USPHL Elite Players Of The Week: South Region

Week of Oct. 20

Elite Southeast

Forward: Jacob Gifford, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

Gifford (‘04/Cary, N.C.) is helping the Jr. Canes remain absolutely on fire, as they’ve now won eight in a row. He put up a pair of goals and three assists for five points in his team’s two wins against the Hampton Roads Whalers, and leads the Jr. Canes with 19 points, already having doubled his points output from the 2021-22 season. 

 

Defense: Colby Markham, Carolina Jr. Hurricanes

Markham (‘05) is about to start building on this piece of property, he’s resided here so often – and we’re only through mid-October. The blueliner put up five assists in the two games against Hampton Roads, was a +1 and fired 13 shots, eight put right on goal. 

 

Goaltender: Evan Crawford, Charlotte Rush

The ‘04 from Greenwich, Conn., remains undefeated in regulation, though he took a close shootout loss with 35 saves against Richmond on Oct. 15. At 3-0-1, he also sports a 1.71 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. 

 

Elite Florida 

Forward: Joey Cullen, Tampa Bay Juniors

A local area product out of Bradenton, this ‘04 forward put up a pair of goals and two assists in the Juniors’ single game against the Palm Beach Typhoon, a win. He improved his points per game average to one per contest in the process. 

 

Defense: Noah Crabb, Atlanta MadHatters

The Dallas, Ga., resident has been playing in Marietta for years now and he just keeps getting better. In the MadHatters’ three-game weekend against the Columbia Infantry, the ‘04 Crabb doubled up the points (3-3-6) and continued to bring his great physical stature (6-5, 215) to bear on his opponents. 

 

Goaltender: Dylan Bruce, Tampa Bay Juniors 

The 2005-born goaltender from Kitchener, Ont., joined the Juniors from the USPHL 16U ranks last year. Recently, he picked up the win against Palm Beach, stopping 27 of 29 shots faced. He remains a top choice for the crease, at 3-1-0-1, with a 1.58 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.