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.
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.
At the end of April, the NAHL approved the sale and relocation of the Coulee Region Chill. 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.
In mid-June, the Philadelphia Rebels announced that they were moving to Jamestown, New York to become the Jamestown Rebels.
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title Standings Central Division
Team xy – Aberdeen Wings 6047102197255124 x – Minot Minotauros 6036213075207161 x – Bismarck Bobcats 6034213273182163 x – Austin Bruins 6032220670167161 Minnesota Wilderness 6026293257170189 Brookings Blizzard 6011443227115242
East Division
Team xyz – Johnstown Tomahawks 604793198245150 x – Jamestown Rebels 6035175378176131 x – New Jersey Titans 6031263065184190 x – Northeast Generals 6024257459171195 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 6026294157153175 Maryland Black Bears 6016375239141244
Midwest Division
Team xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs 6037163481204138 x – Minnesota Magicians 6036213075175154 x – Springfield Jr. Blues 6033224171192177 x – Janesville Jets 6029253364153186 Kenai River Brown Bears 6023313352139174 Chippewa Steel 6019382141149220
South Division
Team xy – Amarillo Bulls 604683398263136 x – Lone Star Brahmas 6031213570143150 x – Shreveport Mudbugs 6028224666163164 x – Corpus Christi IceRays 6029282161182196 Topeka Pilots 6023293554158210 Odessa Jackalopes 6021352246165222
Statistics Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.
Player Team 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.
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
NAHL reference
External links Official website of the North American Hockey League