Islanders Hockey Club Sweeps Twin City With Back-To-Back Shutouts 

The Islanders jumped back into a share of first place in the New England Division, which also currently comprises a tie for second in the NCDC overall. It helps a lot that they were not defeated in regulation in November, going 4-0-1-1. Two of those were the 3-0 and 5-0 victories in their most recent home-and-home series against the Twin City Thunder on Nov. 16 and Nov. 18. 

• This was the first time that the Islanders have ever won two shutouts in a row in back-to-back games against the same opponent. Twice before they had shutouts in two of three games, with one non-shutout in between. They have two 5-0 shutouts this season against Twin City, having previously won on Oct. 15. 
• Frank Murphy has two of the three shutouts for the Islanders this year, with 42 saves on Oct. 14 and 34 on Nov. 18. 
• Mike Salvatore, another first-year NCDC player, made 21 saves on Nov. 16. Salvatore is a former USPHL 16U All-Star with the Junior Bruins, and was more recently the Captain of the Phillips Exeter squad. 
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• The two goalies improved to fourth and fifth in goals against average, with Salvatore holding a 2.09 mark and Murphy is at 2.12. 
• Murphy is tied for third in wins at nine, while he is fourth in save percentage at .938. He’s also tied for second in shutouts with two. 
• It also helps that the whole team is on board with the defense – the IHC is third in goals against per game at 2.25. 
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• Defenseman Samuel Larsson added two more power play assists to continue to lead the league among defensemen in that category with nine (tied with WBS’ Chance Uzzell). He’s first on his own in power play points by a defenseman with 11, and he’s sixth overall in NCDC defenseman points with 16. His 11 power play points are also tied for second in the league overall. 
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• Max Lundgren and Braxton Powers are tied for second in GWG’s. Max Lundgren had the first goal and game-winner against Twin City on Nov. 16, one of two goals in that game. Powers had the first goal and GWG on Nov. 18. 
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• Michael Lynch, a recent acquisition for the Islanders, scored his first three NCDC goals as a hat trick on Nov. 18. It was the IHC’s first hat trick since Leon Biller scored the only one for the Islanders last year on March 6 in an 8-4 win over the Northern Cyclones. 

Islanders Hockey Club Take Win, Shootout Loss For Three Points, Pull To Within A Point Of New England Lead

The IHC is unbeaten in regulation over their last four games, going 2-0-1-1 for the month of November so far. They lost to the Boston Junior Bruins, 5-4, in a shootout on Nov. 10 and then defeated the Junior Bruins, 2-1, in overtime on Nov. 12. The Islanders moved to 12-2-3-1 on the season for 28 points, just one point behind the New England Division-leading South Shore Kings and four points behind the league-leading P.A.L. Jr. Islanders at 32. 

When the IHC won 2-1 in OT, on the back of a game-winner by Maksim Tsegelnik, they set a new league-high for wins by one goal this year, with a 6-0-3-1 record in one-goal games. They’re one of three teams undefeated in regulation in one-goal games, joining P.A.L. (4-0-1-1) and Provo (4-0-0-2). The Islanders Hockey Club is tied with Utica (5-2-2-1) in total one-goal games at 10 apiece. 

The Islanders also lead in games beyond regulation with eight this year. They’ve gone to OT six times, with a 3-3 record there, and they’ve split shootouts 1-1. Their three OT wins and 12 points earned beyond regulation both lead the league. 

Samuel Larsson, who was already co-leading the league in power play assists with seven, jumped to the top of power play scoring by defensemen with his goal in the 2-1 win, giving him nine points on the man-advantage. 

Frank Murphy is second in shootout percentage by a goalie, stopping 10 of 11 attempts for a .909 save percentage in the 1v1 showdowns. In full team play, he is fifth in save percentage with a .933 mark. 

Tikhon Ashikhmin’s power play goal in the 5-4 shootout loss was his fifth of the year, good for third league-wide. He’s also fifth in total league scoring with 23 points in 18 games. 

Tsegelnik’s overtime goal was the first of his two-year NCDC career, and his second game-winner overall. Like Ashikhmin, he has also already bypassed his 2022-23 season totals. Tsegelnik also scored IHC’s only shootout goal in the 5-4 shootout loss on Nov. 10. At 19 points, he is well beyond the 14 points he put up in 32 games last year.