By Joshua Boyd / NCDCHockey.com 

One of four NCDC showcase events for the season is in the books, and some of the big winners from that event are, not surprisingly, among the overall standings leaders as we enter showcase number two, which will be the Hitmen Classic, starting Thursday and running through Sunday. Three teams ran the table at the showcase, all from the New England Division, as both the Islanders Hockey Club and Utica Jr. Comets went 3-0 and the South Shore Kings went 2-0. 

We will take a closer look now at all of the teams that finished above .500 for the past week. 

Islanders Hockey Club Earns Sweep For Best Start Since 2020

The Islanders are hoping for better days ahead as compared to their past few seasons. The Islanders are currently tied for first in the New England Division with eight points, off of a 3-0-2-0 record. They righted the ship with a 3-0 record at the BJB Shootout after starting out with two overtime losses to the Junior Bruins, with whom they share the division lead also in concert with the South Shore Kings. The Islanders won 4-2 against the Jersey Hitmen in Friday’s opener, followed that with a 5-4 shootout win (including 11 rounds of shootout) on Saturday evening against Mercer and then closed Sunday night with a 4-3 victory against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights. They will face both the Hitmen and Chiefs again this coming weekend at the Hitmen Classic. 

• The Islanders last posted eight points in five games in 2020-21, when they went 4-1-0-0 and that was also their last season making the playoffs, so there are good portents for this strong start in 2023. 
• The IHC has not swept a three-game showcase since the 2020 USPHL Winter Showcase, when they defeated P.A.L., the former Rochester Monarchs and the Rockets Hockey Club. They swept five showcases during their legendary 47-3 inaugural season of 2017-18, which ended with a Dineen Cup victory. 
• The IHC’s 11-round shootout against Mercer, which Sam Larsson ended victoriously for IHC, is the team’s longest by one round. On Nov. 23, 2019, they defeated the South Shore Kings 4-3 in a game and 3-2 in a 10-round shootout (won by former Islander Johan Rosenquist). 
• This is the second season in three years that four of the Islanders’ first five games were one-goal decisions. They are 2-0-2-0 this year, and were 3-1 in one-goal games out of the gate in 2021-22. 
• Returning Islander Tikhon Ashikhmin (‘03) is off to a great start with eight points in five games, which is half his total point production of last year. That’s the best offensive start for an Islander through five games since Nicholas Niemo (University of Maine) posted nine points in his first five in 2019.
• Frank Murphy ‘04 is the first goalie to be in net for all three Islanders wins at the same showcase. The former USPHL Premier All-Star goalie faced 100 shots, giving up nine goals over three games.