Southern Professional Hockey League

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Southern Professional Hockey League
SPHL logo.png
Sport Ice hockey
Founded 2004
No. of teams 9
Country(ies)  United States
Most recent champion(s) Mississippi Surge
Most titles Knoxville Ice Bears (3)
Official website www.TheSPHL.com

The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is a low-level professional ice hockey league based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with teams located in the southeastern United States.

Contents

[edit] History

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 as three new franchises in Biloxi, Mississippi,[1][2][3] Lafayette, Louisiana[4] and Pensacola, Florida,[5][6] all three of which were former ECHL markets within the past five years that produced competitive teams, each of which either won the league's championship or regular season title. For the 2011–12 season, the league added 2-time Central Hockey League champions, the Mississippi RiverKings.[7][8]

[edit] Teams

Map of SPHL teams
Solid black.svg Current location Thick lined square.svg Former location Green thick lined square.svg Original team

[edit] Current

Team City/Area Arena Joined Head Coach
Augusta RiverHawks Augusta, Georgia James Brown Arena 2010 Canada Brad Ralph
Columbus Cottonmouths Columbus, Georgia Columbus Civic Center 2004 Canada Jerome Bechard
Fayetteville FireAntz Fayetteville, North Carolina Cumberland County Crown Coliseum 2004 Canada Sean Gillam
Huntsville Havoc Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center 2004 Canada Randy Murphy
Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville, Tennessee James White Civic Coliseum 2004 Canada Mike Craigen
Louisiana IceGators Lafayette, Louisiana Cajundome 2009 Canada Kevin Kaminski
Mississippi RiverKings Southaven, Mississippi (Memphis area) DeSoto Civic Center 2011 Canada Derek Landmesser
Mississippi Surge Biloxi, Mississippi Mississippi Coast Coliseum 2009 Canada Jeff Bes
Pensacola Ice Flyers Pensacola, Florida Pensacola Civic Center 2009 Canada Todd Gordon

[edit] Timeline

Mississippi RiverKings Augusta Riverhawks Pensacola Ice Flyers Mississippi Surge Louisiana IceGators Richmond Renegades Twin City Cyclones Pee Dee Cyclones Florida Seals Winston-Salem Polar Twins Macon Trax Knoxville Ice Bears Jacksonville Barracudas Huntsville Havoc Fayetteville FireAntz Columbus Cottonmouths Asheville Aces

[edit] Defunct franchises

[edit] Key rule differences

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

  • A team may dress sixteen regular players to a game. Two players dressed for the game will be goaltenders.
  • There is no trapezoid restriction limiting the goaltender playing the puck and is eligible to play the puck anywhere on his side of the center redline.
  • 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 (as in the ECHL and AHL).
  • All overtime periods in the regular season are between three skaters per team and the goaltender (3 on 3, compared to 4 on 4 in other leagues). Penalty rules differ during the overtime:
    • During the first three minutes of overtime, in case of a penalty, the non-offending team is awarded one extra skater per penalty (up to two extra, five total).
    • In the final two minutes, any minor penalty results in an automatic penalty shot.[13]

[edit] Champions

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] President's Cup

2004–05 Columbus Cottonmouths
2005–06 Knoxville Ice Bears
2006–07 Fayetteville FireAntz
2007–08 Knoxville Ice Bears
2008–09 Knoxville Ice Bears
2009–10 Huntsville Havoc
2010–11 Mississippi Surge

[edit] Regular season

[edit] William B. Coffey Trophy

Originally known as the Commissioner's Cup, the regular season trophy was renamed in honor of league co-founder William B. Coffey during the 2007–08 season.[14]

2004–05 Knoxville Ice Bears
2005–06 Knoxville Ice Bears
2006–07 Columbus Cottonmouths
2007–08 Knoxville Ice Bears
2008–09 Knoxville Ice Bears
2009–10 Mississippi Surge
2010–11 Mississippi Surge

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Giardina, A.J. (April 9, 2009). "Local investors may bring another hockey team to the coast". WLOX-TV. http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10161681. Retrieved April 10, 2009. 
  2. ^ Press release (April 30, 2009). "Biloxi to join SPHL". SPHL.com. http://www.thesphl.com/fanzone/news/index.html?article_id=1163. Retrieved April 30, 2009. [dead link]
  3. ^ "Coast Hockey announces new team name". The Sun Herald. June 17, 2009. http://www.sunherald.com/newsupdates/story/1419476.html. Retrieved June 17, 2009. [dead link]
  4. ^ Foote, Kevin (May 15, 2009). "IceGators to skate again; join the discussion". Lafayette Daily Advertiser. http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090515/NEWS01/905150326. Retrieved May 15, 2009. [dead link]
  5. ^ Blakeney, Jason (April 30, 2009). "Hockey's Back!". Pensacola News Journal. http://pnj.com/article/20090430/NEWS01/904300321. Retrieved April 30, 2009. 
  6. ^ Blakeney, Jason (May 9, 2009). "Commentary: New team, new name, new opportunity". Pensacola News Journal. http://www.pnj.com/article/20090509/SPORTS/905090325/Commentary++New+team++new+name++new+opportunity. Retrieved May 10, 2009. [dead link]
  7. ^ "Mississippi RiverKings Join SPHL For 2011-2012 Season". Press release (Southern Professional Hockey League). June 13, 2011. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zQLeF4Zw. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
  8. ^ Van Tuyl, Chris (13 June 2011). "Mississippi RiverKings announce change to Southern Professional Hockey League". Memphis Commercial Appeal. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/5zQLVSngm. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
  9. ^ "Florida Seals cease operations". Press release. January 5, 2007. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3412289. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  10. ^ Gates, Nick (June 21, 2009). "Murray liking SPHL expansion". Knoxville News Sentinel. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/21/murray-liking-sphl-expansion/. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  11. ^ "Renegades Officially Done". Press release. April 30, 2009. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3815536. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  12. ^ "Cyclones To Cease Operations". Press release. March 24, 2009. http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3794436. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  13. ^ http://www.thesphl.com/news/?id=4229
  14. ^ "History of the SPHL". SPHL.com. http://www.thesphl.com/view/thesphl/history-of-the-sphl. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 

[edit] External links

Media related to Southern Professional Hockey League at Wikimedia Commons

Southern Professional Hockey League
Teams
Arenas
Cajundome (Louisiana) • Columbus Civic Center (Columbus) • Cumberland County Crown Coliseum (Fayetteville) • DeSoto Civic Center (Mississippi RiverKings) • James Brown Arena (Augusta) • James White Civic Coliseum (Knoxville) • Mississippi Coast Coliseum (Mississippi Surge) • Pensacola Civic Center (Pensacola) • Von Braun Center (Huntsville)
Seasons
Professional ice hockey leagues in North America
Minor leagues

High level (AAA): American Hockey League
Mid level (AA): ECHL • Central Hockey League
Low level (A): Federal Hockey League • Southern Professional Hockey League

Semi pro: Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southern_Professional_Hockey_League&oldid=474348742"
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