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SPHL

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox sports league The SPHL (formerly the Southern Professional Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midwestern United States.

Following the 2024–25 season, the Evansville Thunderbolts Thunderbolts are the reigning President's Cup champions. Template:As of, the Knoxville Ice Bears are the most successful team in SPHL history, having won five William B. Coffey Trophies as the regular season champions and four President's Cup playoff championships. The Peoria Rivermen have also won five William B. Coffey Trophies, while Pensacola has also won four President's Cups.

HistoryEdit

The SPHL's history traces back to three other short-lived leagues. The Atlantic Coast Hockey League started play in the 2002–03 season. After its only season, the ACHL dissolved with member teams forming the nucleus for two rival leagues, the South East Hockey League and the World Hockey Association 2. After one season, the SEHL and WHA2 disbanded, with their surviving teams rejoining with two expansion teams to form the SPHL, commencing with the 2004–05 season.

In 2009, the SPHL saw a large expansion with three new franchises, in Biloxi, Mississippi,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Template:Dead link</ref> Lafayette, Louisiana<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Pensacola, Florida.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref> In 2010, the league added an expansion team in Augusta, Georgia, another former long time ECHL market.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For the 2011–12 season, the league added two-time Central Hockey League champions, the Mississippi RiverKings.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For the 2013–14 season, the league lost the Augusta RiverHawks but also expanded northward with two franchises in Illinois: the Bloomington Thunder, a team also moving from the CHL, where they were known as the Bloomington Blaze, and the Peoria Rivermen, who were replacing an American Hockey League team of the same name in their market.<ref name="Rivermen, Blaze expansion">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, the Augusta franchise returned and relocated to Macon, Georgia as the Macon Mayhem.

In November 2014, Shannon Szabados became the first female goaltender to win an SPHL game, when the Columbus Cottonmouths defeated the Fayetteville FireAntz 5–4 in overtime.<ref name="NHL.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In that same game Erin Blair and Katie Guay became the first female officials to referee an SPHL game.<ref name="NHL.com"/>

At the end of the 2015–16 season, the Louisiana IceGators announced a one-year leave of absence for renovations to their arena but never returned. The IceGators' franchise was sold and reactivated as the Quad City Storm in 2018. Then in 2016, the dormant Mississippi Surge franchise was relocated to Southwest Virginia to become the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs. One of the inaugural SPHL teams, the Columbus Cottonmouths, suspended operations in 2017 after failing to find a buyer while an expansion team called the Birmingham Bulls were accepted into the league as the tenth team. Following the 2017–18 season, the Mississippi RiverKings suspended operations while the league searched for new owners.<ref name="suspend">Template:Cite news</ref> With the acceptance of the Quad City Storm, the league was able to remain at ten teams for the 2018–19 season.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 season was curtailed and no champion was named. The following season, the league announced it would only play with five of the ten member teams due to pandemic-related capacity restrictions barring fans from attending games.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the season, the league approved of the Vermilion County Bobcats as a 2021–22 expansion team based in Danville, Illinois.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The Bobcats folded after only a year and a half.<ref name="vcb" />

In 2023, the league rebranded to the orphaned initialism "SPHL" to reflect the fact that the league's footprint had expanded beyond the southern United States.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

TeamsEdit

Template:Location map+

2024-25 membersEdit

Overview of SPHL teams
Team City Arena Capacity Founded Joined Head Coach
Birmingham Bulls<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pelham, Alabama Pelham Civic Center 4,100 2017 Craig Simchuk
Evansville Thunderbolts Evansville, Indiana Ford Center 9,000 2016 Jeff Bes
Fayetteville Marksmen Fayetteville, North Carolina Crown Coliseum 9,500 2002 2004 Kyle Sharkey
Huntsville Havoc Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center 6,050 2004 Stuart Stefan
Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum 5,109 2002 2004 John Gurskis
Macon Mayhem Macon, Georgia Macon Coliseum 6,550 2010Template:Efn Nick Niedert
Pensacola Ice Flyers Pensacola, Florida Pensacola Bay Center 8,150 2009 Gary Graham
Peoria Rivermen Peoria, Illinois Carver Arena 9,815 2013 Jean-Guy Trudel
Quad City Storm Moline, Illinois Vibrant Arena at The MARK 9,200 2009Template:Efn Shayne Toporowski
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Roanoke, Virginia Berglund Center 8,672 2009Template:Efn Dan Bremner

