2022–23 SPHL season

The 2022–23 SPHL season was the 19th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The Peoria Rivermen won their fifth William B. Coffey Trophy during the regular season, while the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs earned their first President's Cup, defeating the Birmingham Bulls in four games.

2022–23 SPHL season
League	Southern Professional Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 20, 2022 – April 8, 2023
Number of games	56
Number of teams	11
Regular season
William B. Coffey Trophy	Peoria Rivermen
Season MVP	Justin MacDonald (Knoxville)
Top scorer	Justin MacDonald (Knoxville)
Playoffs
Finals champions	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
Finals runners-up	Birmingham Bulls
Playoffs MVP	Austyn Roudebush (Roanoke)
SPHL seasons
← 2021–22 2023–24 →

League business

The same 11 teams from the 2021–22 season returned.^[1] The Vermilion County Bobcats officially ceased operations on February 9, 2023.^[2]

Regular season

Standings

As of April 8, 2023.^[3]

Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA
z–Peoria Rivermen	57	39	14	3	1	82	217	137
x–Birmingham Bulls	57	37	16	2	2	78	217	162
x–Huntsville Havoc	56	34	19	2	1	71	197	162
x–Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	56	32	19	3	2	69	185	161
x–Evansville Thunderbolts	56	32	22	2	0	66	172	165
x–Knoxville Ice Bears	57	32	22	1	2	67	221	199
x–Fayetteville Marksmen	56	26	22	8	0	60	155	166
x–Pensacola Ice Flyers	57	26	25	3	3	58	183	190
e–Quad City Storm	57	23	32	1	1	48	136	183
e–Macon Mayhem	57	13	39	4	1	31	166	257
e–Vermilion County Bobcats	30	4	24	2	0	10	59	126

 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

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 10, 2023.^[4]

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Justin MacDonald	Knoxville Ice Bears	46	34	45	79	+6	44
Garrett Milan	Pensacola Ice Flyers	57	26	43	69	−12	83
Dean Balsamo	Knoxville Ice Bears	49	27	39	66	−7	16
Sy Nutkevitch	Huntsville Havoc	56	18	45	63	+10	16
Alec Hagaman	Peoria Rivermen	53	24	37	61	+20	202
Tyler Piacentini	Huntsville Havoc	56	22	39	61	+12	26
Michael Gillespie	Birmingham Bulls	38	27	33	60	+24	18
Rob Darrar	Huntsville Havoc	55	23	33	56	+4	31
Nick Ford	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	56	16	38	54	−2	76
Ivan Bondarenko	Pensacola Ice Flyers	57	15	39	54	−3	15

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 1,320 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Updated as of April 10, 2023.^[5]

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
Trevor Gorsuch	Evansville Thunderbolts	23	1,352	793	51	2	2.26	.936	15	8	0
Eric Levine	Peoria Rivermen	34	1,771	804	68	5	2.30	.915	17	8	4
Austyn Roudebush	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	42	2,313	1,036	97	2	2.52	.906	24	12	4
Kevin Resop	Quad City Storm	40	2,145	1,139	96	3	2.69	.916	14	22	1
Austin Lotz	Birmingham Bulls	33	1,979	985	90	1	2.73	.909	24	7	2

Postseason

For 2023, the format returned to the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the playoffs.^[6]

Playoff bracket

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

Quarterfinals

(1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (8) Pensacola Ice Flyers

April 13, 2023	Peoria Rivermen		3 - 2		Pensacola Ice Flyers	Pensacola Bay Center	Recap
11:13 - Joseph Widmar (1) 18:21 - pp - Alec Baer (1)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
16:00 - Alec Hagaman (1)		Third period			Garrett Milan (1) - pp - 10:09 Jason Price (1) - 15:49
Jack Berry (23 saves / 25 shots)		Goalie stats			Brad Arvanitis (31 saves / 34 shots)

April 15, 2023	Pensacola Ice Flyers		1 - 2		Peoria Rivermen	Carver Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			Alec Hagaman (2) - 11:11
18:04 - Malik Johnson (1)		Second period			Jordan Ernst (1) - 19:12
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Brad Arvanitis (27 saves / 29 shots)		Goalie stats			Jack Berry (18 saves / 19 shots)

