Fresno Monsters 2026 USPHL Premier National Championship Recap

The Fresno Monsters traveled to Wayne, New Jersey where they competed in the 2026 USPHL Premier National Championship during the week of March 25-29, 2026. Their battle started off with a three-game series against the Hampton Roads Whalers, Ontario Jr. Reign, and Coral Springs Jr. Cats. After sweeping that series, 3-0, the Fresno Monsters advanced to the semifinals where they battled against the Northern Cyclones for a spot in the finals. After another triumphant win, the Fresno Monsters faced the Vernal Oilers who were battling to be named back-to-back champions. Read about what went down during the Fresno Monsters’ 2026 USPHL Premier National Championship run!

Game 1 | Wednesday, March 25, 2026 | Fresno Monsters 3, Hampton Roads Whalers 2 

The Monsters struck first in their 2026 USPHL Premier Nationals Championship debut with a goal scored by #21 Brian Erte during the final four minutes of the first period (1-0). This lead for the Monsters ended up being short-lived as the Whalers regrouped and tied the game, 1-1, with a power play goal scored by #93 Serres Salder early in the second period of regulation. The game remained at a tied standstill until #21 Erte regained the Monsters’ one-goal lead during the dying minutes of the second period (2-1). After an intense start to the third period, the score remained in the Monsters’ favor until Whalers’ #7 Noel Wargloo tied the game, 3-3, and forced the first overtime of the 2026 USPHL Premier Nationals Championship. The Monsters’ momentum and hunger to win aided in their overtime victory against the Whalers as #13 Jonathan Andersen scored the game-winning overtime goal for his team (3-2). In regards to goaltending, #31 Noah Hammarstrom was in net for the Monsters and secured his first overtime win of this tournament after he saved 39 out of 41 shots on goal by the end of this game. This loss by the Whalers does not take away from the impressive in net efforts of #1 Felix Tolke who saved 20 out of 23 shots on goal. The job was not done yet for Fresno Monsters as they entered their rematch against the Ontario Jr. Reign with drive from their overtime win.

Game 2 | Thursday, March 26, 2026 | Fresno Monsters 9, Ontario Jr. Reign 1

The Monsters’ vengeance and hunger for redemption against the Ontario Jr. Reign led them to their triumphant 9-1 win in their second game of the 2026 USPHL Premier Nationals Championship run. This huge win started off with 3-0 lead secured by the end of the first period which was comprised of goals scored by #21 Erte (1G), #20 Vertti Sakko (1G), and #96 William Lindgren (1PPG). The Monsters went on to extend their lead, 8-0, by the end of the second period with five unanswered goals scored by the following players: #96 Lindgren (2G), #25 Filipp Papshev (1G), #13 Andersen (1G), and 37 Connor Perdue (1PPG). The Monsters’ momentum carried into the last period of regulation which extended their lead, 9-0, with an opening goal scored by #15 Adrian Gomez. Despite their struggles throughout this game, the Jr. Reign continued to persevere and avoided being shut out when #48 Belanger secured their first point in this rematch. In the end, Jr. Reign’s overall efforts fell short as Monsters’ goaltender, #32 Viktor Pasztor, secured his teams’ 9-1 victory after saving 34 out of 35 shots on goal by the end of this game. When looking at the Jr. Reign’s goaltending, the team’s tandem saved a total of 22 out of of 31 shots on goal which was comprised of #32 Makai Collins’ 10 out of 14 shots on goal and #29 Nicholas Perry’s 12 out of 17 shots on goal. An accomplishment to highlight from this game was #96 William Lindgren’s first hat-trick of the 2026 USPHL Premier Nationals Championship being secured after he recorded three goals by the end of regulation. With another triumphant win under their belt, the Fresno Monsters entered their game against the Coral Springs Jr. Cats with the utmost confidence of making it to the finals. 

Game 3 | Friday, March 27, 2026 | Fresno Monsters 4, Coral Springs Jr. Cats 3

The Monsters’ momentum continued to fuel their team and helped them to secure a 2-0 lead going into the second period of regulation with two unanswered goals scored by #21 Erte (1PPG) and #96 Lindgren (1G). Down by two goals, the Jr. Cats were able to regroup and cut their deficit in half with a goal scored by #94 Luke Thomilson early in the second period (2-1). The score remained at a standstill until Monsters’ #21 Erte scored another power play goal which helped them to regain their two-goal lead as they entered the last period of regulation (3-1). This Monsters lead was further extended with a power play goal scored by #13 Andersen early in the third period (4-1). Finding themselves down by three, the Jr. Cats regrouped once again and were able to muster back-to-back goals, scored by #12 Isak Malmfors (1PPG) and #94 Luke Thomilson (1G), during the final five minutes of regulation (4-3). Despite making an admirable last push, the Jr. Cats came up short as the Monsters held on to their 4-3 lead by the end of regulation. In regards to goaltending, the Monsters’ tandem saved a total of 21 out of 24 shots on goal which was comprised of #31 Noah Hammarstrom 20 out of 22 shots on goal and #32 Viktor Pasztor’s 1 out of 2 shots on goal. This Jr. Cats loss does not take away from the valiant efforts of #1 Evan Stringer who saved 32 out of 36 shots on goal by the end of regulation. After sweeping this series, 3-0, the Fresno Monsters were one step closer to the finals as they were scheduled to face the Northern Cyclones in the semifinals. 

