2018–19 SPHL season
Sports season
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The 2018–19 SPHL season is the 15th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).
| 2018–19 SPHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 2018–April 2019 |
| Games | 56 |
| Teams | 10 |
| Regular season | |
| William B. Coffey Trophy | Peoria Rivermen |
| Season MVP | Josh Harris (Birmingham) |
| Top scorer | Ryan Salked (Huntsville) & Ben Blasko (Peoria) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Huntsville Havoc |
| Finals runners-up | Birmingham Bulls |
| Playoffs MVP | Max Milosek (Huntsville) |
League business
After eleven seasons, president Jim Combs left the league to pursue other opportunities.[1] He originally joined the league in the 2007–08 season and had been league president since 2010–11. Combs was replaced by Doug Price on January 17, 2019.[2]
Team changes
- The Quad City Storm from Moline, Illinois, joined the SPHL by acquiring the dormant Louisiana IceGators franchise.[3] The Storm replaced the folded Quad City Mallards of the ECHL in the Quad Cities.
- The Mississippi RiverKings ownership suspended operations while the league seeks to find new ownership.[4][5]
Teams
Map of teams
SPHL teams
Regular season
Standings
Final standings:[6]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria Rivermen‡ | 56 | 40 | 7 | 9 | 201 | 123 | 89 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 56 | 39 | 15 | 2 | 204 | 147 | 80 |
| Huntsville Havoc | 56 | 36 | 17 | 3 | 209 | 152 | 75 |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | 56 | 29 | 22 | 5 | 169 | 166 | 63 |
| Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 56 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 168 | 177 | 60 |
| Macon Mayhem | 56 | 27 | 24 | 5 | 160 | 156 | 59 |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | 56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 143 | 150 | 58 |
| Fayetteville Marksmen | 56 | 25 | 23 | 8 | 172 | 201 | 58 |
| Quad City Storm | 56 | 18 | 33 | 5 | 143 | 197 | 41 |
| Evansville Thunderbolts | 56 | 12 | 38 | 6 | 124 | 224 | 30 |
- ‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
- Advanced to playoffs
Attendance
| Team | Total | Games | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville | 138,106 | 28 | 4,932 |
| Knoxville | 106,906 | 28 | 3,818 |
| Peoria | 102,018 | 28 | 3,643 |
| Pensacola | 100,717 | 28 | 3,597 |
| Roanoke | 97,950 | 28 | 3,498 |
| Quad City | 89,064 | 28 | 3,180 |
| Birmingham | 66,563 | 28 | 2,377 |
| Fayetteville | 62,075 | 28 | 2,216 |
| Evansville | 57,151 | 28 | 2,041 |
| Macon | 56,572 | 28 | 2,020 |
| League | 877,122 | 280 | 3,132 |
Statistical leaders
Scoring leaders
The following players are sorted by points, then goals.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Salked | Huntsville Havoc | 55 | 28 | 37 | 65 | 40 |
| Ben Blasko | Peoria Rivermen | 55 | 18 | 47 | 65 | 24 |
| Josh Harris | Birmingham Bulls | 55 | 25 | 38 | 63 | 73 |
| Sy Nutkevitch | Huntsville Havoc | 55 | 12 | 45 | 57 | 33 |
| Kyle Sharkey | Huntsville Havoc | 51 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 32 |
| Jake Trask | Macon Mayhem | 51 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 24 |
| Alec Hagaman | Peoria Rivermen | 54 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 147 |
| John Siemer | Macon Mayhem | 56 | 15 | 39 | 54 | 33 |
| Justin Greenberg | Peoria Rivermen | 49 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 14 |
| Jacob Barber | Birmingham Bulls | 56 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 30 |
Leading goaltenders
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime/shootout loss
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | SA | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | W | L | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Klein | Peoria Rivermen | 32 | 1756 | 713 | 56 | 5 | 1.91 | .921 | 21 | 5 | 3 |
| Storm Phaneuf | Peoria Rivermen | 22 | 1272 | 430 | 44 | 1 | 2.07 | .898 | 15 | 2 | 4 |
| Brian Billett | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 38 | 2139 | 1021 | 76 | 5 | 2.13 | .926 | 19 | 11 | 5 |
| Mavric Parks | Birmingham Bulls | 42 | 2472 | 1394 | 94 | 6 | 2.28 | .933 | 30 | 9 | 2 |
| Max Milosek | Huntsville Havoc | 30 | 1783 | 870 | 68 | 1 | 2.29 | .922 | 23 | 6 | 1 |
President's Cup playoffs
