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Portland, Charlotte Dominate November!
The Pioneers (12 wins) and Pilots (10 wins) close out the month with double-digit winning streaks
November ended with a pair of huge winning streaks, both from perennial contenders in the LSUHL. One brought a struggling team to the top of the tightly packed Eastern Conference, while the other saw the leaders out West break away from the pack.
At the end of October, the Charlotte Pilots were 6-10-1. But when the calendar flipped, so did the switch. The offense got on track, tallying seven goals in three games during a month that saw them win 10 straight games.
The leader of that attack is Bobby Hull, who leads the league in goals with 21, maintaining his spot as the LSUHL's leading goal scorer through its 3-plus seasons.
The Portland Pioneers haven't lost since Nov. 3, and their hot stretch has gone on longer than that.
San Diego dropped a 9-1 hammer on Portland Oct. 19 that seemed to trigger things for the Pioneers. They went 5-0-1 to close out October, fell to the Condors again in the opening game of November and then went 14 games without a loss, going 12-0-2, including a 3-0 win over the rival Condors on Nov. 12.
Portland's defense has gotten straightened out, led by the top defensive pair of Brian Leetch and Dion Phaneuf. Mike Vernon has been terrific in goal and is getting the bulk of reps over Felix Potvin.
But the Pioneers are led by the league's best top line. Frank Mahovlich (14-31-45), Pierre Turgeon (13-24-37) and Jaromir Jagr (14-18-32).
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