Semifinals | Saturday, March 28, 2026 | Fresno Monsters 5, Northern Cyclones 3

Despite both teams having great scoring chances throughout the first period, the score remained at a 0-0 stalemate due to the solid goaltending by Monsters’ #32 Viktor Pasztor and Cyclones’ #30 Derek Sparks. It wasn’t until four minutes into the second period when the stalemate was broken by the Monsters who  opened the semifinals with goal scored by #55 Josef Nystrom (1-0). This one-goal lead for the Monsters remained short-lived as Cyclones’ #43 1G Emile Tremblay tied the game forty-eight seconds after the Monsters’ opening goal (1-1). Once again, the game remained at a tied standstill until Monsters’ #22 Keanu Mcclanahan regained his teams’ one-goal lead with two minutes remaining in the second period (2-1). The Monsters’ scoring streak continued into the last period of regulation which helped them to gain a 4-1 lead with goals scored by #20 Sakko (1G) early in the period and #71 Nils Tunbratt (1G) during the latter half of the period. The Cyclones were able to cut their deficits down to one goal when #16 Giovanni Capraro (1G) and #88 Chase Darcey (1G) scored back-to-back goals during their last push late in regulation (4-3). Unfortunately for the Cyclones, their last push was not enough to overtake the Monsters who closed out this match, 5-3, with a goal scored by #96 Lindgren during the final eight seconds of the period. This hard-fought win for the Monsters would not have been possible without the remarkable goaltending performance of #32 Viktor Pasztor who saved 40 out of 43 shots on goal by the end of regulation. This loss for the Cyclones does not take away from their efforts during their playoff run as well as the in net performance by #30 Derek Sparks who saved 30 out of 34 shots on goal. With another triumphant win secured, the Fresno Monsters punched their ticket into the finals where they were scheduled to face the Vernal Oilers, the 2024-25 USPHL Premier National Champions. Going into their final matchup, the Fresno Monsters planned to enter this battle fueled by vengeance to redeem themselves from their previous regular season losses against a strong Northwest Division team. 

Finals | Saturday, March 28, 2026 | Vernal Oilers 6, Fresno Monsters 4

The Oilers opened up the finals and gained a 1-0 lead against the Monsters with an early goal scored by #12 Jack Treacy. This one-goal lead for the Oilers turned into a 4-0 lead during the beginning half of the second period with three goals scored by #27 Maximilian Enge-Kristiansen (1G), #28 Logan Powers (1G), and #29 Roni Alanko (1G). Down by four, the Monsters regrouped during the latter half of the second period and were able to get on the board with a goal scored by #13 Andersen (4-1). The Oilers remained unfazed and closed out the second period, 5-1, with a goal scored by #6 Hugo Johansson late in the period. With twenty minutes remaining in regulation, the Monsters regrouped and made a huge comeback with three consecutive goals scored before the final five minutes of the period. The Monsters’ scoring streak was kicked off by #25 Papshev who regained control of the game (5-2) and was continued with power play goal scored by #71 Tunbratt (5-3). The Monsters’ deficits were then cut down to one-goal when #15 Gomez scored with seven minutes remaining in regulation (5-4). Down by one, the Monsters pulled their goaltender to have the man-advantage during their push to tie the game and force overtime. Unfortunately for the Monsters, things did not go according to plan as the Oilers sealed their 6-4 win with an empty net goal scored by #12 Treacy. In regards to goaltending, #33 Noah Pfab secured his teams’ win and crowned the Vernal Oilers as back-to-back USPHL Premier National Champions after he saved 38 out of 42 shots on goal during this finals matchup. This loss for the Monsters does not take away from the gutsy in net performance by #31 Noah Hammarstrom who saved 44 out of 49 shots on goal by the end of this game. Although the Fresno Monsters' chances of being named the 2025-26 USPHL Premier National Champions came up short, their perseverance throughout this whole tournament run was remarkable especially since they entered as a wild card berth. 

Points Leaders and Goaltending Stats

Fresno Monsters

• Points leaders: #13 Jonathan Andersen (4G, 7A) led the team with 11 points recorded during their 2026 USPHL Premier National Championship run

• Goals leader: #21 Brian Erte and #96 William Lindgren led the team with 5 goals recorded

  • #96 William Lindgren recorded his first hat-trick of this tournament on March 26, 2026 

• Assists leaders: #13 Jonathan Andersen led the team with 7 assists recorded 

• Goaltending: The Monsters goaltending tandem saved a total of 176 out of 192 shots on goal (SOG) which was comprised of #31 Noah Hammarstrom’s 103/112 SOG and #32 Viktor Pasztor’s 73/80 SOG. 

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom recorded his first overtime win of this tournament on March 25, 2026 

Overall Stats

The Fresno Monsters accumulated a total of 25 goals, 167 shots on goal, and 70 penalty minutes within their three-game round robin series, semifinals, and finals combined. During the five games that were played, the Fresno Monsters ended with a 33.3% power play success rate and an 81.3% penalty kill success rate. 

Despite not winning the title after a tough loss in the finals, the Fresno Monsters produced a series of unforgettable performances throughout their 2026 USPHL Premier National Championship run. This team entered this tournament as a wild card berth and fought hard to earn their spot in the finals against the 2024-25 USPHL Premier National Champions. The odds may not have been in the Fresno Monsters favor as they entered their finals matchup against the Vernal Oilers, however, their drive and hunger to win got them a lot closer to the title than predicted. Although the Fresno Monsters did not get the ending they wanted, each athlete on the team should be proud of what they have accomplished and can accomplish in the future!

Stay tuned for the next coverage of the 2026-27 regular season in the USPHL Pacific Division!