Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (April 8, 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
Macon @ Fayetteville (6:00 p.m. EST, 5:00 p.m. CST)
Macon Mayhem (13-38-5 | 10th, 31 pts)
• Eliminated from Playoff Contention
• Rhett Kingston leads the Mayhem in goals with 23.
• Aaron Aragon leads the Mayhem with 39 points (19g, 20a)
• David Nippard leads the Mayhem with 26 assists.
• Goalie Nick Latinovich ranks fourth in the SPHL with 16 wins, while his 2.97 gaa is the 10th-best amongst netminders.
• Macon is 3-5-0 against Fayetteville
Fayetteville Marksmen (25-22-8 | 7th, 58 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Drake Glover and Austin Alger lead the Marksmen with 21 goals.
• Alger leads the Marksmen with 51 points and assists with 30.
• Alger leads all rookies with his 51 points, while also ranking tied for first with eight power play goals and 19 power play points.
• Set SPHL single-game attendance record with 9,500 in attendance on education day vs. Pensacola on March 16th.
• Fayetteville is 5-2-1 against Macon
Knoxville @ Roanoke (7:05 p.m. EST, 6:05 p.m. CST)
Knoxville Ice Bears (32-21-3 | 6th, 67 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Center Justin MacDonald leads the SPHL with 78 points (34g, 44a), and his 34 goals are a league-best
• MacDonald’s 44 assists are tied for the most in the league.
• MacDonald’s 13 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 6-7-0 against Roanoke
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (31-19-5 | 4th, 67 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Billy Vizzo and Mac Jansen lead the Dawgs with 19 goals.
• Nick Ford (16g, 38a) leads the Dawgs with 54 points.
• Ford’s 38 assists are a team-best.
• Goalie Austyn Roudebush boasts a league-best 23 wins and is third with a 2.53 goals-against average.
• Roanoke is 7-5-1 against Knoxville
Evansville @ Birmingham (8:00 p.m. EST, 7:00 p.m. CST)
Evansville Thunderbolts (32-21-2 | 5th, 66 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Trevor Gorsuch (15 wins) and Zane Steeves (13 wins) rank fifth and tied for seventh in the league overall in wins.
• Gorsuch’s 2.26 Goals against average is the best in the SPHL. (On Loan to ECHL retroactive to 04-06-23)
• Aaron Huffnagle (10g, 41a) leads the Thunderbolts with 51 points.
• Huffnagle leads Evansville and is third in the league with 41 assists.
• The Thunderbolts are 21-5-0 when scoring first.
• Evansville is 4-4-1 against Birmingham
Birmingham Bulls (36-16-4 | 2nd, 76 pts)
• Clinched playoff berth
• Michael Gillespie is second in the league with 27 goals.
• Mike Davis is tied for fourth in the league with 23 goals
• Gillespie is sixth in the SPHL with 59 points (27g, 32a)
• Goalie Austin Lotz is first in the SPHL with 23 wins and his 2.75 gaa is eighth-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 27-2-1 this season when scoring first.
• Birmingham is 5-3-1 against Evansville
Huntsville @ Quad City (8:10 p.m. EST, 7:10 p.m. CST)
Huntsville Havoc (33-19-3 | 3rd, 69 pts)
• Clinched playoff berth
• Sy Nutkevitch is tied for first in the league with 44 assists.
• Nutkevitch leads the Havoc with 62 points (18g, 44a)
• Dominick Procopio (+28) and Derek Perl (+20) are second and third in the league in +/- rating.
• Huntsville is 0-0-1 against Quad City.
Quad City Storm (23-31-2 | 9th, 48 pts)
• Eliminated from Playoff Contention
• Michael Moran leads the Storm with 18 goals.
• Tommy Tsicos leads the team lead with 17 assists.
• Kevin Resop is fourth in the league in goals against average (2.70 gaa) and in save percentage (0.915%)
• Quad City is 1-0-0 against Huntsville.
Pensacola @ Peoria (8:15 p.m. EST, 7:15 p.m. CST)
Pensacola Ice Flyers (26-24-6 | 8th, 58 pts)
• Clinched Playoff Berth
• Garrett Milan is second in the league with 43 assists.
• Milan is also second in the SPHL with 69 points (26g, 43a)
• Milan became Pensacola’s all-time points leader on February 3rd, securing his 207th point as a member of the Ice Flyers.
• Kolten Olynek (20g, 21a) is third in rookie scoring with 41 points.
• Olynek’s 20 goals are third among rookies.
• Ryan Orgel is fourth 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 40 of 105 chances (38.1%), while also having the top-ranked power play overall with 58 goals in 197 chances (29.4%)
• Pensacola is 1-1-1 against Evansville
Peoria Rivermen (38-14-4 | 1st, 80 pts)
• *Clinched Playoff Berth*
• Alec Hagaman leads the Rivermen in goals (24), assists (37), and points (61)
• Hagaman is tied for fourth in the league with 15 power play assists.
• Tyler Barrow is ninth among rookies with 30 points (11g, 19a)
• Zach Wilkie leads the league with a +42 rating. (Placed on 21-day IR retroactive to April 2, 2023)
• Eric Levine leads the league with five shutouts
• Peoria was the first team this season to reach the 30-win mark
• Peoria is 2-1-0 against Quad City
