Fresno Monsters’ Road to the 2024-2025 USPHL Pacific Division Playoffs

The Fresno Monsters’ hunger and determination to win during the regular season landed them a spot in the playoffs after ending the season with 74 points and a season record of 37-9-0-0. Out of their 37 wins, four wins consisted of thrilling shutouts and three double-digit wins. The Monsters started the regular season with a four-game winning streak and ended their successful season with an eight-game winning streak. The Monsters’ longest winning streak was a thirteen-game winning streak which started during the USPHL Las Vegas Showcase and ended during the week of Feb. 7-9, 2025 when the Monsters faced the Ontario Jr. Reign. After their outstanding performance during the 2024-2025 USPHL regular season, the Monsters have clinched a playoff spot and clinched the Pacific Division. 

PP & PK Success Rate and Top Scorers

The Fresno Monsters ended the regular season with a 24.51% power play success rate and an 83.21% penalty killing success rate. Their top scorers were #21 Simon Eriksson who had 94 points (40 G, 54 A) and #23 Filipp Papshev who had 77 points (39 G, 38 A) recorded by the end of the regular season.

Hat-tricks in the 2024-2025 Regular Season

• Tyson Baumbach (1 HT)

• Adrian Gomez (1 HT)

• Connor Perdue (1 HT)

• Mikael Jarvinen (1 HT)

• Nils Tunbratt (2 HT)

• Jonathan Heidenberg Anderson (3 HT) 

• Filipp Papshev (3 HT)

• Simon Eriksson (4 HT)

Players of the Week and Players of the Month

As of March 7, 2025 there have been a few players from the Fresno Monsters that were named the Players of the Week and Players of the Month during the 2024-2025 regular season. This included the following players: 

Players of the Week 

• Week of Oct. 16, 2024

  • Simon Eriksson (Forward)

• Week of Nov. 8, 2024

  • Hunter Howell (Defensemen)

• Week of Nov. 27, 2024

  • Nils Tunbratt (Forward)

  • Jesse Nuutinen (Defensemen)

• Week of Jan. 15, 2025

  • Jonathan Heidenberg Andersen (Forward)

• Week of Feb. 9, 2025

  • Simon Eriksson (Forward)

  • Felix Heinas (Defensemen)

• Week of Feb. 19, 2025

  • Brooks Barofsky (Goaltender)

Players of the Month

• Defensemen, Jesse Nuutinen was amongst the group that were named the Players of the Month in October and November, 2024

• Simon Eriksson (Forward) and Brooks Barofsky (Goaltender) were amongst the group that were named Players of the Month in January, 2025.

• Simon Eriksson (Forward) and Jesse Nuutinen (Defensemen) were amongst the group that were named Players of the Month in February, 2025.

Goaltending

In regards to goaltending, all four of their four goaltenders have had a chance in between the net this season. The impressive stats of their goaltenders include: Brooks Barofsky’s 18 wins out of 20 games and a 0.923 SV%; Peter Burke’s 13 wins out of 16 games and a 0.917 SV%; Markus Wasastjerna’s 6 wins in 11 games played and 0.866 SV%; and Brandon Glover’s 0.857 SV% after saving 18 out of 21 shots on goal during their matchup against the Ventura Vikings on Friday, January 31, 2025. 

Against the rest of the Pacific Division: 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Henderson Force (HNF)

  • FRM won all three games against HNF during the regular season (3-0). FRM outscored (14 G vs. 3 G), outshot (101 SOG vs. 65 SOG), and had a strong penalty killing rate (100%) when they were up against HNF. 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Ventura Vikings (VNV)

  • FRM won all six games against VNV when they faced one another in the regular season (6-0). FRM swept VNV in the regular season after they dominated their previous games (270 SOG vs. 112 SOG), took control over goal scoring (46 G vs. 9 G), and remained strong on the power play (30.4% PP vs. 19.0% PP). 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Ontario Jr. Reign (OJR)

  • FRM won five out of six games against OJR by the end of the regular season (5-1). FRM maintained control over the previous games (222 SOG vs. 197 SOG) and outscored OJR (35 G vs 24 G). OJR did find more success while on the power play when playing against FRM (27.8% PP vs 15.6% PP) but this did not hinder FRM from winning majority of their matchups. 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. San Diego Sabers (SDS)

  • FRM won five out of six games against SDS by the end of the regular season (5-1). FRM took control over their previous matchups as they outscored SDS (30 G to 18 G), maintained puck possession (235 SOG vs. 168 SOG) and a strong penalty kill (100%) in all six games. 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Long Beach Bombers (LBB)

  • FRM won all six games against LBB during the regular season (6-0). FRM maintained consistent puck possession (265 SOG vs 118 SOG), remarkable goal scoring (35 G vs 6 G), and an impressive power play success rate (32.3% PP vs. 10.5% PP) when they played swept LBB. 

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Bakersfield Roughnecks (BKR)

  • FRM won all six games against BKR during the regular season (6-0). FRM maintained control of puck possession (330 SOG vs. 171 SOG), outscored (50 G vs. 11 G), and found more success on the power play (80% PP vs. 25% PP) when they swept BKR.

• Fresno Monsters (FRM) vs. Lake Tahoe Lakers (LTL)

  • FRM won four out of six games against LTL during the regular season (4-2). LTL struggled to capitalize on their scoring chances despite leading FRM in shots on goal (223 SOG vs. 212 SOG). FRM had the upper hand when it came to their power play success rate (27.5% PP vs. 20.8% PP) and total goals scored while playing against one another (37 G vs. 24 G). 

After a successful regular season, the Fresno Monsters hope to advance to the Premier Finals by continuing their impressive performance from the regular season into the Premier Playoffs. The Monsters will face Henderson Force in the Premier Playoffs 2025 and go into this matchup with confidence as they have had a great record against the Force during the regular season.