2017–18 SPHL season

2017–18 SPHL season
LeagueSouthern Professional Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 20, 2017–April 9, 2018
Number of games56
Number of teams10
Regular Season
William B. Coffey TrophyPeoria Rivermen
Season MVPBerkley Scott (Knoxville)
Top scorerBerkley Scott (Knoxville)
Playoffs
Finals championsHuntsville Havoc
  Finals runners-upPeoria Rivermen
Playoffs MVPSy Nutkevitch (Huntsville)
SPHL seasons

The 2017–18 SPHL season was the 14th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL).

League business

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Team changes

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Teams

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2017-18 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
Mississippi RiverKings Southaven, Mississippi Landers Center
Pensacola Ice Flyers Pensacola, Florida Pensacola Bay Center
Peoria Rivermen Peoria, Illinois Carver Arena
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Roanoke, Virginia Berglund Center

Map of teams

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SPHL teams

Regular season

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Standings

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Final standings.[4]

Team GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
Peoria Rivermen 56 38 13 5 211 154 81
Macon Mayhem 56 33 16 7 214 174 73
Pensacola Ice Flyers 56 33 16 7 189 156 73
Huntsville Havoc 56 30 16 10 203 180 70
Knoxville Ice Bears 56 30 20 6 205 182 66
Evansville Thunderbolts 56 27 20 9 186 191 63
Mississippi RiverKings 56 29 25 2 193 181 60
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 56 26 26 4 170 195 56
Birmingham Bulls 56 22 28 6 159 199 50
Fayetteville Marksmen 56 12 38 6 144 262 30
William B. Coffey Trophy winners
  Advanced to playoffs

President's Cup playoffs

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For 2018, the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualified for the playoffs. The league implemented a new format so that the top three seeds chose their opponent from the bottom four qualifiers, calling it the "challenge round". The second round still had the highest versus lowest remaining seed format.[5]

Playoff bracket

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Challenge Round Second Round Championships
         
1 Peoria 2
8 Roanoke 0
1 Peoria 2
5 Knoxville 0
2 Macon 2
6 Evansville 1
1 Peoria 1
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
4 Huntsville 2
3 Pensacola 0
5 Knoxville 2
2 Macon 1
4 Huntsville 2
4 Huntsville 2
7 Mississippi 1

Finals

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Home team is listed first.
April 25 Peoria Rivermen 5 – 6 Huntsville Havoc Carver Arena Recap
April 27 Huntsville Havoc 2 – 3 Peoria Rivermen Von Braun Center Recap
April 29 Peoria Rivermen 2 – 4 Huntsville Havoc Carver Arena Recap
Huntsville won series 2–1


Awards

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Award Recipient(s) Finalists
President's Cup Huntsville Havoc Peoria Rivermen
William B. Coffey Trophy
(Best regular-season record)
Peoria Rivermen
Defenseman of the Year Dave Pszenyczny (Peoria) Daniel Gentzler (Macon)
Stuart Stefan (Hunstville)
Rookie of the Year Jacob Barber (Birmingham) Eliot Grauer (Knoxville)
Tomas Sholl (Evansville)
Goaltender of the Year Brad Barone (Roanoke) Tomas Sholl (Evansville)
Coach of the Year[6] Jean-Guy Trudel (Peoria) Jeff Bes (Pensacola)
Kevin Kerr (Macon)
Most Valuable Player Berkley Scott (Knoxville) Jake Trask (Macon)
Kevin Swider Leading Scorer Award Berkley Scott (Knoxville) Jake Trask (Macon)

All-SPHL selections

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Position First Team Second Team All-Rookie
G Brad Barone (Roanoke) Tomas Sholl (Evansville) Tomas Sholl (Evansville)
D Dave Pszenyczny (Peoria)
Stuart Stefan (Huntsville)
David Brancik (Knoxville)
Daniel Gentzler (Macon)
Anthony Calabrese (Huntsville) (tie)
Michael Chen (Knoxville)
Derek Perl (Huntsville) (tie)
F Alec Hagaman (Peoria)
Berkley Scott (Knoxville)
Jake Trask (Macon)
Jake Hauswirth (Fayetteville)
Steve Mele (Roanoke)
Garrett Milan (Pensacola)
Jacob Barber (Birmingham)
Eliot Grauer (Knoxville)
Joseph Widmar (Peoria)

References

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  1. ^ "Birmingham Bulls to Join SPHL for 2017–18". Arena Digest. April 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Cottonmouths to suspend operations for next season". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. May 3, 2017.
  3. ^ "FIREANTZ REBRAND, BECOME THE FAYETTEVILLE MARKSMEN". Fayetteville Marksmen. May 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "2017–18 SPHL Standings". Pointstreak. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "SPHL announces new 2017-2018 playoff format". SPHL. October 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Peoria's Jean-Guy Trudel named SPHL Coach of the Year". SPHL. April 19, 2018.
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