The 2019–20 SPHL season was the 16th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Like most other events at the time, the season was cancelled before its conclusion in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
League business
Team changes
For the first time since the 2012–13 SPHL season, there were no changes to the league membership.
Regular season
Standings
Final standings:[2]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria Rivermen | 46 | 33 | 8 | 5 | 150 | 105 | 71 |
| Fayetteville Marksmen | 46 | 31 | 6 | 9 | 163 | 120 | 71 |
| Huntsville Havoc | 46 | 27 | 14 | 5 | 144 | 124 | 59 |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 127 | 113 | 58 |
| Evansville Thunderbolts | 46 | 25 | 14 | 7 | 153 | 151 | 57 |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | 48 | 26 | 17 | 5 | 165 | 154 | 57 |
| Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 47 | 16 | 22 | 9 | 117 | 151 | 41 |
| Quad City Storm | 44 | 16 | 20 | 8 | 123 | 144 | 40 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 46 | 17 | 23 | 6 | 122 | 161 | 40 |
| Macon Mayhem | 47 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 115 | 156 | 40 |
- ‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
- Qualified to advance to playoffs
President's Cup playoffs
For 2020, the top eight teams at the end of the regular season would have qualified for the playoffs. The league returned to the traditional highest seed versus lowest seed format for all rounds, replacing the "challenge round" used in the previous two seasons where the top three seeds choose their opponent from the bottom four qualifiers.[3] As a result of the league shutdown, there was no playoffs in 2020.
Awards
| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| President's Cup | Not awarded |
| William B. Coffey Trophy (Best regular-season record) |
Not awarded[4] |
| Defenseman of the Year | Nick Neville (Peoria)[5] |
| Rookie of the Year | Austin Plevy (Evansville)[6] |
| Goaltender of the Year | Eric Levine (Peoria)[7] |
| Coach of the Year | Jesse Kallechy (Fayetteville)[8] |
| Most Valuable Player | Austin Plevy (Evansville)[9] |
| Kevin Swider Leading Scorer Award | Austin Plevy (Evansville) |
All-SPHL selections
| Position | First Team[10] | Second Team[10] | All-Rookie[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| G | Eric Levine (Peoria) | Max Milosek (Huntsville) | Joseph Murdaca (Knoxville) |
| D | Matt Fuller (Birmingham) Nick Neville (Peoria) |
Travis Armstrong (Roanoke) Saverio Posa (Huntsville) tie Gehrett Sargis (Knoxville) tie |
Braden Hellems (Evansville) Meirs Moore (Pensacola) |
| F | Brian Bowen (Fayetteville) Alec Hagaman (Peoria) Austin Plevy (Evansville) |
Max Cook (Fayetteville) Scott Cuthrell (Knoxville) Garrett Milan (Pensacola) |
Shane Bednard (Fayetteville) Tommaso Bucci (Pensacola) Austin Plevy (Evansville) |
References
- ^ "SPHL Announces Cancellation of 2019-2020 Season". SPHL. March 15, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- ^ "2019–20 SPHL Standings". SPHL. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ "SPHL Announces 2019-2020 Playoff Format, Rule Changes". OurSportsCentral.com. August 13, 2019.
- ^ "With the Rivermen: Peoria players sign with SPHL rivals, plus AHL and ECHL plans". Journal Star. November 1, 2020.
It just didn't feel right to pick a champion from between them in these circumstances. So no, our ownership decided we won't have a champion for the 2019-20 season. It will remain vacant.
- ^ "Peoria's Nick Neville named SPHL Defenseman of the Year". SPHL. April 13, 2020.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Austin Plevy Named SPHL Rookie of the Year". OurSports Central. April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Peoria's Eric Levine Named SPHL Goaltender of the Year". OurSports Central. April 15, 2020.
- ^ "Fayetteville's Jesse Kallechy Named SPHL Coach of the Year". OurSports Centrel. April 16, 2020.
- ^ "Evansville's Austin Plevy Named SPHL Most Valuable Player". OurSports Central. April 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "All-SPHL First and Second Teams Announced". SPHL. April 10, 2020. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ "SPHL announces 2019-2020 All-Rookie Team". OurSports Central. April 9, 2020.