SPHL Weekly: Week 9

Contact: awest@thesphl.com

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (December 16, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season today with three days of games. You can follow all the action this season at www.sphltv.com.

Birmingham Bulls (10-5-1)

• Michael Gillespie separated himself from the pack last week with a goal and four assists to be the first player to reach 30 points this season (31)
• Carson Rose is tied for first in the league with 13 goals after his hat trick against Pensacola on Friday
• Birmingham is 7-0-0 this season when scoring first
• The Bulls are 1-0-0 against Fayetteville this season

NEXT UP: Birmingham will host Fayetteville on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)

Evansville Thunderbolts (11-7-2)

• Zane Steeves is tied for the league lead with seven wins while posting a 2.45 goals against average, good for third-best amongst netminders
• The Thunderbolts sit two points behind league-leading, Peoria with 24 points and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games
• Mike Ferraro leads Evansville with nine goals and 22 points
• The Thunderbolts are 8-1-0 when scoring first
• Evansville is 2-2-0 against Quad City

NEXT UP: Evansville will host Quad City on Saturday for their only game this week (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)

Fayetteville Marksmen (8-8-2)

• Carlos Fornaris leads the Marksmen in both points (18) and assists (13)
• Austin Alger is ranked third in the league amongst rookies with 10 assists in 17 games
• Taylor McCloy is tied for second in the SPHL with three game-winning goals
• Brian Bowen ranks second in the league with 89 shots on goal
• Fayetteville is 0-1-0 against Birmingham

NEXT UP: Fayetteville travels to Birmingham on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)

Huntsville Havoc (9-7-0)

• Goalie Nick Latinovich is tied for the league lead with seven wins while his 2.61 gaa is the fifth-best amongst netminders
• Kyle Clarke currently leads all players with a 37.5% shooting percentage
• Cole Reginato leads the league in penalty minutes with 78
• Huntsville is 4-1-0 against Pensacola

NEXT UP: Huntsville will play a home and home, traveling to Pensacola on Friday and facing the Ice Flyers at home on Saturday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. CT FRI / 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)

Knoxville Ice Bears (10-5-2)

• Center Justin MacDonald is tied for second in the SPHL with 26 points (9g, 17a)
• MacDonald’s 17 assists are also third-most in the league
• When outshooting their opponents, Knoxville is 4-0-0-1
• Knoxville has not yet played Vermilion County

NEXT UP: Knoxville travels to Vermilion County for games on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)

Macon Mayhem (2-11-2)

• Tommy Munichiello (4g, 7a) and CJ Hayes (6g, 5a) lead the Mayhem with 11 points
• Defenseman Rourke Russell is tied for third amongst defensemen with five power-play assists and is tied for sixth amongst blueliners with nine points (1g, 8a)
• CJ Hayes leads the Mayhem with six goals, two of those coming on the power play and one being a game-winner
• The Mayhem is 0-3-0 against Roanoke

NEXT UP: Macon welcomes Roanoke to the Macon Coliseum on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:30 p.m. ET FRI / 6:30 p.m. ET SAT)

Pensacola Ice Flyers (9-9-0)

• Garrett Milan ranks second in the league with 19 assists (6g, 19a) while his 25 points are tied for third best (6g, 19a)
• Dallas Comeau is ranked fifth (7g, 7a) while teammate Kolten Olynek is tied for seventh in rookie scoring (6g, 6a)
• Ryan Orgel leads all rookies in power-play points (8) and power-play assists (6)
• The Ice Flyers have the top home power play, converting 13 of 32 chances (40.6%), while also having the top-ranked power play overall with 18 goals in 60 chances (30.0%)
• Pensacola is 1-4-0 against Huntsville

NEXT UP: Pensacola will play a home and home with Huntsville as they face the Havoc at home on Friday before traveling to Alabama on Saturday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. CT FRI / 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)

Peoria Rivermen (12-3-2)

• Alec Baer leads the Rivermen in points (22) and goals (9) and is second in assists with 13
• Peoria is sitting atop the league standings while posting an 8-0-2 record over their last 10 games. Their 0.765-win percentage is the best in the league
• Peoria fell in overtime on Thursday morning to the Quad City Storm 4-3
• Peoria is 3-3-2 against Quad City and is 2-0-0 against Vermilion County

NEXT UP: Peoria will face the Storm at home on Friday before traveling to Vermilion County on Sunday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. CT SAT / 4:00 p.m. CT SUN)

Quad City Storm (10-7-1)

• Michael Moran is tied for second in the league with 12 goals after scoring four goals across his last three games played
• Has the third-best home power-play record with a 27.5% conversion rate (11 of 40)
• Defeated league-leading Peoria 4-3 in overtime on Thursday morning after Matt Ustaski scored the game-winning goal
• Quad City is 4-3-0 against Peoria and 2-2-0 against Evansville

NEXT UP: Quad City travels to Peoria to take on the Rivermen on Friday before facing off on the road against Evansville on Saturday (Puck drop 7:15 p.m. CT FRI / 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)

Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (10-4-1)

• Mac Jansen leads the Dawgs with 17 points (6g, 11a)
• Travis Broughman and Billy Vizzo each lead the Dawgs with seven goals
• Goalie Austyn Roudebush is tied for the league lead with seven wins while posting the top goals-against average (1.91)
• Winners of five in a row (5-0-1 current streak)
• Roanoke is 3-0-0 against Macon

NEXT UP: Roanoke travels to Macon on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:30 p.m. ET FRI / 6:30 p.m. ET SAT)

Vermilion County Bobcats (3-13-1)

• Austin Albrecht became the first player in franchise history to be named SPHL Player of the Week after his two-goal, two-assist performance helped the Bobcats topple first-place Evansville 4-2 on Saturday
• Davis Kirkendall ranks second on the team in assists with eight while also being one of four Bobcats with double-digit points (11)
• Vermilion County has not played Knoxville this season and is 0-2-0 against Peoria

NEXT UP: Vermilion County is home for games against Knoxville on Friday and Saturday and will welcome the Rivermen for a Sunday matinee (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT / 4:00 p.m. CT SUN)