The Northwest Division was brand new to the USPHL Premier last year and the division definitely caught folks’ attention, especially as they finished with the league’s leading scorer in Vernal’s Alex Rene Bartakovics (121 points in 40 games). In Seattle, Raine Hodge’s 40 goals in 24 games gave him the best goals per game average […]

By Vernal Oilers Staff  The Vernal Oilers are thrilled to announce that USPHL record-setting forward Alex Rene Bartakovics has signed a professional contract with HK Nitra in the Slovakian Extraliga for the 2023-24 season! The 2004-born forward recorded a jaw-dropping 121 points in 40 games played during the 2022-23 season, setting the single season point […]

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com  Making the jump to a relatively new team in your final season of junior hockey carries with it a share of challenges and new territory to conquer. Vernal Oilers goaltender Antonio Tarantino, a second-year USPHL Premier goaltender, certainly conquered a whole lot. First of all, he was the only Northwest […]

By Joshua Boyd / USPHLPremier.com The Casper Roughnecks, a new franchise for the USPHL Premier Conference, will open play in the 2023-24 season, competing in the Northwest Division. The addition of the Roughnecks brings the Northwest Division back to five teams, after the former Rock Springs Prospectors franchise was sold to the NCDC group that […]

By Seattle Totems Staff Seattle Totems Owner and General Manager, Michael Murphy, announced today Mike Butters has been hired as Head Coach. Butters joins the organization with over 27 years of post-playing coaching and management experience including years at the National Hockey League Level. “We are extremely excited having a career hockey man like Mike […]

Congratulations to our Northwest Division All-Stars, who were selected from votes made by the coaches with support from the League Media Director. Forwards Alex Rene Bartakovics, Vernal Oilers How is this guy an All-Star? Well, let’s perhaps start with the best regular season points total in USPHL Premier history, with 121. Is that all? Oh, […]

By Jonathan West / USPHLPremier.com   Vernal Oilers Seed: Northwest #1 Seeding Round Schedule All games at Utica University Nexus Center, Utica, N.Y. Game 1: Thursday, March 23, vs. New York Aviators, 5:30 p.m. EST Game 2: Friday, March 24, vs. Toledo Cherokee, 12:30 p.m. EST Remainder of schedule to be determined by seeding round […]

By Jonathan West / USPHLPremier.com    Northwest Division  Vernal Oilers (1) vs. Seattle Totems (2)  All Games At Western Park Arena  Game 1: Friday, March 10, 8:30 p.m. MST Game 2: Saturday, March 11, 8:30 p.m. MST Game 3: Sunday, March 12, 1 p.m. MST (if necessary)  The town of Vernal, Utah, tucked between the […]

Summaries by Joshua Boyd   Forwards Raine Hodge, Seattle Totems Hodge (‘02/Waterloo, Ont.) put together another month of more than one goal per game worth of production. Although he joined about halfway through in December, he had six hat tricks or better, finishing in a tie for second to Fresno’s Christopher Miraldo (seven). In February, […]

By Jonathan West Northwest Division  All games at Olympicview Arena Seattle Totems (2) vs. .Rock Springs Prospectors (3)  Friday, March 3, 7:30 p.m. PST Saturday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. PST Sunday, March 5, 12:30 p.m. PST (if necessary)  The Totems are thrilled to be representing the Emerald City in the 2023 playoffs, after a two-year […]