Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 23, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season tonight with five days of games. You can follow all the action this season at www.sphltv.com
Birmingham Bulls (6-3-0)
• Wingers Carson Rose and Michael Gillespie are both tied for second in the league with 15 points
• Rose ranks first in the league with 73 shots
• Birmingham is 3-0-0 this season when scoring first
• Went 2-0-0 last week, including an overtime win against Evansville
• The Bulls are 1-1-0 against Huntsville and 2-0-0 against Vermilion County
NEXT UP: Birmingham will host Huntsville for the only Thanksgiving game in the league. The Bulls will then travel to Vermillion County on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT Thursday | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Evansville Thunderbolts (6-4-2)
• Zane Steeves ranks first in victories with six while posting a 2.48 goals against average, good for ninth-best amongst netminders
• The Thunderbolts are tied for first in the SPHL with 14 points
• Thunderbolts are 4-1-0 when scoring first
• Have scored 20 goals while only giving up seven in the second period which is the largest margin in the second period among teams
• Evansville is 0-1-1 against Peoria, 1-0-0 vs. Huntsville and 1-0-0 against Vermilion County
NEXT UP: Evansville will head to Peoria on Wednesday before traveling to Huntsville on Friday and wrapping up on the road at with Vermillion County on Sunday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. CT WED | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI | 4:00 p.m. CT SUN)
Fayetteville Marksmen (5-5-1)
• Defenseman Carson Vance ranks tied for first in plus/minus with a +9 rating.
• Andrew Lane is tied for second in the league in power play goals by defensemen. Lane is second among blueliners with 24 shots
• Winger Taylor McCloy is tied for the top spot in the SPHL with three game-winning goals
• Fayetteville is 0-1-0 against Macon, and 3-1-0 against Roanoke
NEXT UP: Fayetteville welcomes the Macon Mayhem to North Carolina on Wednesday. They will travel to Roanoke for a matchup on Friday and wrap up their weekend on the road at Macon on Saturday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. ET WED | 7:05 p.m. ET FRI | 6:30 p.m. ET SAT)
Huntsville Havoc (5-4-0)
• Goalie Nick Latinovich ranks fourth in both goals against average (2.00) and save percentage (0.941) He is also one of four goaltenders to have picked up four or more wins on the season (4-1-0)
• Huntsville has been nearly perfect on their home ice this season, going 3-1-0
• Huntsville is 2-1-0 against Pensacola, 1-1-0 against Birmingham and 0-1-0 against Evansville
NEXT UP: Huntsville will travel to Pensacola on Wednesday, before returning home to play on Thanksgiving against the Birmingham Bulls. They will wrap up the holiday weekend with a home game against Evansville on Friday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. CT WED | 7:00 p.m. CT THU | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI)
Knoxville Ice Bears (6-3-1)
• Center Justin MacDonald ranks first amongst all players with 18 points (6g, 12a) after adding two goals and two assists last weekend
• Winger Brady Fleurent, collected two more assists, moving him to second in the league with 15 points (8g, 7a)
• The Ice Bears rank tied for second with 3.50 goals per game
• Knoxville is 0-1-0 against Roanoke and has yet to play Pensacola
NEXT UP: Knoxville travels to Roanoke on Wednesday and will host the Pensacola Ice Flyers on Saturday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. ET WED | 6:00 p.m. ET SAT)
Macon Mayhem (1-7-1)
• Defenseman Rourke Russell is fourth amongst blue liners with five points (2g, 3a)
• Tommy Munichiello and Liam Blackburn, Caleb Cameron, and CJ Hayes each have collected three goals to lead the team
• Caleb Cameron notched a goal and an assist in three games last weekend, marking his first points since November 4th against Knoxville
NEXT UP: Macon travels to Fayetteville for a Wednesday night matchup, before returning home to face the Marksmen on Saturday. The Mayhem will end their week with a matchup at home against Pensacola on Sunday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. ET WED | 6:30 p.m. ET SAT | 4:00 p.m. ET SUN)
Pensacola Ice Flyers (5-5-0)
• Winger Garrett Milan is tied for fifth in the league with 14 points (4g, 10a) becoming the first Ice Flyer to reach double-digit assists this season
• Center Kolten Olynek ranks third among rookies with 10 points (6g, 4a). His six goals leads all rookies
• Ice Flyers have the league-leading home power play, converting 10 of 20 chances (50.0%) while also having the top overall power play with 11 goals in 33 chances (33.3%)
• Pensacola is 2-0-0 against Macon and has not yet played Knoxville
NEXT UP: Pensacola hosts Macon on Wednesday, travels to Knoxville for Friday and Saturday before wrapping up their week with a game at Macon on Sunday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. CT WED | 6:00 p.m. ET FRI/SAT | 4:00 p.m. EST SUN)
Peoria Rivermen (6-3-0)
• Goaltender Ben Churchfield helped guide the Rivermen to a trio of victories, posting a 1.02 goals against average and a 0.964 save percentage.
• Churchfield was named the Warrior/SPHL Player of the Week after coming on in relief twice and helping lead comeback victories over Knoxville and Huntsville over the weekend
• Winger Tyler Barrow ranks third among rookies with two power-play goals
• Peoria is 2-0-0 against Evansville and 1-3-0 against
Quad City
NEXT UP: Peoria welcomes Evansville to town on Wednesday before hosting Quad City on Friday and traveling to take on the Storm on Saturday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. CT WED | 7:15 p.m. CT FRI | 7:10 p.m. CT SAT)
Quad City Storm (7-3-0)
• Michael Moran ranks tied for second in the league in goals, with seven
• Quad City sits atop the SPHL standings with 14 points through their first 10 games
• The Storm are 6-1 this season when scoring first, the best mark for any team
• Quad City is 3-1-0 against Vermilion County and 3-1-0 against the Rivermen
NEXT UP: Quad City travels to Vermillion County on Wednesday, before traveling to Peoria on Friday and then hosting the Rivermen at home on Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT WED | 7:15 p.m. CT FRI | 7:10 p.m. CT SAT)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (5-4-1)
• Winger Mac Jensen ranks tied for eighth in the SPHL in points with 12 (3g, 9a)
• Rookie Travis Broughman is fourth overall with 51 shots on goal
• Matt O’Dea leads the league in plus/minus with a +9 rating
• Roanoke is 1-0-0 against Knoxville and 1-2-1 against Fayetteville
NEXT UP: Roanoke hosts Knoxville at home on Wednesday and Fayetteville on Friday at the Berglund Center (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. ET WED | 7:05 p.m. ET FRI)
Vermilion County Bobcats (2-6-1)
• Sullivan Shortreed leads the team with four goals
• Vadim Vasjonkin notched his first professional goal, which ended up being the game-winner in overtime, in the Bobcats’ victory over Fayetteville on Friday
• Vermilion County is 1-3-0 against Quad City, 0-2-0 against Birmingham, and 0-0-1 against Evansville
NEXT UP: Vermilion County hosts Quad City on Wednesday and faces off with Birmingham on Friday and Saturday before traveling to Evansville on Sunday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT WED | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT | 4:00 p.m. CT SUN)