For 2019, the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the playoffs. The league kept the format implemented in the previous season where the top three seeds choose their opponent from the bottom four qualifiers, calling it the "challenge round". The second round will still have the highest versus lowest remaining seed format.[7]
Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Peoria | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Roanoke | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Roanoke | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Fayetteville | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 0 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Pensacola | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Knoxville | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Knoxville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Macon | 0 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
(1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (5) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
| April 10 | Peoria Rivermen | 3–4 | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | Berglund Center | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Mac Jansen (1) – 9:51 | ||||||
| 13:27 – Ben Oskroba (1) 18:25 – Kevin Patterson (1) 18:39 – Joe Kalisz (1) |
Second period | Mac Jansen (2) – 11:51 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Colton Wolter (1) – 5:48 Josh Nenadal (1) – 17:22 | ||||||
| Storm Phaneuf (20 saves / 24 shots) | Goalie stats | Jacob Caffrey (30 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| April 12 | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 4–3 | Peoria Rivermen | Owens Center | ||||
| Jordan Carvalho (1) – sh – 10:33 Maxime Guyon (1) – 15:48 |
First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cody Dion (1) – 6:41 Maxime Guyon (2) – 8:43 |
Second period | 16:15 – pp – Justin Greenberg (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 11:47 – Pijus Rulevičius (1) 17:38 – pp – Ralfs Grīnbergs (1) | ||||||
| Jacob Caffrey (41 saves / 44 shots) | Goalie stats | Stephen Klein (7 saves / 10 shots) Storm Phaneuf (10 saves / 11 shots) | ||||||
| Roanoke won series 2–0 | |
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (8) Fayetteville Marksmen
| April 12 | Birmingham Bulls | 0–4 | Fayetteville Marksmen | Crown Coliseum | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Brandon McMartin (1) – 17:09 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Cody Brown (1) – 10:27 Taylor McCloy (1) – pp – 13:51 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Jake Hauswirth (1) – pp – 19:15 | ||||||
| Mavric Parks (28 saves / 32 shots) | Goalie stats | Jason Pawloski (30 saves / 30 shots) | ||||||
| April 13 | Fayetteville Marksmen | 2–3 | Birmingham Bulls | Pelham Civic Center | ||||
| Sam Wilbur (1) – pp – 19:59 | First period | 15:35 – pp – Josh Harris (1) | ||||||
| Brian Bowen (1) – 4:45 | Second period | 13:59 – Taylor Dickin (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 10:03 – pp – Cole Golka (1) | ||||||
| Jason Pawloski (45 saves / 48 shots) | Goalie stats | Mavric Parks (17 saves / 19 shots) | ||||||
| April 14 | Fayetteville Marksmen | 0–5 | Birmingham Bulls | Pelham Civic Center | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Geoff Crisfield (1) – pp – 1:38 Craig Simchuck (1) – pp – 4:13 Geoff Crisfield (2) – 10:38 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Taylor Dickin (2) – 11:37 Shane Topf (1) – en – 18:36 | ||||||
| Jason Pawloski (24 saves / 28 shots) | Goalie stats | Mavric Parks (40 saves / 40 shots) | ||||||
| Birmingham won series 2–1 | |
(3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (7) Pensacola Ice Flyers
| April 11 | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 1–3 | Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville IcePlex | ||||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | 0:27 – sh – Ryan Salked (1) | ||||||
| Andrew Schmit (1) – 1:39 | Third period | 9:45 – Sy Nutkevitch (1) 11:58 – Christian Powers (1) | ||||||
| Brian Billett (34 saves / 37 shots) | Goalie stats | Max Milosek (41 saves / 42 shots) | ||||||
| April 13 | Huntsville Havoc | 2–3 | OT | Pensacola Ice Flyers | Pensacola Bay Center | |||
| 19:01 – Rob Darrar (1) | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Donald Olivieri (1) – pp – 2:41 Joseph Drapluk (1) – 5:56 | ||||||
| 7:36 – Josh Bowes (1) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | Tim Moore (1) – 4:23 | ||||||
