The 2021–22 SPHL season was the 18th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The playoffs concluded on May 3, 2022 with the Peoria Rivermen defeating the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in 4 games in the President's Cup Finals, claiming their first President's Cup.[1]

2021–22 SPHL season
LeagueSouthern Professional Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 15, 2021 – May 3, 2022
Number of games56
Number of teams11
Regular season
William B. Coffey TrophyKnoxville Ice Bears
Season MVPAlec Baer (Peoria)
Top scorerAlec Baer (Peoria)
Playoffs
Finals championsPeoria Rivermen
  Finals runners-upRoanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
Playoffs MVPJack Berry (Peoria)
SPHL seasons

League business

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After playing a shortened 2020–21 season with only five teams, the league returned with all ten clubs from the 2019–20 season and added an expansion team, the Vermilion County Bobcats.[2][3]

Teams

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2021-22 Southern Professional Hockey League
Team City Arena
Birmingham Bulls Pelham, Alabama Pelham Civic Center
Evansville Thunderbolts Evansville, Indiana Ford Center
Fayetteville Marksmen Fayetteville, North Carolina Crown Complex
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
Peoria Rivermen Peoria, Illinois Carver Arena
Quad City Storm Moline, Illinois TaxSlayer Center
Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Roanoke, Virginia Berglund Center
Vermilion County Bobcats Danville, Illinois David S. Palmer Arena

Map of teams

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  SPHL teams

Regular season

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Standings

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As of April 10, 2022.[4]

Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA
z–Knoxville Ice Bears 56 42 10 2 2 88 220 136
x–Huntsville Havoc 56 41 13 1 1 84 194 124
x–Peoria Rivermen 56 38 11 3 4 83 219 126
x–Fayetteville Marksmen 56 40 14 1 1 82 197 140
x–Quad City Storm 56 32 15 5 4 73 191 157
x–Pensacola Ice Flyers 56 31 19 5 1 68 189 164
x–Evansville Thunderbolts 56 28 26 2 0 58 162 155
x–Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 56 23 24 4 5 55 176 181
e–Birmingham Bulls 56 18 32 5 1 42 144 198
e–Macon Mayhem 56 10 40 3 3 26 123 250
e–Vermilion County Bobcats 56 5 46 5 0 15 83 267

 z–  indicates team has clinched William B. Coffey Trophy (regular season champion) and a playoff spot
 x–  indicates team has clinched a playoff spot
 e–  indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention

Statistical leaders

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Leading skaters

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The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 10, 2022.[5]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Alec Baer Peoria Rivermen 53 26 54 80 32 36
Alec Hagaman Peoria Rivermen 47 28 43 71 40 151
Sy Nutkevitch Huntsville Havoc 56 25 45 70 9 30
Jacob Barber Huntsville Havoc 54 29 34 63 17 24
Marcel Godbout Peoria Rivermen 50 33 28 61 15 22
Mac Jansen Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 55 29 31 60 3 52
Rob Darrar Huntsville Havoc 56 27 33 60 35 16
Anthony McVeigh Knoxville Ice Bears 56 21 38 59 23 24
Dean Balsamo Knoxville Ice Bears 46 27 31 58 5 37
Weiland Parrish Pensacola Ice Flyers 50 15 42 57 22 22

Leading goaltenders

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The following goaltenders with a minimum 660 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Updated as of April 10, 2022.[6]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

Player Team GP TOI SA GA SO GAA SV% W L OT
Hunter Vorva Huntsville Havoc 32 1,892 928 61 3 1.93 .934 22 8 2
Eric Levine Peoria Rivermen 43 2,446 1,161 83 5 2.04 .929 29 8 4
Jason Pawloski Fayetteville Marksmen 22 1,288 608 46 2 2.14 .924 17 4 1
Kristian Stead Knoxville Ice Bears 24 1,394 659 51 2 2.20 .923 18 2 1
Brent Moran Fayetteville Marksmen 21 1,271 710 50 1 2.36 .930 16 4 1

