2018–19 NAHL season
Sports season
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The 2018–19 NAHL season was the 35th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2018 to April 2019 with a 60-game schedule for each team. The Johnstown Tomahawks won the regular season championship on a tiebreaker. The Aberdeen Wings defeated the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 2–1 in the Championship game to capture the Robertson Cup.
SportIce hockey
DurationRegular season
September 13, 2018 – April 7, 2019
Postseason
April 12 – May 14, 2019
September 13, 2018 – April 7, 2019
Postseason
April 12 – May 14, 2019
Games60
| 2018–19 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 13, 2018 – April 7, 2019 Postseason April 12 – May 14, 2019 |
| Games | 60 |
| Teams | 24 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Johnstown Tomahawks |
| Season MVP | Logan Jenuwine (Amarillo Bulls) |
| Top scorer | Logan Jenuwine (Amarillo Bulls) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs MVP | Matt Vernon (Wings) |
| Finals champions | Aberdeen Wings |
| Runners-up | Fairbanks Ice Dogs |
Member changes
- On April 12, 2018, the NAHL approved the addition of an expansion team in Odenton, Maryland. About a month later, the team was officially named as the Maryland Black Bears.[1]
- At the end of April, the NAHL approved the sale and relocation of the Coulee Region Chill.[2] The team was moved to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and became the Chippewa Steel. As a result of the move, the La Crosse Freeze of the North American 3 Hockey League would move to Onalaska, Wisconsin and become the Coulee Region Chill.
- After being purchased by Lamar Hunt Jr. in April, the Topeka RoadRunners revealed their new name of Topeka Pilots on June 5, 2018.[3]
- In mid-June, the Philadelphia Rebels announced that they were moving to Jamestown, New York to become the Jamestown Rebels.[4]
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[5]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
Central Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Aberdeen Wings | 60 | 47 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 97 | 255 | 124 |
| x – Minot Minotauros | 60 | 36 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 75 | 207 | 161 |
| x – Bismarck Bobcats | 60 | 34 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 73 | 182 | 163 |
| x – Austin Bruins | 60 | 32 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 70 | 167 | 161 |
| Minnesota Wilderness | 60 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 2 | 57 | 170 | 189 |
| Brookings Blizzard | 60 | 11 | 44 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 115 | 242 |
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 47 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 245 | 150 |
| x – Jamestown Rebels | 60 | 35 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 78 | 176 | 131 |
| x – New Jersey Titans | 60 | 31 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 65 | 184 | 190 |
| x – Northeast Generals | 60 | 24 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 59 | 171 | 195 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | 60 | 26 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 153 | 175 |
| Maryland Black Bears | 60 | 16 | 37 | 5 | 2 | 39 | 141 | 244 |
Midwest Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 60 | 37 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 81 | 204 | 138 |
| x – Minnesota Magicians | 60 | 36 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 75 | 175 | 154 |
| x – Springfield Jr. Blues | 60 | 33 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 71 | 192 | 177 |
| x – Janesville Jets | 60 | 29 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 64 | 153 | 186 |
| Kenai River Brown Bears | 60 | 23 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 139 | 174 |
| Chippewa Steel | 60 | 19 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 149 | 220 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Amarillo Bulls | 60 | 46 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 98 | 263 | 136 |
| x – Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 31 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 70 | 143 | 150 |
| x – Shreveport Mudbugs | 60 | 28 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 66 | 163 | 164 |
| x – Corpus Christi IceRays | 60 | 29 | 28 | 2 | 1 | 61 | 182 | 196 |
| Topeka Pilots | 60 | 23 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 54 | 158 | 210 |
| Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 21 | 35 | 2 | 2 | 46 | 165 | 222 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [6]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Jenuwine | Amarillo Bulls | 59 | 60 | 44 | 104 | 80 |
| Carson Brière | Johnstown Tomahawks | 59 | 44 | 45 | 89 | 60 |
| Samuel Solenský | Johnstown Tomahawks | 55 | 24 | 62 | 86 | 54 |
| Brandon Puricelli | Springfield Jr. Blues | 59 | 30 | 50 | 80 | 48 |
| Cameron Hebert | Johnstown Tomahawks | 58 | 26 | 52 | 78 | 47 |
| Gabriel Seger | Amarillo Bulls | 58 | 18 | 52 | 70 | 49 |
| Oliver Benwell | Johnstown Tomahawks | 59 | 28 | 42 | 70 | 30 |
| Brad Belisle | Aberdeen Wings | 58 | 33 | 35 | 68 | 65 |
| Louis Boudon | Northeast Generals | 55 | 22 | 46 | 68 | 77 |
| Ben Schmidling | Springfield Jr. Blues | 60 | 37 | 31 | 68 | 24 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | GA | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mattias Sholl | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 25 | 1425:38 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 605 | .934 | 1.68 |
| Ryan Keane | Jamestown Rebels | 36 | 2139:51 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 64 | 881 | .927 | 1.80 |
| Matt Vernon | Aberdeen Wings | 52 | 3106:15 | 40 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 100 | 1,510 | .934 | 1.93 |
| Harrison Feeney | Lone Star Brahmas | 29 | 1631:53 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 55 | 798 | .931 | 2.02 |
| Jason Grande | Amarillo Bulls | 35 | 1977:18 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 68 | 906 | .925 | 2.06 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
Teams are reseeded prior to the semifinal round based upon regular season records.
| Division Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Division Finals (Best-of-5) | Semifinal (Best-of-3) | Championship (Best-of-1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Aberdeen Wings | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Austin Bruins | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Aberdeen Wings | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Minot Minotauros | 4* | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Minot Minotauros | 5 | 5 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Bismarck Bobcats | 1 | 2 | 2 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 7 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2 | 4 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Northeast Generals | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | New Jersey Titans | 5 | 4* | 3 | 1 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Jamestown Rebels | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | New Jersey Titans | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Aberdeen Wings | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW4 | Janesville Jets | 0 | 1 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 5 | 6 | 6 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Midwest Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Minnesota Magicians | 1 | 2 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Minnesota Magicians | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 3 | 4* | 0 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Amarillo Bulls | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Aberdeen Wings | 2 | 3* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Amarillo Bulls | 5 | 5 | 4* | 5 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Corpus Christi IceRays | 6 | 6* | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Amarillo Bulls | 1 | 4 | 4* | 0 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Shreveport Mudbugs | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Lone Star Brahmas | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Shreveport Mudbugs | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3*** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)