| Max Milosek (48 saves / 51 shots) | Goalie stats | Brian Billett (29 saves / 31 shots) | ||||||
| April 14 | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 3–4 | Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville IcePlex | ||||
| No scoring | First period | Kyle Sharkey (1) – 10:59 Trevor Gerling (1) – 18:36 | ||||||
| 4:57 – Joseph Drapluk (2) 13:14 – Ryan Marcuz (1) |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 18:12 – Joseph Drapluk (3) | Third period | Rob Darrar (2) – 2:19 Peter Sikalis (1) – 4:39 | ||||||
| Brian Billett (35 saves / 39 shots) | Goalie stats | Max Milosek (47 saves / 50 shots) | ||||||
| Huntsville won series 2–1 | |
(4) Knoxville Ice Bears vs. (6) Macon Mayhem
| April 10 | Macon Mayhem | 1–3 | Knoxville Ice Bears | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | ||||
| No scoring | First period | 18:03 – pp – Stefan Brucato (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Derek Sutliffe (1) – pp – 7:23 | Third period | 3:10 – pp – Stanislav Dzakhov (1) 19:49 – en – Stefan Brucato (2) | ||||||
| Kevin Entmaa (19 saves / 21 shots) | Goalie stats | Hayden Stewart (32 saves / 33 shots) | ||||||
| April 12 | Knoxville Ice Bears | 3–2 | Macon Mayhem | Macon Coliseum | ||||
| 17:39 – sh – Mitchell Mueller (1) | First period | Jake Trask (1) – 8:01 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| 13:47 – Mitchell Mueller (2) 18:27 – Chandler Madry (1) |
Third period | Derek Sutliffe (2) – 12:05 | ||||||
| Hayden Stewart (29 saves / 31 shots) | Goalie stats | Jordan Ruby (19 saves / 22 shots) | ||||||
| Knoxville won series 2–0 | |
Semifinals
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (5) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
| April 18 | Birmingham Bulls | 4–3 | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | Berglund Center | ||||
| 3:35 – Shane Topf (2) 9:48 – pp – Garrett Schmitz (1) |
First period | Adrian Carbonara (1) – 7:54 | ||||||
| 11:53 – Mike Davis (1) | Second period | Colin Murray (1) – pp – 6:15 Mac Jansen (3) – 19:56 | ||||||
| 1:12 – Mike Crocock (1) | Third period | No scoring | ||||||
| Mavric Parks (27 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Jacob Caffrey (15 saves / 19 shots) | ||||||
| April 19 | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 4–1 | Birmingham Bulls | Pelham Civic Center | ||||
| Ben Bauer (1) – pp – 10:31 | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Josh Nenadal (2) – 2:34 Cam Bakker (1) – pp – 10:23 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Cam Bakker (2) – en – 18:33 | Third period | 17:19 – Taylor Dickin (3) | ||||||
| Jacob Caffrey (26 saves / 27 shots) | Goalie stats | Mavric Parks (11 saves / 13 shots) Sebastian Andersson (9 saves / 10 shots) | ||||||
| April 20 | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 4–6 | Birmingham Bulls | Pelham Civic Center | ||||
| 14:35 – Mac Jansen (4) | First period | Justin Larson (1) – pp – 7:41 Craig Simchuck (2) – 14:03 | ||||||
| 3:35 – pp – Cody Dion (2) 9:34 – Mac Jansen (5) 11:12 – Cody Dion (3) |
Second period | Geoff Crisfield (3) – pp – 12:01 Taylor Dickin (4) – 18:12 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Jacob Barber (1) – pp – 3:25 Geoff Crisfield (4) – pp – 13:27 | ||||||
| Jacob Caffrey (24 saves / 30 shots) | Goalie stats | Mavric Parks (31 saves / 35 shots) | ||||||
| Birmingham won series 2–1 | |
(3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (4) Knoxville Ice Bears
| April 18 | Knoxville Ice Bears | 2–3 | OT | Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville IcePlex | |||
| No scoring | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| Scott Cuthrell (1) – sh – 14:14 Scott Cuthrell (2) – 15:58 |
Second period | 3:26 – pp – Trevor Gerling (2) | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | 5:28 – Tyler Piacentini (1) | ||||||
| No scoring | First overtime period | 7:24 – Tyler Piacentini (2) | ||||||
| Hayden Stewart (54 saves / 57 shots) | Goalie stats | Max Milosek (32 saves / 34 shots) | ||||||
| April 20 | Huntsville Havoc | 3–2 | OT | Knoxville Ice Bears | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | |||
| 9:44 – pp – Connor Schmidt (1) | First period | No scoring | ||||||
| 7:14 – pp – Christian Powers (2) | Second period | David Brančík (1) – 7:44 | ||||||
| No scoring | Third period | Spencer Metcalfe (1) – pp – 3:09 | ||||||
| 10:46 – Nolan Kaiser (1) | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Max Milosek (36 saves / 38 shots) | Goalie stats | Hayden Stewart (29 saves / 32 shots) | ||||||
