Fresno Monsters’ 2025 National Championship Recap

After being named the 2024-2025 UPSHL Pacific Division Champions, the Fresno Monsters traveled to Ice Vault Arena, located in Wayne, New Jersey, where they faced the P.A.L. Junior Islanders, Springfield Pics, and Tampa Bay Juniors in the 2025 National Championships. Read about what went down during this three-game series!

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Game 1 | P.A.L. Junior Islanders 8, Fresno Monsters 5

The Fresno Monsters struggled in the first period after two goals were scored within five minutes of the period by the P.A.L. Junior Islanders. Monsters’ Connor Perdue momentarily made it a 2-1 game after scoring a power play goal assisted by Emil Hagg. This did not stop the P.A.L. Junior Islanders’ momentum as they extended their lead and ended the first period 4-1 in their favor. The Monsters regrouped during the first intermission of the game and came back with vengeance during the second period. Monsters’ Simon Eriksson opened up the second period with a power play goal which was then followed up by Connor Perdue scoring a power play goal later in the period (4-3). Within the last five minutes of the second period, Monsters’ Nils Tunbratt and Adrian Gomez scored two more unanswered goals which helped the Monsters go into the third period with a one-goal lead (5-4). This momentum did not hinder the P.A.L. Junior Islanders who ended up making a huge comeback with four unanswered goals scored which ultimately helped them to secure their 8-5 win. This loss does not take away from the team’s efforts as they had 45 shots on goal and goaltender, Brooks Barofsky, saved 26 out of 34 shots on goal by the end of this game. 

Friday, March 21, 2025

Game 2 | Fresno Monsters 4, Springfield Pics 2

After an unfortunate upset, the Monsters went into this matchup against the Springfield Pics hungry to win. This hunger fueled the team as they opened the game with a power play goal scored by Sebastian Westerlund (1-0). Filipp Papshev extended the Monsters’ lead and closed out the first period with a 2-0 lead after scoring an unanswered goal late in the period. Monsters’ Owen Cross made it a three-goal lead until the Springfield Pics answered back with a goal scored late in the second period to make it a 3-1 game. Although the Springfield Pics were able to capitalize on one of their power play attempts in the first half of the third period, this last push was not enough to stop the Monsters’ momentum as Nils Tunbratt scored the short handed empty net goal with forty seconds left in the game (4-2). Brooks Barofsky secured the Monsters’ 4-2 win after saving 47 out of 49 shots on goal. With a win secured, the Monsters were even more eager to win their next matchup against the Tampa Bay Juniors. 

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Game 3 | Tampa Bay Juniors 5, Fresno Monsters 4

Monsters’ Tyson Baumbach opened up the first period with a power play goal which momentarily made it a 1-0 game. The Tampa Bay Juniors answered back quickly with two goals scored within the first half of the period and made it a 2-1 game in their favor. With fifty seconds left of the first period, Monsters' Simon Eriksson scored the game-tying goal and forced the teams to go into the second period with a score of 2-2. A couple penalties were handed out during the second period however, the period overall remained quiet until the last five minutes when Connor Perdue was able to score the goal which helped the Monsters go into the third period with a 3-2 lead. Adrian Gomez continued the Monsters’ momentum into the last period of the game as he helped the team gain a two-goal lead (4-2). Unfortunately, this lead for the Monsters unraveled during the last five minutes of the game as the Tampa Bay Juniors made a huge comeback after they scored three unanswered goals which ultimately helped them to win the game with a 5-4 final score. This loss does not take away from the Monsters’ 33 shots on goal and Brooks Barofsky’s 39 saves out of 44 shots on goal by the end of this matchup. 

Standout Players from the Fresno Monsters in the 2025 National Championships

• Forward, #37 Connor Perdue, who recorded 5 points (3G, 2A)

• Defensemen, #11 Jesse Nuutinen, recorded 5 points (5A)

• Goaltender, #38 Brooks Barofsky, recorded a 0.896 SV% after saving a total of 112 out of 125 shots on goal in the three games played during the 2025 National Championships

Although the Fresno Monsters did not advance to the 2025 Premier Finals, they did close out the 2025 National Championships with a commendable finish despite all of the adversity that they faced. The Fresno Monsters should be proud of all their accomplishments and go into the upcoming Premier 2025-2026 season determined to defend their 2025 Pacific Division Champions title. 

Thank you for keeping up with the 2024-2025 USPHL season! Come back for coverage about how the Pacific Division performs in the upcoming Premier 2025-2026 season.