Notes Template:Notelist

TimelineEdit

<timeline> DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:01/01/2004 till:12/31/2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5

Colors = 

        id:former value:rgb(0.95,0.5,0.4)
        id:hiatus   value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)
        id:line     value:black
        id:bg       value:white

PlotData= 

 width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

 bar:1  color:former from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2005 text:Asheville Aces (2004–2005)
 bar:2  color:former from:07/01/2004 till:05/03/2017 text:Columbus Cottonmouths (2004–2017)
 bar:3  color:red from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2017 text:Fayetteville FireAntz (2004–2017)
 bar:3  color:red from:06/01/2017 till:10/06/2020 shift:0 text:Fayetteville Marksmen (2017–present)
 bar:3  color:hiatus from:10/06/2020 till:06/30/2021
 bar:3  color:red from:07/01/2021 till:end 
 bar:4  color:red from:07/01/2004 till:end text:Huntsville Havoc (2004–present)
 bar:5  color:former  from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2008 text:Jacksonville Barracudas (2004–2008)
 bar:6  color:red from:07/01/2004 till:end text:Knoxville Ice Bears (2004–present)
 bar:7  color:former from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2005 text:Macon Trax (2004–2005)
 bar:8  color:former from:07/01/2004 till:05/01/2005 text:Winston-Salem Polar Twins (2004–2005)
 bar:9  color:former from:07/01/2005 till:01/04/2007 text:Florida Seals (2005–2007)
 bar:10 color:former from:07/01/2005 till:03/31/2007 shift:-40 text:Pee Dee Cyclones (2005–2007)
 bar:10 color:former from:04/24/2007 till:03/31/2009 shift:(40) text:Twin City Cyclones (2007–2009)
 bar:11 color:former from:07/01/2006 till:05/01/2009 text:Richmond Renegades (2006–2009)
 bar:12 color:former from:07/01/2009 till:06/30/2016 text:Louisiana IceGators (2009–2016)
 bar:12 color:red from:07/01/2018 till:10/06/2020 shift:0 text:Quad City Storm (2018–present)
 bar:12 color:hiatus from:10/06/2020 till:06/30/2021
 bar:12 color:red from:07/01/2021 till:end 
 bar:13 color:former from:07/01/2009 till:05/02/2014 text:Mississippi Surge (2009–2014)
 bar:13 color:red from:07/01/2016 till:10/06/2020 shift:0 text:Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (2016–present)
 bar:13 color:hiatus from:10/06/2020 till:06/30/2021
 bar:13 color:red from:07/01/2021 till:end 
 bar:14 color:red from:07/01/2009 till:end text:Pensacola Ice Flyers (2009–present)
 bar:15 color:former from:07/01/2010 till:05/14/2013 text:Augusta RiverHawks (2010–2013)
 bar:15 color:red from:07/10/2015 till:end text:Macon Mayhem (2015–present)
 bar:16 color:former from:07/01/2011 till:06/30/2018 text:Mississippi RiverKings (2011–2018)
 bar:17 color:former from:07/01/2013 till:05/01/2014 text:Bloomington Thunder (2013–2014)
 bar:18 color:red from:07/01/2013 till:10/06/2020 text:Peoria Rivermen (2013–present)
 bar:18 color:hiatus from:10/06/2020 till:06/30/2021
 bar:18 color:red from:07/01/2021 till:end 
 bar:19 color:red from:07/01/2016 till:10/06/2020 shift:0 text:Evansville Thunderbolts (2016–present)
 bar:19 color:hiatus from:10/06/2020 till:06/30/2021
 bar:19 color:red from:07/01/2021 till:end 
 bar:20 color:red from:07/01/2017 till:end shift:0 text:Birmingham Bulls (2017–present)
 bar:21 color:former from:07/01/2021 till:02/09/2023 shift:-100 text:Vermilion County Bobcats (2021–2023)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2004

