The 2006–07 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the third season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The regular season began October 27, 2006, and ended April 18, 2007, after a 56-game regular season and a six-team playoff. The Fayetteville FireAntz won their first SPHL championship.
Preseason The Richmond Renegades joined the league as an expansion franchise, succeeding the United Hockey League's Richmond RiverDogs.
Teams 2006-07 Southern Professional Hockey League Team City Arena Columbus Cottonmouths Columbus, Georgia Columbus Civic Center Fayetteville FireAntz Fayetteville, North Carolina Cumberland County Crown Coliseum Florida Seals Kissimmee, Florida Silver Spurs Arena Huntsville Havoc Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center Jacksonville Barracudas Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum Pee Dee Cyclones Florence, South Carolina Florence Civic Center Richmond Renegades Richmond, Virginia Richmond Coliseum
Map of teams
Regular season
Final standings Team Columbus Cottonmouths‡ 56 36 18 2 217 181 74 Knoxville Ice Bears 56 33 19 4 219 185 70 Fayetteville FireAntz 56 32 18 6 246 205 70 Huntsville Havoc 56 29 23 4 221 210 62 Richmond Renegades 56 27 25 4 187 219 58 Jacksonville Barracudas 56 25 24 7 198 238 57 Pee Dee Cyclones 56 16 32 8 225 280 40 Florida Seals* 26 11 14 1 110 105 23
‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners Advanced to playoffs
The Florida Seals folded mid-season after not meeting contractual obligations to their arena. A one-round dispersal draft was held January 5, with each team choosing one player from the Seals' roster. The picks were as follows: Pee Dee - Justin Keller, Jacksonville - Lawne Snyder, Fayetteville - Rob Sich, Richmond - Matt Balser, Columbus - Chad Haacke, Knoxville - Craig Geerlinks, Huntsville - Craig Miller.
Attendance Team Total Games Average Huntsville 109,615 28 3,914 Richmond 95,756 28 3,419 Fayetteville 93,301 28 3,332 Columbus 92,534 28 3,304 Knoxville 90,640 28 3,237 Jacksonville 70,773 26 2,722 Florida 34,470 17 2,027 Pee Dee 36,928 26 1,420
President's Cup playoffs
(1) Columbus Cottonmouths vs. (6) Jacksonville Barracudas
The Columbus Cottonmouths and the Jacksonville Barracudas play at best of 5 round that will take the place of the first two playoff rounds. The other four teams will play a best of 3 game Quarter-final and Semi-final round.
Game-by-GameScoreColumbus goalsJacksonville goalsWinning goalie1March 29at Columbus 1, Jacksonville 22OT 5:06 Mark PrenticeSteve Zoryk, Greg LeColstRyan Person2March 30at Columbus 3, Jacksonville 4OT 1:15 Ryan Haggarty, Mark Prentice, Daryl MoorSteve Zoryk 2, Tyrone Garner 2Ryan Person3April 1at Jacksonville 2, Columbus 4 Galloway Carroll 3, Ryan RutzTyrone Garner, Jim MurphyChad Rycroft4April 3at Jacksonville 4, Columbus 3 Craig Stahl 2, Jason PriceSteve Zoryk, Jim Murphy, Tyrone Garner 2Ryan PersonJacksonville win series 3-1Prentice 2Zoryk 4, Garner 4, Murphy 2
Quarter-finals Note: game-winning goal scorer indicated in italics
(2) Knoxville Ice Bears vs. (5) Richmond Renegades
Game-by-GameScoreKnoxville goalsRichmond goalsWinning goalie1March 30at Knoxville 3, Richmond 42OT 4:17 Rob Flynn, Tim Vitek, Matt KohanskyDean Jackson, Tyler Schremp, Danny White, Donald MelnykDoug Groenestege2March 31at Richmond 2, Knoxville 8 Mike Tuomi 3, Matt Kohansky, Robbie Rangus, Curtis Menzul, Nick Fouts, Mike CraigenJJ Wrobel, Joe PaceTerry Dunbar3April 3at Knoxville 6, Richmond 2 Curtis Menzul, Robbie Rangus 2, David Segal, Doug Searle, Mike TuomiTyler Schremp, Brian GoudieTerry DunbarKnoxville win series 2-1Tuomi 4, Rangus 3, Kohansky 2Schremp 2
(3) Fayetteville FireAntz vs. (4) Huntsville Havoc
Game-by-GameScoreFayetteville goalsHuntsville goalsWinning goalie1March 30at Fayetteville 3, Huntsville 2 Jarrett Robertson, Robert Sich 2Bill Monkman, Tristan SeniorChad Collins2March 31at Huntsville 4, Fayetteville 5OT 5:41 Tim Velemirovich 2, Mike Clarke 2, Jarrett RobertsonBill Monkman, Dan Buccella 2, Craig BusheyChad CollinsFayetteville win series 2-0 Robertson 2, Sich 2, Velemirovich 2, Clarke 2Monkman 2, Buccella 2
Semi-finals Note: game-winning goal scorer indicated in italics
(2) Knoxville Ice Bears vs. (3) Fayetteville FireAntz
Game-by-GameScoreKnoxville goalsFayetteville goalsWinning goalie1April 6at Knoxville 1, Fayetteville 4 Mike TuomiTim Velemirovich, Josh Welter, BJ Stephens, Jarrett RobertsonChad Collins2April 7at Fayetteville 5, Knoxville 2 Kevin Swider, Matt KohanskyTim Velemirovich, Marc Norrington, Josh Tataryn, Robert Sich, Bryan DobekChad CollinsFayetteville win series 2-0 Velemirovich 2
Finals
Awards SPHL award winners were announced March 28, 2007. President's Cup: Fayetteville FireAntz Commissioner's Cup: Columbus Cottonmouths League MVP: Rob Sich (Fayetteville) Rookie of the Year: Tim Velemirovich (Fayetteville) Defenseman of the Year: Brian Goudie (Richmond) Goalie of the Year: Chad Rycroft (Columbus) Coach of the Year: John Marks (Fayetteville) Franchise of the Year: Huntsville Havoc Playoff MVP: Chad Collins (Fayetteville)
All-Star selections
1st Team All-Stars F Rob Sich (Fayetteville) F Allan Sirois (Pee Dee) F Kevin Swider (Knoxville) D Brian Goudie (Richmond) D Jonathan Lounsbury (Huntsville) G Chad Rycroft (Columbus)
2nd Team All-Stars F Tim Green (Columbus) F James Patterson (Huntsville) F Tim Velemirovich (Fayetteville) D Steve Howard (Columbus) D Doug Searle (Knoxville) G Matt Carmichael (Huntsville)
Rookie All-Stars F Daryl Moore (Pee Dee) F Mike Tuomi (Knoxville) F Tim Velemirovich (Fayetteville) D Dylan Row (Fayetteville) D Phillip Youngclaus (Richmond) G Doug Groenestege (Richmond)
References