Peoria won series 2–0

(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (7) Fayetteville Marksmen

April 13, 2023	Birmingham Bulls		2 - 3	OT	Fayetteville Marksmen	Crown Coliseum	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
11:16 - Scott Donahue (1) 17:36 - pp - Michael Gillespie (1)		Third period			Matt McNair (1) - 9:59 Matt McNair (2) - pp - 10:59
No scoring		First overtime period			2:37 - Carson Vance (1)
Austin Lotz (16 saves / 19 shots)		Goalie stats			Jason Pawloski (24 saves / 26 shots)

April 15, 2023	Fayetteville Marksmen		2 - 4		Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
13:32 - pp - Austin Alger (1)		First period			Ryan Romeo (1) - 10:25
16:36 - pp - Andrew Lane (1)		Second period			Carson Rose (1) - pp - 0:50 Mike Davis (1) - pp - 11:41
no scoring		Third period			Stefan Brucato (1) - 18:50
Jason Pawloski (24 saves / 27 shots)		Goalie stats			Hayden Stewart (27 saves / 29 shots)

April 16, 2023	Fayetteville Marksmen		0 - 2		Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Jake Pappalardo (1) - 15:51
No scoring		Third period			Jake Pappalardo (2) - 15:12
Jason Pawloski (28 saves / 30 shots)		Goalie stats			Hayden Stewart (30 saves / 30 shots)

Birmingham won series 2-1

(3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (6) Knoxville Ice Bears

April 13, 2023	Knoxville Ice Bears		1 - 5		Huntsville Havoc	Propst Arena	Recap
6:59 - Robbie Fisher (1)		First period			Dean Balsamo (1) - pp - 3:39
No scoring		Second period			Austin Martinsen (1) - pp - 8:10 Austin Martinsen (2) - sh - 10:25 Sam Hunter (1) - 13:31 Mason Palmer - 19:23
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Kristian Stead (37 saves / 42 shots)		Goalie stats			Max Milosek (20 saves / 21 shots)

April 14, 2023	Huntsville Havoc		3 - 2		Knoxville Ice Bears	Knoxville Civic Coliseum	Recap
2:21 - Rob Darrar (1)		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Tanner Salsberry (1) - 12:38 Rasmuz Waxin-Engback (1) - 17:25
6:51 - Austin Martinsen (3) 14:27 - Robbie Fisher (2)		Third period			No scoring
Max Milosek (25 saves / 27 shots)		Goalie stats			Kristian Stead (15 saves / 18 shots)

Huntsville won series 2-0

(4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs vs. (5) Evansville Thunderbolts

April 13, 2023	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs		4 - 2		Evansville Thunderbolts	Ford Center	Recap
19:56 - Gehrett Sargis (1)		First period			No scoring
3:55 - Gehrett Sargis (2) 14:57 - CJ Stubbs		Second period			Pierre-Luc Lurette (1) - 12:56
17:25 - Jordan Xavier (1)		Third period			Matt Dorsey (1) - 13:46
Austyn Roudebush (21 saves / 23 shots)		Goalie stats			Lucas Fitzpatrick (23 saves / 27 shots)

April 15, 2023	Evansville Thunderbolts		0 - 4		Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	Berglund Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			Gehrett Sargis (3) - 17:39
No scoring		Second period			Matt O'Dea (1) - pp - 3:48 Billy Vizzo (1) - 15:57
No scoring		Third period			Alex DiCarlo (1) - 10:02
Lucas Fitzpatrick (28 saves / 32 shots) Zane Steeves (7 saves / 7 shots)		Goalie stats			Austyn Roudebush (32 saves / 32 shots)

Roanoke won series 2–0

Semifinals

(1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

April 19, 2023	Peoria Rivermen		2 - 3		Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	Berglund Center	Recap
7:32 - sh - Alec Hagaman (3) 14:05 - pp - Marcel Godbout (1)		First period			Nick Ford - pp - 14:05
No scoring		Second period			Jason Lavallee - pp - 9:48 Josh Nenadal (1) - 11:29
No scoring		Third period			No scoring
Jack Berry (19 saves / 22 shots)		Goalie stats			Austyn Roudebush (32 saves / 34 shots)

