The 2018–19 SPHL season is the 15th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).
League business After eleven seasons, president Jim Combs left the league to pursue other opportunities. 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.
Team changes The Quad City Storm from Moline, Illinois, joined the SPHL by acquiring the dormant Louisiana IceGators franchise. 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.
Teams 2018-19 Southern Professional Hockey League Team City Arena Birmingham Bulls Pelham, Alabama Pelham Civic Center Evansville Thunderbolts Evansville, Indiana Ford Center Fayetteville Marksmen Fayetteville, North Carolina Crown Complex Huntsville Havoc Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum Macon Mayhem Macon, Georgia Macon Coliseum Pensacola Ice Flyers Pensacola, Florida Pensacola Bay Center Peoria Rivermen Peoria, Illinois Carver Arena Quad City Storm Moline, Illinois TaxSlayer Center Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Roanoke, Virginia Berglund Center
Map of teams
Regular season
Standings Final standings: Team 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 PIMRyan SalkedHuntsville Havoc 55 28 37 65 40Ben BlaskoPeoria Rivermen 55 18 47 65 24Josh HarrisBirmingham Bulls 55 25 38 63 73Sy NutkevitchHuntsville Havoc 55 12 45 57 33Kyle SharkeyHuntsville Havoc 51 17 38 55 32Jake TraskMacon Mayhem 51 28 26 54 24Alec HagamanPeoria Rivermen 54 18 36 54 147John SiemerMacon Mayhem 56 15 39 54 33Justin GreenbergPeoria Rivermen 49 19 34 53 14Jacob BarberBirmingham 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.
Playoff bracket
Quarterfinals
(1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (5) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (8) Fayetteville Marksmen
(3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (7) Pensacola Ice Flyers
(4) Knoxville Ice Bears vs. (6) Macon Mayhem
Semifinals
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (5) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
(3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (4) Knoxville Ice Bears
President's Cup Finals
(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (3) Huntsville Havoc
Playoff scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMGeoff Crisfield Birmingham Bulls 8461015Rob Darrar Huntsville Havoc 73580Kyle Sharkey Huntsville Havoc 73582Jacob Barber Birmingham Bulls 82684Mac Jensen Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 55270Shane Topf Birmingham Bulls 83476Cam Bakker Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 52572Craig Simchuck Birmingham Bulls 82578Trevor Gerling Huntsville Havoc 72464Sy Nutkevitch Huntsville Havoc 72464
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 Second Team All-Rookie 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) tieDoug Rose, (Knoxville) tieGarrett Schmitz, (Birmingham) tie F Ben Blasko (Peoria)Josh Harris (Birmingham)Ryan Salkeld (Huntsville) Justin Greenberg (Peoria) tieAlec Hagaman (Peoria) tieJohn Siemer (Macon) tieJake Trask (Macon) Ben Blasko (Peoria)Scott Cuthrell (Knoxville)Rob Darrar (Huntsville)
References
External links Southern Professional Hockey League website