USA Junior Hockey: Loughborough, Kings Seek USPHL's Crown

The Nation's Premier Hockey League

USA Junior Hockey: Loughborough, Kings Seek USPHL's Crown

By Mike Klein, 03/04/16, 3:15PM EST

As the Road to the Dineen Cup reaches its end, look for the South Shore Kings to make a serious run for the United States Premier Hockey League Premier Division championship. The Kings grinded out a top-four finish in the regular season and landed only five points out of first place despite an uncharacteristically slow first half. Once the calendar flipped to 2016, however, the Kings caught fire, rattling off a twelve-game winning streak lasting from January 2 to February 6.

Goaltending has been a large part of the Kings’ impressive season, as Tedy Loughborough has proven to be an absolute rock in net. The Wellesley, MA, native racked up a 2.56 goals against average and .911 save percentage along with two shutouts in nearly 1400 minutes of play this past season. Both his save percentage and goals against average placed him well-inside the top ten in each category.

While Loughborough represents a formidable threat between the pipes, the Kings augmented their lineup with the midseason addition of Jeff Hextall. The son of NHL goaltending legend Ron Hextall put up similarly impressive numbers and the duo monopolized the Premier Division’s goaltending star of the week throughout the month of January.

With a strong lineup and a scary goaltending tandem, look for the Kings to contend for the Dineen Cup as the playoff tournament rolls on. The team already dispatched the PAL Jr. Islanders in the first round and are poised to bring the Cup to Foxboro.