The 2020–21 SPHL season is the 17th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Due to the ongoing restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the season was delayed to December 26, 2020, and only half of the member teams participated in the shortened season.
| 2020–21 SPHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | December 26, 2020 – May 2, 2021 |
| Number of games | 42 |
| Number of teams | 5 |
| Regular season | |
| William B. Coffey Trophy | Macon Mayhem |
| Season MVP | Mason Baptista (Macon) |
| Top scorer | Logan Nelson (Birmingham) |
| Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Pensacola Ice Flyers |
| Finals runners-up | Macon Mayhem |
League business
editDue to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–20 season was curtailed and no champion was named.[1] For the 2020–21 season, the league announced the Evansville Thunderbolts, Fayetteville Marksmen, Peoria Rivermen, Quad City Storm, and Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs had withdrawn from participating in the season due to pandemic-related capacity restrictions barring fans from attending games.[2]
Teams
edit| 2020-201Southern Professional Hockey League | ||||
| Team | City | Arena | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Bulls | Pelham, Alabama | Pelham Civic Center | ||
| Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Center | ||
| Knoxville Ice Bears | Knoxville, Tennessee | Knoxville Civic Coliseum | ||
| Macon Mayhem | Macon, Georgia | Macon Coliseum | ||
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | Pensacola, Florida | Pensacola Bay Center | ||
Map of teams
edit
Regular season
editStandings
editFinal standings:[3]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macon Mayhem‡ | 42 | 32 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 134 | 84 | 68 |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | 42 | 24 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 128 | 103 | 52 |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | 42 | 18 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 117 | 120 | 42 |
| Huntsville Havoc | 42 | 19 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 123 | 137 | 39 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 42 | 12 | 23 | 7 | 0 | 103 | 161 | 31 |
- ‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
- Qualified for playoffs
President's Cup playoffs
editFor 2021, the top four teams at the end of the regular season qualified for the playoffs.
Playoff bracket
edit| Semifinals Best-of-3 | Championship Best-of-3 | ||||||||
| 1 | Macon | 2 | |||||||
| 4 | Huntsville | 0 | |||||||
| 1 | Macon | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Pensacola | 2 | |||||||
| 2 | Knoxville | 0 | |||||||
| 3 | Pensacola | 2 | |||||||
Awards
edit| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| President's Cup | Pensacola Ice Flyers |
| William B. Coffey Trophy (Best regular-season record) |
Macon Mayhem |
| Defenseman of the Year | Kenton Helgesen (Knoxville)[4] |
| Rookie of the Year | Jake Wahlin (Pensacola)[5] |
| Goaltender of the Year | Jake Theut (Macon)[6] |
| Coach of the Year | Kevin Kerr (Macon)[7] |
| Most Valuable Player | Mason Baptista (Macon)[8] |
| Leading Scorer Award | Logan Nelson (Birmingham) |
All-SPHL selections
edit| Position | First Team[9] | Second Team[10] | All-Rookie[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| G | Jake Theut (Macon) | Austyn Roudebush (Knoxville) | Ryan Ruck (Macon) |
| D | Kenton Helgesen (Knoxville) Nolan Kaiser (Huntsville) tie Nick Minerva (Macon) tie |
Casey Johnson (Macon) Nick Neville (Pensacola) |
Casey Johnson (Macon) Andrew McLean (Knoxville) |
| F | Mason Baptista (Macon) Jacob Benson (Knoxville) Jake Wahlin (Pensacola) |
Rob Darrar (Huntsville) Eddie Matsushima (Pensacola) Logan Nelson (Birmingham) |
Nick Master (Knoxville) Ryan Smith (Macon) Jake Wahlin (Pensacola) |
References
edit- ^ "SPHL Announces Cancellation of 2019-2020 Season". SPHL. March 15, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ "SPHL announces changes for 2020-2021 season". SPHL. October 6, 2020.
- ^ "2020–21 SPHL Standings". SPHL. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
- ^ "Knoxville's Kenton Helgesen named SPHL Defenseman of the Year". SPHL. May 21, 2021.
- ^ "Pensacola's Jake Wahlin Named SPHL Rookie of the Year". OurSports Central. May 20, 2021.
- ^ "Macon's Jake Theut Named SPHL Goaltender of the Year". OurSports Central. May 24, 2021.
- ^ "Macon's Kevin Kerr named SPHL Coach of the Year". SPHL. May 25, 2021.
- ^ "Macon's Mason Baptista Named SPHL Most Valuable Player". OurSports central. May 26, 2021.
- ^ "SPHL Announces 2020-2021 All-League First Team". OurSports Central. May 19, 2021.
- ^ "SPHL Announces 2020-2021 All-League Second Team". OurSports Central. May 19, 2021.
- ^ "SPHL Announces 2020-2021 All-Rookie Team". OurSports Central. May 18, 2021.