Postseason

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For 2022, the format returned to the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the playoffs.[7]

Playoff bracket

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Quarterfinals Semifinals President's Cup Final
         
1 Knoxville 1
8 Roanoke 2
2 Huntsville 0
8 Roanoke 2
2 Huntsville 2
7 Evansville 0
8 Roanoke 1
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
3 Peoria 3
3 Peoria 2
6 Pensacola 1
3 Peoria 2
5 Quad City 1
4 Fayetteville 1
5 Quad City 2

Quarterfinals

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(1) Knoxville Ice Bears vs. (8) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

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April 13, 2022 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 1 – 4 Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville Civic Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period 6:21 – Stepan Timofeyev (1)
No scoring Second period 17:13 – Andrew Bellant (1)
Mac Jansen (1) – 17:34 Third period 8:31 – ppDean Balsamo (1)
16:36 – en – Stepan Timofeyev (2)
Sammy Bernard (23 saves / 26 shots) Goalie stats Jimmy Poreda (30 saves / 31 shots)
April 16, 2022 Knoxville Ice Bears 1 – 5 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Berglund Center Recap  
No scoring First period 3:44 – Nick DeVito (1)
8:45 – Travis Armstrong (1)
No scoring Second period 3:27 – Gehrett Sargis (1)
Jared Nash (1) – pp – 15:40 Third period 1:45 – shBrant Sherwood (1)
6:06 – Gehrett Sargis (2)
Jimmy Poreda (21 saves / 25 shots) Goalie stats Sammy Bernard (23 saves / 24 shots)
April 17, 2022 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 3 – 1 Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville Civic Coliseum Recap  
Gehrett Sargis (3) – 3:37
Mac Jansen (2) – 4:57
First period 11:26 – ppStepan Timofeyev (3)
Nick Ford (1) – 9:46 Second period No scoring
No scoring Third period No scoring
Sammy Bernard (28 saves / 29 shots) Goalie stats Jimmy Poreda (2 saves / 4 shots)
Roanoke won series 2–1


(2) Huntsville Havoc vs. (7) Evansville Thunderbolts

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April 14, 2022 Evansville Thunderbolts 3 – 5 Huntsville Havoc Propst Arena Recap  
Cameron Cook (1) – 1:38 First period No scoring
No scoring Second period 17:54 – ppNolan Kaiser (1)
Connor Chatham (1) – 1:14
Cameron Cook (2) – 19:23
Third period 7:07 – Jacob Barber (1)
7:42 – Nate Pionk (1)
12:46 – ppBauer Neudecker (1)
18:52 – en – Jacob Barber (2)
Chris Janzen (42 saves / 46 shots) Goalie stats Hunter Vorva (14 saves / 17 shots)
April 16, 2022 Huntsville Havoc 3 – 2 OT Evansville Thunderbolts Ford Center Recap  
No scoring First period 18:18 – Cameron Cook (3)
No scoring Second period 16:27 – Derek Osik (1)
Rob Darrar (1) – pp – 0:40
Bair Gendunov (1) – 9:22
Third period No scoring
Bair Gendunov (2) – pp – 15:34 First overtime period No scoring
Hunter Vorva (28 saves / 30 shots) Goalie stats Chris Janzen (27 saves / 30 shots)
Huntsville won series 2–0