April 21, 2023	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs		3 - 5		Peoria Rivermen	Peoria Civic Center	Recap
8:43 - sh - Nick DeVito		First period			Mitchell McPherson (1) - pp - 7:18 Mike Gelatt (1) - 7:49 Marcel Godbout (2) - 18:52
3:53 - Nick DeVito (2)		Second period			Alec Baer (2) - pp - 3:30 Jordan Ernst (2) - 11:34
0:17 - Nick DeVito (3)		Third period			No scoring
Austyn Roudebush (28 saves / 32 shots)		Goalie stats			Jack Berry (21 saves / 24 shots)

April 23, 2023	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs		5 - 3		Peoria Rivermen	Peoria Civic Center	Recap
0:15 - Josh Nenadal (2) 12:39 - Gehrett Sargis (4) 15:39 - Gehrett Sargis (5)		First period			No scoring
14:35 - Nick DeVito (4)		Second period			Austin Wisely (1) - 14:11
19:34 - en - Nick DeVito (5)		Third period			Alec Baer (3) - pp - 0:20 Nick Neville (1) - 15:37
Austyn Roudebush (37 saves / 40 shots)		Goalie stats			Jack Berry (9 saves / 12 shots) Eric Levine (7 saves / 8 shots)

Roanoke won series 2-1

(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (3) Huntsville Havoc

April 21, 2023	Huntsville Havoc		2 - 3	OT	Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
19:20 - Rob Darrar (2)		First period			No scoring
13:01 - Jacob Barber (1)		Second period			Carson Rose (2) - 5:58
No scoring		Third period			Jake Pappalardo (3) - 10:27
No scoring		First overtime period			Carson Rose (3) - 2:21
Max Milosek (42 saves / 45 shots)		Goalie stats			Austin Lotz (14 saves / 16 shots)

April 22, 2023	Birmingham Bulls		2 - 3	OT	Huntsville Havoc	Propst Arena	Recap
No scoring		First period			Sy Nutkevitch (1) - pp - 11:56
0:30 - Zac Masson (1) 8:08 - Scott Donahue (2)		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			Jordan Fader (1) - 10:43
No scoring		First overtime period			Jamie Bucell (1) - 12:29
Austin Lotz (29 saves / 32 shots)		Goalie stats			Max Milosek (26 saves / 28 shots)

April 23, 2023	Huntsville Havoc		2 - 5		Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
12:40 - Austin Martinsen 16:44 - pp - Kyle Clarke (1)		Second period			Michael Gillespie (2) - pp - 5:02 Taylor Brierley (1) - 11:05
No scoring		Third period			Stefan Brucato (2) - 8:08 Michael Gillespie (3) - en - 17:35 Scott Donahue - en - 18:32
Max Milosek (30 saves / 33 shots)		Goalie stats			Austin Lotz (29 saves / 31 shots)

Birmingham won series 2-1

President's Cup Final

(2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

April 27, 2023	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs		4 - 2		Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
4:32 - Stephen Alvo (1)		First period			Jake Pappalardo (4) - 0:29
6:10 - pp - Jason Lavallee		Second period			Scott Donahue (4) - pp - 1:23
2:57 - Nick Ford (2) 5:16 - Matt O'Dea		Third period			No scoring
Austyn Roudebush (25 saves / 27 shots)		Goalie stats			Hayden Stewart (19 saves / 23 shots)

April 28, 2023	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs		0 - 2		Birmingham Bulls	Pelham Civic Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			Matt Wiesner (1) - 8:47
No scoring		Second period			No scoring
No scoring		Third period			Artur Terchiyev (1) - 2:08
Austyn Roudebush (26 saves / 28 shots)		Goalie stats			Austin Lotz (33 saves / 33 shots)

May 1, 2023	Birmingham Bulls		4 - 5	OT	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	Berglund Center	Recap
9:22 - Carson Rose (4) 17:54 - Zac Masson (2)		First period			John Stampohar (1) - 10:45 Nick Ford (3) - 17:16
No scoring		Second period			CJ Stubbs (2) - pp - 2:26
1:27 - Jake Pappalardo (5) 14:23 - sh - Carson Rose (5)		Third period			Nick DeVito (6) - 4:55
No scoring		First overtime period			Billy Vizzo (2) - 11:53
Austin Lotz (35 saves / 40 shots)		Goalie stats			Austyn Roudebush (27 saves / 31 shots)

