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.[1] 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.[2]
Team changes
- The Quad City Storm from Moline, Illinois, joined the SPHL by acquiring the dormant Louisiana IceGators franchise.[3] 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.[4][5]
Regular season
Standings
Final standings:[6]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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.[7]
Playoff bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Championships | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Peoria | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Roanoke | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Roanoke | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Fayetteville | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Birmingham | 0 | ||||||||||||
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Pensacola | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Knoxville | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Knoxville | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Macon | 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[8] | Second Team[9] | All-Rookie[10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) tie Doug Rose, (Knoxville) tie Garrett Schmitz, (Birmingham) tie |
| F | Ben Blasko (Peoria) Josh Harris (Birmingham) Ryan Salkeld (Huntsville) |
Justin Greenberg (Peoria) tie Alec Hagaman (Peoria) tie John Siemer (Macon) tie Jake Trask (Macon) |
Ben Blasko (Peoria) Scott Cuthrell (Knoxville) Rob Darrar (Huntsville) |
References
- ^ "Jim Combs to Step Down as SPHL President". OurSportsCentral.com. September 24, 2018.
- ^ "Doug Price Appointed Commissioner of the Southern Professional Hockey League". OurSportsCentral.com. January 17, 2019.
- ^ "SPHL adding Quad City for 2018-2019 season". SPHL. May 23, 2018. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Mississippi RiverKings Suspend Operations for 2018-2019 Season". OurSportsCentral.com. May 24, 2018.
- ^ "Letter from the President". OurSportsCentral.com. May 24, 2018.
- ^ "2018–19 SPHL Standings". thesphl.wttstats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ "SPHL Announces 2018-2019 Playoff Format". OurSportsCentral.com. September 12, 2018.
- ^ "SPHL Announces All-League First Team Selections". SPHL. April 12, 2019.
- ^ "SPHL Announces All-League Second Team". SPHL. April 12, 2019.
- ^ "SPHL announces 2018-2019 All-Rookie Team". SPHL. April 11, 2019.