Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 17, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season tonight with three days of games. You can follow all the action this season at www.sphltv.com
Birmingham Bulls (4-2-0)
• Winger Carson Rose is tied for second in the league with 13 points (5g, 8a) while fellow winger Michael Gillespie is tied for fourth with 11 points (4g, 7a)
• Rose ranks first in the league with 54 shots
• Birmingham is 3-0-0 this season when scoring first
• This will mark the first games played against Macon and Evansville this season for the Bulls
NEXT UP: Birmingham travels to Macon on Thursday while Evansville visits the Pelham Civic Center on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Evansville Thunderbolts (6-3-1)
• Goaltender Zane Steeves was named the Warrior/SPHL Player of the Week after his impressive 2-0-0 record which included a shutout of first-place Quad City
• Steeves ranks first in victories with six while posting a 2.00 goals against average, good for third-best amongst netminders
• Have outscored opponents 16-9 in the second period which is the largest goal differential in the second period
NEXT UP: Evansville will head down to Birmingham on Friday and Saturday to take on the Bulls (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Fayetteville Marksmen (4-5-0)
• Defenseman Carson Vance ranks tied for second in plus/minus with a +8.
• Andrew Lane is tied for second in the league in power play goals by defensemen. Lane is also tied for third in points by a blue-liner with six (2g, 4a)
• Fayetteville is the only team this season to go to a shootout, in which they came out victorious over the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
NEXT UP: Fayetteville welcomes the Vermillion County Bobcats to North Carolina as they play Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. ET FRI | 6:00 p.m. ET SAT)
Huntsville Havoc (4-3-0)
• Forward Sy Nutkevitch is tied for first in shorthanded goals as he is one of four players to have netted one so far
• 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
• Huntsville has been perfect on their home ice this season, going 2-0-0 so far
NEXT UP: Huntsville will welcome Roanoke to town on Friday before playing host to the Peoria Rivermen on Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI | 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)
Knoxville Ice Bears (5-2-0)
• Center Justin MacDonald ranks first amongst all players with 14 points (4g, 10a) after adding two assists in Friday’s victory over Birmingham
• Winger Brady Fleurent contributed again, scoring two goals and moving into second in the league with 13 points (8g, 5a)
• Netminder Kristian Stead once again guided the Ice Bears to a victory between the pipes, picking up his fourth win of the season to move to 4-0-0. He is the only goalie this season to be unbeaten and have four or more wins
• The Ice Bears rank tied for second in goals per game with 3.57 a game
NEXT UP: Knoxville welcomes Peoria on Friday before heading to Macon on Saturday (Puck drop 7:35 p.m. ET FRI | 6:30 p.m. ET SAT)
Macon Mayhem (1-6-0)
• Defenseman Rourke Russell is fourth amongst blue liners with five points (2g, 3a)
• Tommy Munichiello and Liam Blackburn each have collected three goals to lead the team
NEXT UP: Macon welcomes Pensacola to the Macon Coliseum on Friday and then plays host to Knoxville on Saturday (Puck drop 7:30 p.m. ET FRI | 6:30 p.m. ET SAT)
Pensacola Ice Flyers (3-5-0)
• Winger Garrett Milan is fourth in the league with 13 points (4g, 9a) after picking up a trio of assists in their Saturday victory over Fayetteville
• Center Kolten Olynek ranks tied for second among rookies with his 10 points (6g, 4a).
• Ice Flyers have the league-leading home power play, converting 9 of 19 chances (47.4%) while also having the top overall power play with 10 goals in 28 chances (35.7%)
NEXT UP: Pensacola travels to Macon for a Friday matchup before returning to the Pensacola Bay Center to face Roanoke on Saturday (Puck drop 7:30 p.m. ET FRI | 7:05 p.m. CT 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: Peoria travels to Knoxville for games Thursday and Friday before hitting the road to take on the Huntsville Havoc on Saturday (Puck Drop 7:35 p.m. ET THU/FRI | 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)
Quad City Storm (7-3-0)
• Michael Moran ranks 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
NEXT UP: NO GAMES THIS WEEK
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (5-2-0)
• Winger Mac Jensen ranks third overall in points with 12 (3g, 9a) after a solid performance that saw him score and collect an assist in the Dawgs win over Macon on Friday
• Rookie Travis Broughman is second overall with 45 shots on the season
NEXT UP: Roanoke travels to face Huntsville on Friday and then down to Pensacola for a Saturday matchup (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI | 7:05 p.m. CT SAT)
Vermillion County Bobcats (1-5-1)
• 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 0-5-1 when being outshot and is 0-5-0 when trailing after two periods
• Aaron Ryback and Sullivan Shortreed each lead the team with three goals
NEXT UP: Vermillion County travels to Fayetteville for games on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. ET FRI | 6:00 p.m. ET SAT)