(3) Peoria Rivermen vs. (6) Pensacola Ice Flyers

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April 13, 2022 Peoria Rivermen 6 – 3 Pensacola Ice Flyers Pelham Civic Center (Birmingham) Recap  
Austin Wisely (1) – 9:41
Alec Baer (1) – 14:48
First period No scoring
Lordanthony Grissom (1) – 10:27
Jordan Ernst (1) – pp – 16:41
Kasey Kulczycki (1) – 17:16
Second period No scoring
Mike Laidley (1) – 6:41 Third period 1:04 – ppFrederic Letourneau (1)
2:54 – Weiland Parrish (1)
19:05 – Ivan Bondarenko (1)
Eric Levine (40 saves / 43 shots) Goalie stats Cody Karpinski (30 saves / 34 shots)
April 15, 2022 Pensacola Ice Flyers 6 – 4 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
Brennan Blaszczak (1) – pp – 5:19
Brennan Blaszczak (2) – 17:37
First period 0:22 – Alec Baer (2)
4:29 – Alec Baer (3)
Frederic Letourneau (2) – 19:34 Second period No scoring
Ivan Bondarenko (1) – pp – 4:15
Rex Moe (1) – pp – 16:05
Brennan Blaszczak (1) – en – 19:14
Third period 5:06 – Alec Baer (4)
10:32 – ppJM Piotrowski (1)
Cody Karpinski (23 saves / 27 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (3 saves / 4 shots)
April 16, 2022 Pensacola Ice Flyers 2 – 4 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
Frederic Letourneau (3) – pp – 10:34 First period 5:12 – Dale Deon (1)
17:20 – ppAlec Hagaman (1)
No scoring Second period 19:43 – Austin Wisely (2)
Weiland Parrish (2) – pp – 14:19 Third period 14:28 – Jordan Ernst (2)
Cody Karpinski (35 saves / 39 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (25 saves / 27 shots)
Peoria won series 2–1


(4) Fayetteville Marksmen vs. (5) Quad City Storm

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April 13, 2022 Fayetteville Marksmen 3 – 2 Quad City Storm TaxSlayer Center Recap  
Zach Remers (1) – 7:00 First period 10:26 – ppBen Duperreault (1)
No scoring Second period No scoring
Taylor Best (1) – 0:30
Drake Glover (1) – 16:10
Third period 15:34 – Drake Glover (1)
Brent Moran (38 saves / 40 shots) Goalie stats Bailey Brkin (26 saves / 29 shots)
April 15, 2022 Quad City Storm 3 – 1 Fayetteville Marksmen Crown Coliseum Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Dillon Fournier (1) – pp – 9:22 Second period 8:01 – ppDrake Glover (2)
Shane Bennett (1) – 1:45
Logan Nelson (1) – en – 19:31
Third period No scoring
Bailey Brkin (26 saves / 27 shots) Goalie stats Brent Moran (32 saves / 34 shots)
April 16, 2022 Quad City Storm 4 – 2 Fayetteville Marksmen Crown Coliseum Recap  
Taylor Price (1) – 8:59
Triston Theriot (1) – 16:12
First period 17:13 – Bryan Moore (1)
No scoring Second period 8:37 – Nick Mangone (1)
Ben Duperreault (2) – 3:13
Ben Duperreault (3) – 11:09
Third period No scoring
Bailey Brkin (28 saves / 30 shots) Goalie stats Brent Moran (32 saves / 36 shots)
Quad City won series 2–1


Semifinals

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(2) Huntsville Havoc vs. (8) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

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April 21, 2022 Huntsville Havoc 3 – 5 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Berglund Center Recap  
Rob Darrar (2) – pp – 7:59 First period 4:44 – Brant Sherwood (2)
14:56 – ppJeff Jones (1)
Jacob Barber (3) – pp – 10:45
Jacob Barber (4) – 15:30
Second period 6:50 – Nick Ford (2)
11:10 – Sean Leonard (1)
14:42 – pp – Jeff Jones (2)
No scoring Third period No scoring
Hunter Vorva (26 saves / 31 shots) Goalie stats Austyn Roudebush (18 saves / 20 shots)
April 16, 2022 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 2 – 0 Huntsville Havoc Propst Arena Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Brady Heppner (1) – 4:20 Second period No scoring
Nick Ford (3) – 13:03 Third period No scoring
Austyn Roudebush (36 saves / 36 shots) Goalie stats Hunter Vorva (23 saves / 25 shots)
Roanoke won series 2–0


