Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (March 25, 2023) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season with five games tonight. You can follow all the action this season at www.sphltv.com
Fayetteville @ Roanoke (7:05 p.m. EST, 6:05 p.m. CST)
Fayetteville Marksmen (21-22-8 | 8th, 50 pts)
• Drake Glover leads the Marksmen with 20 goals
• Austin Alger leads the Marksmen with 44 points and is tied with teammate Brian Bowen with 26 assists.
• Bowen ranks second in the league with 206 shots on goal
• Austin Alger is tied for first in the league lead among rookies with 18 power play points
• Set SPHL single-game attendance record with 9,500 in attendance on education day vs. Pensacola on March 16th.
• Fayetteville is 5-7-1 against Roanoke
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (28-17-4 | 5th, 60 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Billy Vizzo and Mac Jansen lead the Dawgs with 17 goals
• Nick Ford (14g, 34a) leads the Dawgs with 48 points
• Ford’s 34 assists are a team-best
• Roanoke defenseman Stephen Alvo is second amongst all blue liners with 105 shots
• Goalie Austyn Roudebush boasts a league-best 22 wins and is fourth with a 2.46 goals-against average
• Roanoke is 8-4-1 against Fayetteville
Macon @ Knoxville (7:35 p.m. EST, 6:35 p.m. CST)
Macon Mayhem (11-35-3 | 10th, 25 pts)
• Rhett Kingston leads the Mayhem in goals with 18
• Tommy Munichiello leads the Mayhem with 32 points (13g, 19a)
• Kyle Soper leads the Mayhem with 22 assists
• Goalie Nick Latinovich ranks tied for fourth in the SPHL with 16 wins, while his 2.78 gaa is the sixth-best amongst netminders (Loaned to ECHL Florida on March 14th)
• Macon is 2-5-0 against Knoxville
Knoxville Ice Bears (29-20-3 | 6th, 61 pts)
• Center Justin MacDonald leads the SPHL with 72 points (32g, 40a), and his 32 goals are a league-best
• MacDonald’s 40 assists are second-best in the league
• MacDonald’s 12 power play goals are tied for the most in the league
• MacDonald was named the SPHL player of the Month for February after posting 16 points, nine goals, and seven assists in nine games played
• When outshooting their opponents, Knoxville is 10-4-1
• Knoxville is 5-2-0 against Macon
Birmingham @ Huntsville (8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST)
Birmingham Bulls (33-15-3 | 2nd, 69 pts)
• Clinched playoff berth
• Michael Gillespie is tied for third in the league with 24 goals
• Mike Davis is tied for fourth in the league with 22 goals (Placed on 21-day IR retroactive to March 10th)
• Gillespie is third in the SPHL with 56 points (24g, 32a)
• Gillespie’s 32 assists are the seventh most in the SPHL
• Goalie Austin Lotz is second in the SPHL with 20 wins and his 2.76 gaa is sixth-best in the league.
• Hayden Stewart became the first goalie in SPHL history to score a goal when he netted an empty-net goal in the waning seconds against Evansville on March 18, 2023
• Birmingham is a league-best 25-1-1 this season when scoring first
• Birmingham is 3-4-0 against Huntsville
Huntsville Havoc (32-16-2 | 3rd, 66 pts)
• Clinched playoff berth
• Sy Nutkevitch is third in the league with 38 assists
• Nutkevitch leads the Havoc with 54 points (16g, 38a)
• Dominick Procopio (+26) and Derek Perl (+24) are second and third in the league in +/- rating
• Huntsville is 4-3-0 against Birmingham
Evansville @ Pensacola (8:05 p.m. EST, 7:05 p.m. CST)
Evansville Thunderbolts (30-18-2 | 4th, 62 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Trevor Gorsuch (14 wins) and Zane Steeves (12 wins) rank fifth and tied for seventh in the league overall in wins
• Gorsuch’s 2.20 Goals against average is the best in the SPHL
• Aaron Huffnagle (10g, 39a) leads the Thunderbolts with 49 points
• Huffnagle leads Evansville and is third in the league with 39 assists
• The Thunderbolts are 20-3-0 when scoring first
• Evansville is 3-0-0 against Pensacola
Pensacola Ice Flyers (23-23-5 | 7th, 51 pts)
• Garrett Milan owns the top spot in the league with 42 assists
• Milan is also second in the SPHL with 66 points (24g, 42a)
• Milan became Pensacola’s all-time points leader on February 3rd, securing his 207th point as a member of the Ice Flyers.
• Kolten Olynek (18g, 21a) is third in rookie scoring with 39 points
• Olynek’s 18 goals are tied for first among rookies
• Ryan Orgel is third among rookies in power-play assists (10) and is fifth with 12 power play points
• The Ice Flyers have the top home power play, converting 38 of 98 chances (38.8%), while also having the top-ranked power play overall with 56 goals in 185 chances (30.3%)
• Pensacola is 0-3-0 against Evansville
Peoria @ Quad City (8:10 p.m. EST, 7:10 p.m. CST)
Peoria Rivermen (33-13-4 | 1st, 70 pts)
• *Clinched Playoff Berth*
• Alec Hagaman leads the Rivermen in goals (19), assists (32), and points (51)
• Alec Hagaman is tied for fourth in the league with 14 power play assists
• Tyler Barrow is ninth among rookies with 30 points (11g, 19a)
• Zach Wilkie leads the league with a +33 rating
• Eric Levine leads the league with five shutouts
• Peoria was the first team this season to reach the 30-win mark
• Peoria is 9-5-2 against Quad City
Quad City Storm (22-25-2 | 9th, 46 pts)
• Michael Moran leads the Storm with 18 goals
• Tommy Tsicos leads the team lead with 16 assists
• Kevin Resop is third in the league in goals against average (2.38 gaa) and is second in save percentage (0.923%)
• Quad City is 7-9-0 against Peoria