</timeline>

Defunct and relocated teamsEdit

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  • Louisiana IceGators (2009–16) Suspended operations for the 2016–17 season claiming the arena needed the year for renovations but later dissolved. In 2018, the franchise was sold and became the Quad City Storm.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Key rule differencesEdit

As per minor leagues, there are some rule differences between the SPHL and the NHL (and even the ECHL and the AHL, the two official developmental leagues regulated by the Professional Hockey Players' Association).

  • A team may dress eighteen regular players to a game. Two players dressed for the game will be goaltenders.
  • A mouthpiece is required for all players except the goaltender.
  • No curvature of stick limitations as in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.
  • Shootouts are five players. After five different players have made an attempt, teams may reuse anyone including those who have previously attempted in later rounds, even using the same player in consecutive rounds if desired.

ChampionsEdit

President's CupEdit

Awarded to the league playoff champion.

Season Winner Runner-up
2005 Columbus Cottonmouths Macon Trax
2006 Knoxville Ice Bears Orlando Seals
2007 Fayetteville FireAntz Jacksonville Barracudas
2008 Knoxville Ice Bears Jacksonville Barracudas
2009 Knoxville Ice Bears Fayetteville FireAntz
2010 Huntsville Havoc Mississippi Surge
2011 Mississippi Surge Augusta Riverhawks
2012 Columbus Cottonmouths Pensacola Ice Flyers
2013 Pensacola Ice Flyers Huntsville Havoc
2014 Pensacola Ice Flyers Columbus Cottonmouths
2015 Knoxville Ice Bears Mississippi RiverKings
2016 Pensacola Ice Flyers Peoria Rivermen
2017 Macon Mayhem Peoria Rivermen
2018 Huntsville Havoc Peoria Rivermen
2019 Huntsville Havoc Birmingham Bulls
2020 Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Pensacola Ice Flyers Macon Mayhem
2022 Peoria Rivermen Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
2023 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Birmingham Bulls
2024 Peoria Rivermen Huntsville Havoc
2025 Evansville Thunderbolts Knoxville Ice Bears
Team Titles
Knoxville Ice Bears 4
Pensacola Ice Flyers 4
Huntsville Havoc 3
Peoria Rivermen 2
Columbus Cottonmouths 2
Fayetteville FireAntz 1
Macon Mayhem 1
Mississippi Surge 1
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 1
Evansville Thunderbolts 1

William B. Coffey TrophyEdit

Originally known as the Commissioner's Cup, the regular season championship trophy was renamed in honor of league co-founder Bill Coffey during the 2007–08 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Season Winner Title
2004–05 Knoxville Ice Bears 1
2005–06 Knoxville Ice Bears 2
2006–07 Columbus Cottonmouths 1
2007–08 Knoxville Ice Bears 3
2008–09 Knoxville Ice Bears 4
2009–10 Mississippi Surge 1
2010–11 Mississippi Surge 2
2011–12 Augusta RiverHawks 1
2012–13 Fayetteville FireAntz 1
2013–14 Pensacola Ice Flyers 1
2014–15 Peoria Rivermen 1
2015–16 Peoria Rivermen 2
2016–17 Macon Mayhem 1
2017–18 Peoria Rivermen 3
2018–19 Peoria Rivermen 4
2019–20 Not awarded due to season cancellation
2020–21 citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref> || 2

2021–22 Knoxville Ice Bears 5
2022–23 Peoria Rivermen 5
2023-24 Birmingham Bulls 1
2024-25 Peoria Rivermen 6
Team Titles
Peoria Rivermen 6
Knoxville Ice Bears 5
Macon Mayhem 2
Mississippi Surge 2
Augusta Riverhawks 1
Columbus Cottonmouths 1
Fayetteville FireAntz 1
Pensacola Ice Flyers 1
Birmingham Bulls 1

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:SPHL Template:NAProHockey

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