Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 10, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season continuing tonight with four days of games. You can follow all the action this season at www.sphltv.com
Birmingham Bulls (3-2-0)
• Winger Carson Rose leads the Bulls with eight points (3g, 5a) while fellow winger Michael Gillespie is second on the team with seven points (4g, 3a)
• Rose ranks second in the league with 37 shots
• Goaltender Hayden Stewart is third in the league with a 1.36 goals-against average to go along with his 2-1-0 record
• This season the Bulls are 0-1-0 against the Ice Bears and have not yet played the Marksmen
NEXT UP: Birmingham welcomes Fayetteville to town on Thursday while Knoxville visits the Pelham Civic Center on Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT Friday | 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)
Evansville Thunderbolts (4-3-1)
• Winger Mike Ferraro ranks 14th in the league with seven points
• Goalie Zane Steeves ranks first amongst goalies in wins with a 4-1-0 record and is 10th in the league with a 2.59 goals-against average
• This season the Thunderbolts are 0-1-0 against the Storm and have not yet played the Havoc
NEXT UP: Evansville will take on Huntsville on Friday and then welcome the Quad City Storm to town on Sunday afternoon (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI | 3:00 p.m. CT SUN)
Fayetteville Marksmen (3-3-0)
• Winger Bryan Moore is second in the league in penalty minutes (48 PIM)
• Center Taylor McCloy ranks atop the leaderboard in game-winning goals with two. He has attempted seven shots on the season, three of which have resulted in goals, ranking fourth best in the league with a .429 shooting percentage.
• Andrew Lane leads the league in power play goals by defensemen as he is one of only two blue liners to score on the power play this season
NEXT UP: Fayetteville travels to Birmingham on Thursday to take on the Bulls before finishing up their road trip in Pensacola on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT THU | 7:05 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Huntsville Havoc (4-2-0)
• Winger Tyler Piacentini ranks 16th in points with seven (2g, 5a)
• Center Rob Darrar ranks 12th in the league in points with eight after picking up an assist over the weekend (3g, 5a)
• Goalie Nick Latinovich ranks first in goals against average, stopping 128 of 131 shots on net (0.81 GAA). He is also one of three goaltenders to have picked up three wins on the season 3-1-0
NEXT UP: Huntsville will travel to Evansville for their only game of the weekend on Friday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI)
Knoxville Ice Bears (4-2-0)
• Center Justin MacDonald ranks first amongst all players with 12 points (4g, 8a) after adding a goal and two assists in Friday’s victory over Macon
• Winger Brady Fleurent contributed again, scoring a goal and adding two assists as the Ice Bears defeated the Mayhem 3-2 on Friday
• Netminder Kristian Stead once again guided the Ice Bears to a victory between the pipes, picking up his third win of the season to move to 3-0-0. He is the only goalie this season to be unbeaten and have three or more wins
NEXT UP: Knoxville will travel to Birmingham for their only game of the weekend on Friday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI)
Macon Mayhem (1-4-0)
• Goalie Josh Benson was named the Warrior/SPHL Player of the Week after picking up his first professional shutout in a 4-0 defeat of Fayetteville
• Defenseman Rourke Russell is tied for first amongst blue liners with one power play goal while ranking tied for second with two power play points
• Macon picked up their first win of the season in convincing fashion, defeating the Marksmen by a final score of 4-0 on Saturday
• The Mayhem are 0-2-0 against the Rail Yard Dawgs this season
NEXT UP: Macon travels to face Roanoke on Friday for their only contest this weekend (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. ET FRI)
Pensacola Ice Flyers (2-4-0)
• Center Kolten Olynek ranks tied for third in the SPHL with 10 points (6g, 4a) after scoring two goals and registering an assist over their three games
• Winger Garrett Milan is ninth in the league with nine points (3g, 6a) after picking up an assist in their Sunday matinee
• Center Kolten Olynek ranks first among rookies with his 10 points (6g, 4a). His six goals are tied for first in the league overall and are first among rookies.
NEXT UP: Pensacola welcomes the Fayetteville Marksmen to the Pensacola Bay Center on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Peoria Rivermen (3-3-0)
• Goaltender Eric Levine set a new SPHL record with his 14th career shutout, passing Andrew Loewen and Kyle Rank
• Winger Tyler Barrow ranks second among rookies with two power-play goals
• As a team, the Rivermen lead the league in penalty minutes with 178 in six games, 40 more than the next-closest team
NEXT UP: NO GAMES THIS WEEK
Quad City Storm (5-2-0)
• The Storm currently have three players tied for seventh in points (Moran, Golka, Virgili) while Leif Mattson ranks tied for third with 10 points (2g, 8a)
• Moran also leads the league in goals, with six goals, two more than the next closest player
• Quad City sits atop the SPHL standings with 10 points through their first seven games
• The Storm are 1-1-0 against Vermillion County this season and are 1-0-0 against Evansville
NEXT UP: Quad City plays host to the Vermillion County Bobcats on Thursday and Friday and then travels to face the Evansville Thunderbolts on Sunday afternoon (Puck drop 6:10 p.m. CT THU | 7:10 p.m. CT FRI | 3:00 p.m. CT SUN)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (4-2-0)
• Winger Mac Jensen ranks tied fourth overall in points with 10 (2g, 8a) after a solid weekend which saw him score once and collected three assists in three games
• Rookie Travis Broughman leads all players with 39 shots on the season
• The Rail Yard Dawgs are 2-0-0 against the Mayhem this season
NEXT UP: Roanoke plays host to Macon on Friday for their only game of the weekend (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. ET FRI)
Vermillion County Bobcats (1-3-1)
• Winger Davis Kirkendall ranks first among rookies with five assists in five games played
• Winger TJ Delaney is fourth among rookies in shots with 19
• Became the first team since Birmingham (4-8-22 vs. Huntsville) to not record a single penalty in a game (10-28-22 vs. Quad City)
• Vermillion County is 1-1-0 against the Storm this season
NEXT UP: Vermillion County travels to the Quad City Storm on Thursday and Friday (Puck drop 6:10 p.m. CT THU | 7:10 p.m. CT FRI)
