business in one game and punched their tickets to Wayne.
