Fresno Monsters Road to the 2026 Premier Playoffs

Fresno Monsters

The Fresno Monsters’s resilience on the ice during the regular season landed them a spot in the playoffs after ending the season with 75 points and a season record of 37-8-1-0. Out of their 37 wins, the Monsters secured six shutouts, two overtime wins, and one shootout win. The Monsters started the regular season with a nine-game winning streak and ended their successful season with a three-game winning streak. The Monsters’ longest winning streak was their nine-game winning streak at the start of the regular season which kicked off on October 3, 2025 against the Lake Tahoe Lakers and ended on November 7, 2025 against the Vernal Oilers. The Fresno Monsters have clinched their spot in the playoffs and clinched the Pacific Division after their outstanding performance during the 2025-26 USPHL regular season. 

PP & PK Success Rate and Top Scorers

The Fresno Monsters ended the regular season with a 24.1% power play success rate and an 88.0% penalty killing success rate. The team’s points leader was #20 Vertti Sakko (34G, 49A) who had 83 points recorded by the end of the regular season. #96 William Lindgren (37G) led the team with the most goals scored and #21 Brian Erte (49A) led the team with the most assists recorded by the end of the regular season. 

Hat-tricks in the 2024-2025 Regular Season

Listed below are the following players who secured hat-trick(s) during the 2025-26 regular season and the date that the hat-trick(s) were secured:

• #9 Sebastian Vesterlund (1 HT: 11/22/25)

• #15 Adrian Gomez (1 HT: 10/24/25)

• #21 Brian Erte (1HT: 10/24/25)

• #96 William Lindgren (2 HT: 12/16/25; 2/5/26)

• #13 Jonathan Andersen (3HT: 10/3/25; 1/10/26; 2/5/26)

• #20 Vertti Sakko (5HT: 10/3/25; 10/24/25; 1/9/26; 1/10/26; and 1/31/26)

Players of the Week 

There have been multiple Fresno Monsters players that were named the Stars of the Week during the 2025-26 regular season which included the following:  

• Week of Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2025

  • #20 Vertti Sakko (Forward) 

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom (Goaltender)

• Week of Oct. 13-19, 2025

  • #21 Brian Erte (Forward)

  • #4 Felix Palla (Defensemen)

• Week of Oct. 20-26, 2025

  • #15 Adrian Gomez (Forward)

  • #8 Felix Heinas (Defensemen)

  • #30 Niksa Slade (Goaltender)

• Week of Nov. 17-23, 2025

  • #13 Jonathan Andersen (Forward)

  • #8 Felix Heinas (Defensemen)

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom (Goaltender)

• Week of Dec. 1-7, 2025

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom (Goaltender)

• Week of January 6-11, 2026

  • #20 Vertti Sakko (Forward)

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom (Goaltender)

• Week of Jan. 12–18, 2026

  • #22 Keanu McClanahan (Defensemen)

• Week of Jan. 19-25, 2026

  • #86 Tadeas Burda (Defensemen)

  • #31 Noah Hammarstrom (Goaltender)

• Week of Feb. 2-8, 2026

  • #13 Jonathan Andersen (Forward)

  • #77 Matteo Ferreira-Tavares (Defensemen)

  • #30 Niksa Slade (Goaltender)

• Week of Feb. 9-15, 2026

  • #30 Niksa Slade (Goaltender)

• Week of Feb. 23 – March 1, 2026

  • #96 William Lindgren (Forward)

  • #30 Niksa Slade (Goaltender) 

Goaltending

In regards to goaltending, the Fresno Monsters had two active goaltenders in between the pipes during the 2025-26 regular season. This included the following players and stats: 

• #31 Noah Hammarstrom ended this season with a record of 18-5-0-0 a 0.928 SV% in 25 games played. A set of impressive stats to highlight include the following:

  • Star of the Week 5 times

  •  4 shutouts 

    • 12-0 against Lake Tahoe Lakers on 10/3/25

    • 5-0 against Long Beach Bombers on 10/25/25

    • 10-0 against Lake Tahoe Lakers on 1/9/26

    • 6-0 against San Diego Sabers on 3/1/26

  • 1 overtime win 

    • 6-5 against Ventura Vikings on 1/24/26

• #30 Niksa Slade ended this season with a record of 17-2-1-0 and a 0.918 SV% in 24 games played. A set of impressive stats to highlight include the following:

  • Star of the Week 4 times 

  • 2 shutouts 

    • 8-0 against Long Beach Bombers on 10/26/25 

    • 6-0 against Iron County Yeti on 12/17/25

  • 2 overtime wins 

    • 5-4 against Ventura Vikings on 1/22/26 

    • 4-3 against Ontario Jr. Reign on 1/17/26

  • 1 shootout win 

    • 5-4 against Ventura Vikings on 1/22/26

Las Vegas Showcase (December 16-19, 2025) 

• Fresno Monsters vs. Bremerton Sockeyes (6-4)

• Fresno Monsters vs. Iron County Yeti (6-0)

• Fresno Monsters vs. Seattle Totems (7-2)

• Fresno Monsters vs. McCall Smokejumpers (6-1)

When looking at the stats, the Fresno Monsters put up a total of 25 goals, 186 shots on goal, and 96 penalty minutes during the four games that were played during this series. They also ended with a 25.0% power play success rate and a 73.7% penalty kill success rate. The Fresno Monsters’ points leader was #96 William Lindgren (8G, 2A) who ended this series with 10 points which included a hat-trick in Game 1 against the Bremerton Sockeyes. A highlight regarding goaltending included a shutout by #30 Niksa Slade in Game 2 against the Iron County Yeti. The Fresno Monsters ended this series victoriously, 4-0, through consistency and perseverance

Against the rest of the Pacific Division: 

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

  • FRM won three out of six games played against FRM during the 2025-26 regular season (3-3). During these six games, FRM outscored (26G vs. 22G), outshot (263 SOG vs. 246 SOG), and had more success with their special teams (25.0 PP% vs. 11.8 PP% and 88.2 PK% vs. 75.0 PK%) compared to HNF. 

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

  • FRM won all six games against VNV (6-0) when they faced one another in the regular season. FRM swept VNV in the regular season after they dominated their previous games (308 SOG vs. 222 SOG), took control over goal scoring (40 G vs 22 G), and remained strong with their special teams (20.7 PP% vs. 8.00 PP% and 92.0 PK% vs. 79.3 PK%). 

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

  • FRM won four out of six games played against OJR by the end of the regular season (4-2). FRM had a slight advantage when it came to puck possession (194 SOG vs. 191 SOG) and goal scoring (25 G vs 14 G). When it came to special teams, FRM found more success on the power play (20.0 PP% vs. 4.17 PP%) and on the penalty kill (95.8 PK% vs. 80/0 PK%). 

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

  • FRM won all six games played against SDS during the 2025-26 regular season (6-0) which included a shutout victory secured on March 1, 2026. FRM outscored (39G vs. 11G), outshot (318 SOG vs. 149 SOG), and found more success with their special teams (20.7 PP% vs. 7.40 PP% and 92.6 PK% vs. 79.3 PK%) during their games against SDS. 

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

  • FRM won all six games against LBB (6-0) which included back-to-back shutout wins on October 25-26, 2025. FRM maintained consistent puck possession (247 SOG vs. 154 SOG), remarkable goal scoring (45G vs. 7G), and an impressive special teams success rate (22.7 PP% vs. 0 PP% and 100 PK% vs. 77.3 PK%) when they played against LBB during the regular season. 

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

  • FRM won all six matchups that they played against LTL, which included a 10-0 shutout on January 9, 2026. FRM had the advantage over puck possession (302 SOG vs. 167 SOG), overall goals scored (59G vs. 12G), and with their special teams (38.6 PP% vs. 20.0 PP% and 80.0 PK% vs. 61.4 PK%).

The Fresno Monsters had an outstanding 2025-26 regular season which not only secured their spot in the playoffs but also helped them to clinch their division. The Fresno Monsters do have some competition in the playoffs as they are scheduled to take on the Ventura Vikings in the 2026 Premier Playoffs. Despite sweeping the Ventura Vikings during the regular season, we can expect a hard-fought battle between both teams as they are fueled by the hunger to make it to Nationals. It is certain that the Fresno Monsters will go into the matchups prepared and determined to make it far in the playoffs by continuing their impressive records against their opponents like they did during the regular season.