(3) Peoria Rivermen vs. (5) Quad City Storm

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April 20, 2022 Peoria Rivermen 1 – 4 Quad City Storm TaxSlayer Center Recap  
No scoring First period 2:01 – Marcus Ortiz (1)
15:25 – Taylor Pryce (2)
Marcel Godbout (1) – 19:34 Second period 5:05 – Taylor Pryce (3)
No scoring Third period 18:07 – en – Marcus Ortiz (2)
Jack Berry (36 saves / 39 shots) Goalie stats Bailey Brkin (35 saves / 36 shots)
April 22, 2022 Quad City Storm 1 – 5 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
No scoring First period 15:05 – Marcel Godbout (2)
Connor Fries (1) – 16:01 Second period 0:28 – Zach Wilkie (1)
11:02 – ppAlec Baer (5)
No scoring Third period 3:06 – pp – Marcel Godbout (3)
16:01 – enLordanthony Grissom (2)
Bailey Brkin (26 saves / 30 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (29 saves / 30 shots)
April 23, 2022 Quad City Storm 2 – 3 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
No scoring First period 8:51 – Marcel Godbout (4)
Connor Fries (1) – 8:42 Second period No scoring
Tommy Tsicos (1) – 12:30 Third period 4:43 – JM Piotrowski (2)
15:06 – ppJordan Ernst (3)
Bailey Brkin (18 saves / 21 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (28 saves / 30 shots)
Peoria won series 2–1


President's Cup Final

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(3) Peoria Rivermen vs. (8) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

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April 28, 2022 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 2 – 3 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
Travis Armstrong (2) – 13:38 First period No scoring
Gehrett Sargis (4) – 4:11 Second period 12:29 – ppMitchell McPherson (1)
17:24 – ppMike Laidley (2)
No scoring Third period 6:47 – Lordanthony Grissom (3)
Sammy Bernard (21 saves / 24 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (34 saves / 36 shots)
April 29, 2022 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 3 – 7 Peoria Rivermen Peoria Civic Center Recap  
Nick Ford (4) – pp – 8:31 First period 2:30 – Jordan Ernst (4)
6:24 – Alec Baer (6)
7:20 – Kasey Kulczycki (2)
11:37 – Jordan Ernst (5)
12:13 – Marcel Godbout (5)
Brady Heppner (2) – pp – 12:29 Second period 10:12 – Alec Hagaman (2)
Travis Broughman (1) – 16:54 Third period 19:10 – pp – Jordan Ernst (6)
Austyn Roudebush (19 saves / 23 shots) Goalie stats Jack Berry (34 saves / 36 shots)
May 2, 2022 Peoria Rivermen 3 – 4 Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Berglund Center Recap  
No scoring First period No scoring
Alec Hagaman (3) – pp – 1:13
Kasey Kulczycki (3) – 14:12
JM Piotrowski (3) – 19:20
Second period 6:37 – Nick Ford (5)
11:03 – Nick Ford (6)
12:22 – Nick Ford (7)
No scoring Third period 10:06 – Brant Sherwood (3)
Jack Berry (32 saves / 36 shots) Goalie stats Sammy Bernard (22 saves / 25 shots)
May 3, 2022 Peoria Rivermen 3 – 2 OT Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs Berglund Center Recap  
No scoring First period 2:19 – Mac Jansen (3)
Mike Gurtler (1) – 6:10 Second period 1:56 – ppTravis Broughman (2)
Marcel Godbout (6) – pp – 12:23 Third period No scoring
JM Piotrowski (4) – 1:06 First overtime period No scoring
Jack Berry (31 saves / 33 shots) Goalie stats Sammy Bernard (22 saves / 25 shots)
Peoria won series 3–1


Statistical leaders

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Skaters

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The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of May 3, 2022.[8]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Nick Ford Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 9 7 5 12 10 4
Marcel Godbout Peoria Rivermen 10 6 6 12 10 10
Alec Baer Peoria Rivermen 10 6 5 11 3 6
JM Piotrowski Peoria Rivermen 10 4 7 11 4 4
Mac Jansen Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 9 3 7 10 5 0
Alec Hagaman Peoria Rivermen 10 3 7 10 0 12

