Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League: Ashburn Xtreme look to continue dominance at 18U level

It has been quite the start for the Ashburn Xtreme.

With a record of 9-0-1 in Eastern Junior Elite Prospects League play, they have been very dominant so far this season.

However, to head coach Gary Pouliot’s surprise, they are doing much better than expected.

“The team finished in last place last year, so we have come a long way. We are doing a lot better than we expected, but we still have a long way to go,” Pouliot said.

Even with a start as exceptional as 9-0-1, the Xtreme still have a very tough road ahead of them and have not played the top teams in the league yet.

The team has also gone through some misfortune recently, with go-to forward Matthew Miller suffering a broken hand. Miller had been an offensive catalyst for the team, registering a team-leading 13 points through the first 10 games.

Even with Miller’s injury, the Xtreme should be able to battle through this, as they have been no stranger to adversity. In one of their very first exhibition games of the season, they were defeated 9-2 by the Warwick Wildcats.

Since then, it has been smooth sailing for the Xtreme, and they have really shown improvement throughout the season. As they continue to excel, they will continue to be challenged.

“We are really looking forward to playing some good teams in the New Hampshire Showcase in a couple weeks. It should be a good test for us,” said Pouliot.

The showcase will take place next weekend, Dec. 16-18, and the Xtreme will be facing some of the premier junior programs on the East Coast, such as the Boston Junior Rangers and Northern Cyclones.

While the Xtreme have had no trouble putting the puck in the net, the biggest part of their success this season has been their ability to keep the puck out of the net, much to the credit of goalies Tyler Giarratana and Dean Kern.

Both have contributed a tremendous amount to the success of this team, only letting in a combined 17 goals in the first 10 games. It should be interesting to see where the Ashburn Xtreme end up as the season goes on, but they certainly have surprised many people so far with their tremendous start, so expect this team to continue improving, even as the competition increases.