May 2, 2023	Birmingham Bulls		1 - 2	OT	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	Berglund Center	Recap
No scoring		First period			No scoring
No scoring		Second period			Josh Nenadal (3) - 14:11
19:49 - Carson Rose (6)		Third period			No scoring
No scoring		First overtime period			Mac Jansen (1) - 2:41
Hayden Stewart (33 saves / 35 shots)		Goalie stats			Austyn Roudebush (18 saves / 19 shots)

Roanoke won series 3-1

Statistical leaders

Skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of May 2, 2023.^[7]

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

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Nick DeVito	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	9	6	5	11	4	4
Nick Ford	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	9	3	7	10	6	8
Carson Rose	Birmingham Bulls	10	6	3	9	0	8
Jake Pappalardo	Birmingham Bulls	9	5	4	9	4	8
Stephen Alvo	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	8	1	8	9	7	19

Goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 350 minutes played lead the playoffs in goals against average. Updated as of May 2, 2023.^[8]

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
Austyn Roudebush	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs	9	552	266	20	1	2.18	.925	7	2	0
Austin Lotz	Birmingham Bulls	6	388	172	15	1	2.32	.913	3	0	3

Awards

Award	Recipient(s)
President's Cup	Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
William B. Coffey Trophy (Best regular-season record)	Peoria Rivermen
Defenseman of the Year	Zach Wilkie (Peoria)^[9]
Rookie of the Year	Austin Alger (Fayetteville)^[10]
Goaltender of the Year	Trevor Gorsuch (Evansville) ^[11]
Coach of the Year	Craig Simchuk (Birmingham)^[12]
Most Valuable Player	Justin MacDonald (Knoxville)^[13]
Leading Scorer Award	Justin MacDonald (Knoxville)

All-SPHL selections

Position	First Team^[14]	Second Team^[14]	All-Rookie^[15]
G	Trevor Gorsuch (Evansville)	Kevin Resop (Quad City)	Nick Latinovich (Macon)
D	Zach Wilkie (Peoria) Rourke Russell (Knoxville) (tie) Nick Neville (Peoria) (tie)	Taylor Brierley (Birmingham) Dominic Procopio (Huntsville)	Rourke Russell (Knoxville) Taylor Brierley (Birmingham)
F	Justin MacDonald (Knoxville) Michael Gillespie (Birmingham) Garrett Milan (Pensacola)	Alec Hagaman (Peoria) Dean Balsamo (Knoxville) Sy Nutkevitch (Huntsville)	Austin Alger (Fayetteville) Brandon Harrogate (Evansville) Kolten Olynek (Pensacola)

References

1. "SPHL releases 2022-2023 regular season schedule". thesphl.com. July 13, 2022.
2. Vermilion County Bobcats [@VCBobcats] (February 9, 2023). "The Vermillion County Bobcats of the SPHL announced today that they have ceased operations, effective immediately" (Tweet). Retrieved February 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
3. "2021\2–23 Regular Season Standings". SPHL. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
4. "Player Stats TheSPHL.com". SPHL.
5. "Top Goalies - 2022-23 Regular Season - Goals Against Average". SPHL.
6. "SPHL announces President's Cup first round schedule". thesphl.com. April 8, 2023.
7. "Skater Stats - Playoffs TheSPHL.com". SPHL.
8. "Top Goalies - Goals Against Average". SPHL.
9. "Peoria's Zach Wilkie named SPHL Defenseman of the Year". SPHL. April 17, 2023.
10. "Fayetteville's Austin Alger named SPHL Rookie of the Year". SPHL. April 19, 2023.
11. "Evansville's Trevor Gorsuch named SPHL Goaltender of the Year". SPHL. April 18, 2023.
12. "Birmingham's Craig Simchuk Named SPHL Coach of the Year". SPHL. April 14, 2023.
13. "Knoxville's Justin MacDonald named 2022-23 SPHL Most Valuable Player". SPHL. April 20, 2023.
14. "All-SPHL First and Second Teams Announced". SPHL. April 13, 2023.
15. "SPHL Announces 2022-2023 All-Rookie Team". SPHL. April 12, 2023.

External links

• Southern Professional Hockey League website