While most teams have already kicked off their 2024-25 regular season, the October Showcase will give college coaches and fans an opportunity to get a good first look at all of the teams around the league. As the games begin this Thursday, here are some of the bigger stories heading into the showcase.

As of this writing, two EHL teams remain undefeated: the East Coast Wizards and Pennsylvania Huntsmen are both 3-0-0 heading into Worcester. The Wizards have picked up wins over H.C. Rhode Island, the Connecticut Nor’Easter, and Bridgewater Bandits. Second-year forward Joey Ala currently leads the team with four goals in his first three games.

The Huntsmen started out their season with a shootout win over the New Jersey Bears, followed by two victories against the Philadelphia Little Flyers. Ryan Arendes, who has been with the Huntsmen since their inaugural game at the 2022 Worcester Showcase, leads the squad with three goals and three assists.

In addition to the undefeated teams, the Vermont Lumberjacks (4-1-0), Rhode Island (3-1-0) and the Bears (3-0-1), lead their respective divisions and have also been playing very well heading into the showcase. Vermont secured three wins over the Boston Dukes and a recent 2-1 victory against the Providence Capitals, as they currently have a four-point lead in the North Division.

Rhode Island will enter Worcester with a three-game winning streak, including 5-1 victories against the Capitals and Connecticut RoughRiders.

Meanwhile in the South Division, the Bears have already scored 26 goals in its first four games, including two big wins over New York Apple Core. Owen House is the first player to reach double digits in points this season (6g, 7a) and Christopher Benkovitz is right behind him with a goal and eight assists through four games.

The Connecticut Nor’Easter and Boston Dukes will kick things off early on Thursday, the first of 31 EHL games at the Worcester Ice Center, and there are plenty of great matchups to choose from. The aforementioned Wizards and Huntsmen will face each other on Friday. If the Wizards defeat the Boston Jr. Terriers on Thursday, then Friday’s game against Pennsylvania will be a battle between the remaining undefeated teams.

Another big matchup on Friday will be the Express Hockey Club against the New England Wolves. The Express lost their first game of the season to the Boston Dukes, a 4-3 shootout defeat, while the Wolves are off to a 2-1-0 start prior to the showcase. Both teams have had plenty of regular-season and postseason success, and this matchup could shape up as a heavyweight battle.

The Providence Capitals head to the showcase after handing the Lumberjacks its first loss of the season with a 6-2 thrashing. Daniel Kroon and Maddox Watson scored two goals each in their most recent win, and they’ll look to keep that momentum rolling as they take on the New Jersey 87’s on Friday.

On Saturday, all eyes will be on the New Jersey Bears and New Hampshire Avalanche. The Bears are off to a hot start and riding a three-game winning streak while the Avalanche lead the league with a +13 goal differential in just three games played. 

The final day of the showcase will feature games such as the Huntsmen vs. Rhode Island, the Little Flyers against the Lumberjacks, the Wizards vs. Capitals, as well as the Nor’Easter against the Express.

The EHLP will feature 28 games throughout the weekend, taking place at both the Worcester Ice Center and Boston Sports Institute. 

Heading into the weekend, the Avalanche (3-1-0), Capitals (3-1-1) and 87’s (3-0-0) are the top teams of the North, East, and South Divisions. Two of those teams will face each other when the Capitals and 87’s square off on Friday at 8:00 pm in Worcester. 

For a first-year team in the EHLP, Providence is off to a terrific start; four of the top scorers in the EHLP all belong to the Caps, including Jack Farrell who has 11 points (5g, 6a) in five games. Meanwhile the 87’s, who have reached the Frozen Finals in three of their last four seasons, are off to a hot start as goaltender Patrick McGillicuddy is a perfect 3-0-0 with two shutouts.

While it’s tough to tell which division is stronger in the early stages of the season, the North will be one to watch this weekend. The Avs, Wolves, Valley Jr. Warriors, and Adirondack Jr. Thunder all came off relatively strong seasons last year and they look to continue that trend. Adirondack will face the Express on Thursday while the Warriors face Providence. The Avs will take on the Huntsmen on Sunday, and the Wolves will face a pair of Jersey teams this weekend in the Bears and 87’s. 

With 59 games on the docket, there’s plenty of action to choose from in the four-day stretch. All of the games will be streamed live on FloHockey, and fans can keep track of all the action on easternhockeyleague.org.