Goaltenders

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The following goaltenders with a minimum 350 minutes played lead the playoffs in goals against average. Updated as of May 3, 2022.[9]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

Player Team GP TOI SA GA SO GAA SV% W L OT
Bailey Brkin Quad City Storm 6 357 173 14 0 2.25 .919 3 3 0
Jack Berry Peoria Rivermen 9 492 263 20 0 2.44 .924 6 3 0
Sammy Bernard Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs 8 386 167 18 0 2.80 .892 0 0 0

Awards

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Award Recipient(s)
President's Cup Peoria Rivermen
William B. Coffey Trophy
(Best regular-season record)
Knoxville Ice Bears
Defenseman of the Year Jason Price (Knoxville)[10]
Rookie of the Year Marcel Godbout (Peoria)[11]
Goaltender of the Year Hunter Vorva (Huntsville)[12]
Coach of the Year Jeff Carr (Knoxville)[13]
Most Valuable Player Alec Baer (Peoria)[14]
Leading Scorer Award Alec Baer (Peoria)[15]

All-SPHL selections

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Position First Team[16] Second Team[16] All-Rookie[17]
G Hunter Vorva (Huntsville) Eric Levine (Peoria) Kristian Stead (Knoxville)
D Jason Price (Knoxville)
Donald Olivieri (Fayetteville)
Joe Sova (Quad City)
Dylan Carabia (Pensacola)
Dylan Carabia (Pensacola)
Zach Wilkie (Peoria)
F Alec Baer (Peoria)
Alec Hagaman (Peoria)
Sy Nutkevitch (Huntsville)
Jacob Barber (Huntsville)
Mac Jansen (Roanoke)
Marcel Godbout (Peoria)
Anthony McVeigh (Knoxville)
Marcel Godbout (Peoria)
Taylor Best (Fayetteville)
Weiland Parrish (Pensacola)
Carson Rose (Birmingham)

Milestones and records

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  • On January 22, 2022 – The Pensacola Ice Flyers defeat the Macon Mayhem 13–4 (record for most goals by one team)[18]

References

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  1. ^ "Peoria Rivermen win SPHL championship for hockey franchise's first title in 22 years". pjstar.com. May 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "SPHL releases 2021-2022 regular season schedule". thesphl.com. July 14, 2021.
  3. ^ "SPHL HOCKEY: Bobcats set to start season". commercial-news.com. October 23, 2021.
  4. ^ "2021–22 Regular Season Standings". SPHL. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "Player Stats TheSPHL.com". SPHL.
  6. ^ "Top Goalies - 2021-22 Regular Season - Goals Against Average". SPHL.
  7. ^ "SPHL announces President's Cup first round schedule". thesphl.com. April 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Skater Stats - Playoffs TheSPHL.com". SPHL.
  9. ^ "Top Goalies - 2021-22 Playoffs - Goals Against Average". SPHL.
  10. ^ "Knoxville's Jason Price named SPHL Defenseman of the Year". SPHL. April 19, 2022.
  11. ^ "Peoria's Marcel Godbout named SPHL Rookie of the Year". SPHL. April 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Huntsville's Hunter Vorva named SPHL Goaltender of the Year". SPHL. April 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Knoxville's Jeff Carr named SPHL Coach of the Year". SPHL. April 15, 2022.
  14. ^ "Peoria's Alec Baer named SPHL Most Valuable Player". SPHL. April 21, 2022.
  15. ^ "Peoria's Alec Baer earns Kevin Swider Leading Scorer Award". SPHL. April 11, 2022.
  16. ^ a b "All-SPHL First and Second Teams Announced". SPHL. April 14, 2022.
  17. ^ "SPHL announces 2021-2022 All-Rookie Team". SPHL. April 13, 2022.
  18. ^ "Ice Flyers shatter SPHL scoring record in 13-4 rout of Macon". weartv.com. January 28, 2022.
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