Contact: awest@thesphl.com
HUNTERSVILLE, NC (November 3, 2022) – The Southern Professional Hockey League continues its 19th season this Thursday, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as we have 10 teams in action. You can follow all the action this season on at www.sphltv.com
Birmingham Bulls (2-2-0)
• Huntsville will play back-to-back games as they take on the Macon Mayhem Friday evening just 24 hours after playing in Pensacola on Thursday night
• Winger Carson Rose leads the Bulls with seven points (2g, 5a) while fellow winger Michael Gillespie is second on the team with six points (4g, 2a)
• Rose ranks second in the league with 26 shots
• Goaltender Hayden Stewart is fifth in the league with a 1.52 goals-against average to go along with his 1-1-0 record
• This season the Bulls are 0-1-0 against the Havoc
NEXT UP: Birmingham welcomes Huntsville to town on Friday for their only matchup this weekend (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT Friday)
Evansville Thunderbolts (2-3-1)
• Winger Mike Ferraro tallied four points in three games after a two-assist performance on Friday against Peoria. He followed that up with a goal and an assist on Sunday in an 8-5 loss to Quad City.
• Goalie Zane Steeves ranks third amongst goalies with 80 saves while ranking second in minutes played with 181:16 minutes played, just 1:22 behind teammate Henry Johnson who has played 182:38 minutes
NEXT UP: Evansville will take on Pensacola on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT FRI/SAT)
Fayetteville Marksmen (1-2-0)
• Winger Bryan Moore is second in the league in penalty minutes (29 PIM) all of which came in the first period of play on opening night
• Center Taylor McCloy has attempted three shots on the season, two of which have resulted in goals, ranking tied for first in the league with a .667 shooting percentage
• Andrew Lane leads the league in power play goals by defensemen as he is the only blue liner to score on the power play this season
• Fayetteville and Roanoke split their two games earlier this season (1-1-0)
NEXT UP: Fayetteville travels to Roanoke on Friday to take on the Rail Yard Dawgs before returning home to host the Macon Mayhem on Saturday and then finishing up at home with Roanoke on Sunday afternoon (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. EST FRI | 6:00 p.m. EST SAT | 3:00 p.m. EST SUN)
Huntsville Havoc (3-1-0)
• Winger Tyler Piacentini is tied for fifth in points with seven (2g, 5a) after registering an assist in both games against Birmingham and Pensacola
• Center Rob Darrar had a solid weekend, netting two goals and registering an assist.
• Goalie Nick Latinovich ranks first in goals against average, stopping 65 of 66 shots on net (0.50 GAA). He is also one of four goaltenders to start 2-0-0 on the season
• The Havoc are 1-0-0 against the Bulls this season
NEXT UP: Huntsville will face Pensacola at home on Thursday before traveling to face the Birmingham Bulls on Friday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT THU | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI)
Knoxville Ice Bears (3-1-0)
• Center Justin MacDonald ranks first amongst all players in both assists (6) and points (9) after netting two goals and dishing out three assists over the weekend
• Winger Brady Fleurent had himself a weekend, scoring a goal and adding four assists as the Ice Bears collected a pair of wins against Fayetteville and Birmingham
• Netminder Kristian Stead was stellar between the pipes on Saturday as he fended off 60 of 61 shots in a 4-1 victory over Birmingham. His 60 saves made him the eighth goalie in SPHL history to finish a game with 60 or more saves.
NEXT UP: Knoxville will play host to Macon on Friday before finishing up with Roanoke coming to town on Saturday (Puck drop 7:35 p.m. ET FRI | 7:35 p.m. ET SAT)
Macon Mayhem (0-4-0)
• Winger Tommy Munichiello is seventh among rookies with four points (2g, 2a)
• 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
NEXT UP: Macon travels to face Knoxville on Friday before heading down to Fayetteville for a matchup on Saturday (Puck drop 7:35 p.m. ET FRI | 6:00 p.m. ET SAT)
Pensacola Ice Flyers (2-1-0)
• Winger Garrett Milan and center Kolten Olynek are tied for third in the SPHL with seven points apiece
• Center Kolten Olynek ranks first among rookies with seven points (4g, 3a). His four goals are tied for second in the league overall and are tied for first among rookies.
• Jay Powell leads defenseman with his one game-winning goal
• The Ice Flyers are 1-1-0 against the Havoc
NEXT UP: Pensacola welcomes the Huntsville Havoc to the Pensacola Bay Center on Thursday before traveling to Evansville for games on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:00 p.m. CT THU | 7:00 p.m. CT FRI | 7:00 p.m. CT SAT)
Peoria Rivermen (2-2-0)
• Winger Tyler Barrow ranks first among rookies with two power play goals
• As a team, the Rivermen lead the league in penalty minutes with 101 in four games
• In two games this season, the Rivermen are 0-2-0 against the Storm
NEXT UP: Peoria welcomes travels to Quad City for games on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:10 p.m. CT FRI | 7:10 p.m. CT SAT)
Quad City Storm (4-1-0)
• Wingers Michael Moran and Leif Mattson are tied for second among all players with eight points apiece.
• Michael Moran was named the Warrior/SPHL Player of the Week after posting five goals, an assist, and a plus/minus of +4
• Moran also leads the league in goals, with six goals, two more than the next closest player
• Quad City sits atop the SPHL standings as they have eight points through their first five games
• The Storm are 2-0-0 against the Rivermen this season
NEXT UP: Quad City plays host to the Peoria Rivermen on Friday and Saturday (Puck drop 7:10 p.m. CT FRI | 7:10 p.m. CT)
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (3-1-0)
• Winger Travis Broughman is third overall in shots (24)
• Goaltender Austyn Roudebush came up big for the Rail Yard Dawgs as he helped guide the team to a 2-0-0 record, stopping 50 of 53 shots faced over the weekend
• The Rail Yard Dawgs are 1-1-0 against the Marksmen this season
NEXT UP: Roanoke plays host to Fayetteville on Friday before traveling to Knoxville on Saturday and wrapping up at Fayetteville on Sunday (Puck drop 7:05 p.m. ET FRI | 6:00 p.m. ET SAT | 3:00 p.m. ET SUN)
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)
NEXT UP: NO GAMES THIS WEEK