| Huntsville won series 2–0 | |
President's Cup Finals
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (3) Huntsville Havoc
| April 26 | Huntsville Havoc | 4–3 | OT | Birmingham Bulls | Huntsville IcePlex | |||
| No scoring | First period | 4:49 – Mike Davis (2) | ||||||
| Derek Perl (1) – 1:29 Sy Nutkevitch (2) – 2:47 Tyler Piacentini (3) – sh – 17:40 |
Second period | No scoring | ||||||
| Jacob Barber (2) – pp – 0:59 | Third period | 2:29 – Cole Golka (2) | ||||||
| Rob Darrar (3) – 5:44 | First overtime period | No scoring | ||||||
| Max Milosek (31 saves / 34 shots) | Goalie stats | Mavric Parks (38 saves / 42 shots) | ||||||
| April 27 | Birmingham Bulls | 2–4 | Huntsville Havoc | Pelham Civic Center | ||||
| 10:34 – pp – Josh Harris (2) | First period | John Schiavo (1) – 15:27 | ||||||
| No scoring | Second period | Kyle Sharkey (2) – 8:16 | ||||||
| 15:47 – Shane Topf (3) | Third period | Kyle Sharkey (3) – pp – 12:58 Christian Powers (3) – en – 19:11 | ||||||
| Mavric Parks (37 saves / 40 shots) | Goalie stats | Max Milosek (32 saves / 34 shots) | ||||||
| Huntsville won series 2–0 | |
Playoff scoring leaders
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geoff Crisfield | Birmingham Bulls | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 15 |
| Rob Darrar | Huntsville Havoc | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Kyle Sharkey | Huntsville Havoc | 7 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| Jacob Barber | Birmingham Bulls | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| Mac Jensen | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| Shane Topf | Birmingham Bulls | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| Cam Bakker | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| Craig Simchuck | Birmingham Bulls | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Trevor Gerling | Huntsville Havoc | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| Sy Nutkevitch | Huntsville Havoc | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
Playoff leading goaltenders
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime loss
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | SA | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | W | L | OTL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayden Stewart | Knoxville Ice Bears | 4 | 258 | 153 | 9 | 0 | 2.09 | .941 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Max Milosek | Huntsville Havoc | 7 | 448 | 283 | 16 | 0 | 2.14 | .943 | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Jason Pawloski | Fayetteville Marksmen | 3 | 175 | 106 | 7 | 1 | 2.39 | .934 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Mavric Parks | Birmingham Bulls | 8 | 451 | 251 | 22 | 1 | 2.92 | .912 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Brian Billett | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 3 | 178 | 107 | 9 | 0 | 2.92 | .916 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Awards
| Award | Recipient(s) | Finalists |
|---|---|---|
| President's Cup | Huntsville Havoc | Birmingham Bulls |
| William B. Coffey Trophy (Best regular-season record) | Peoria Rivermen | |
| Defenseman of the Year | Travis Jeke (Fayetteville) | Nick Neville (Peoria) Garrett Schmitz (Birmingham) |
| Rookie of the Year | Ben Blasko (Peoria) | Brian Bowen (Fayetteville) Max Milosek (Huntsville) Garrett Schmitz (Birmingham) |
| Goaltender of the Year | Mavric Parks (Birmingham) | Brian Billett (Pensacola) |
| Coach of the Year | Jamey Hicks (Birmingham) | |
| Most Valuable Player | Josh Harris (Birmingham) | Mavric Parks (Birmingham) |
| Kevin Swider Leading Scorer Award | Ben Blasko (Peoria) | Josh Harris (Birmingham) |
All-SPHL selections
| Position | First Team[8] | Second Team[9] | All-Rookie[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| G | Mavric Parks (Birmingham) | Brian Billett (Pensacola) | Stephen Klein (Peoria) |
| D | Travis Jeke (Fayetteville) Garrett Schmitz (Birmingham) |
Nick Neville (Peoria) Doug Rose (Knoxville) |
Alec Brandrup (Huntsville) tie Doug Rose, (Knoxville) tie Garrett Schmitz, (Birmingham) tie |
| F | Ben Blasko (Peoria) Josh Harris (Birmingham) Ryan Salkeld (Huntsville) |
Justin Greenberg (Peoria) tie Alec Hagaman (Peoria) tie John Siemer (Macon) tie Jake Trask (Macon) |
Ben Blasko (Peoria) Scott Cuthrell (Knoxville) Rob Darrar (Huntsville) |