2013–14 SPHL season

The 2013–14 Southern Professional Hockey League season is the 10th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The Pensacola Ice Flyers defeated the Columbus Cottonmouths in the President's Cup final 2 games to none to repeat as winners of the President's Cup.[1]

2013–14 SPHL season
LeagueSouthern Professional Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 25, 2013–April 12, 2014
Regular season
Season championsPensacola Ice Flyers
Season MVP Shawn McNeil (Louisiana)
Top scorer Shawn McNeil (Louisiana)
Playoffs
Finals championsPensacola Ice Flyers
  Finals runners-upColumbus Cottonmouths
Playoffs MVP Brett Lutes (Pensacola)

Preseason

The Augusta RiverHawks have suspended operations for the 2013-14 season due to failure of the ice system at the James Brown Arena. Team officials, the city of Augusta, and Global Spectrum could not reach an agreement on repairing or replacing the JBA's ice system in time for the club to commit to the forthcoming season.[2]

On May 15, 2013, it was announced that the CHL's Bloomington Thunder (formerly known as the Blaze[3]), along with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen, would move to the Southern Professional Hockey League for the 2013–14 season. The Rivermen had been notified that the Vancouver Canucks, who had purchased the team a month earlier, would not keep them in Peoria. The two teams will reportedly be owned by two former Rivermen executives, John Butler, Bart Rogers and David Holt with financial backing from former Rivermen owner Bruce Saurs.[4]

Regular season

Standings
Team[5] GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
Pensacola Ice Flyers‡563813520713981
Louisiana IceGators563518319817573
Peoria Rivermen563018815414468
Mississippi RiverKings563121417515066
Huntsville Havoc563121418015866
Columbus Cottonmouths562726318317357
Knoxville Ice Bears562524715716357
Mississippi Surge562228614018650
Fayetteville FireAntz562130514418347
Bloomington Thunder562033312519243
‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
  Advanced to playoffs

After games of March 22, 2014

Attendance
Team Total Games Average
Pensacola114,537284,090
Huntsville103,993283,714
Peoria98,176283,506
Knoxville95,556283,412
Fayetteville88,623283,165
Columbus76,618282,736
MS RiverKings70,991282,535
Louisiana66,438282,372
Bloomington66,025282,358
MS Surge59,277282,117
League840,2342803,000

After games of March 22, 2014

President's Cup playoffs
  First Round Semifinals Final
                                       
  1 Pensacola Ice Flyers 5 4*  
8 Mississippi Surge 1 3  
  1 Pensacola Ice Flyers 0 3 2  
  7 Knoxville Ice Bears 2 1 1  
4 Mississippi RiverKings 4 2 3
  5 Huntsville Havoc 2 4 5  
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)   1 Pensacola Ice Flyers 9 5
  6 Columbus Cottonmouths 1 1
  6 Columbus Cottonmouths 0 6 4  
3 Peoria Rivermen 2 1 1  
5 Huntsville Havoc 0 2
  6 Columbus Cottonmouths 1 4  
7 Knoxville Ice Bears 3 3*
  2 Louisiana IceGators 0 2  

* indicates overtime game.

Finals

All times are local (EDT/CDT)

April 10, 2014
7:05pm		Columbus1 - 9
(0-3, 1-3, 0-3)		PensacolaPensacola Civic Center
Pensacola, Florida
Attendance: 4,266
April 12, 2014
7:30pm		Pensacola5 - 1
(2-1, 3-0, 0-0)		ColumbusColumbus Civic Center
Columbus, Georgia
Attendance: 4,127

Awards

The SPHL All-Rookie team was announced on March 26, 2014, the All-SPHL teams on March 27, 2014, the Easton Defensemen of the Year on March 28, 2014, the Easton Rookie of the Year on March 31, 2014, the Sher-Wood Goaltender of the Year on April 1, 2014, the Easton Coach of the Year on April 2, 2014, and the Easton Most Valuable Player on April 3, 2014.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

2013–14 SPHL awards
AwardRecipient(s)Finalists
President's CupPensacola Ice FlyersColumbus Cottonmouths
William B. Coffey Trophy
(Best regular-season record)		Pensacola Ice Flyers
Easton Defenseman of the YearStuart Stefan (Huntsville)Kirk Byczynski (Louisiana)
Easton Rookie of the YearJoe Caveney (Pensacola)Garrett Vermeersch (Peoria)
Sher-Wood Goaltender of the YearKyle Rank (Peoria)Ross MacKinnon (Pensacola)
Easton Coach of the YearRod Aldoff (Pensacola)Jean-Guy Trudel (Peoria)
Easton Most Valuable PlayerShawn McNeil (Louisiana)Todd Hosmer (Mississippi Riverkings)

All-SPHL selections
  Position  First TeamSecond TeamAll-Rookie
G Kyle Rank (Peoria) Ross MacKinnon (Pensacola) Kevin Genoe (Huntsville)
D Andrew Randazzo (Mississippi RiverKings) Kirk Byczynski (Louisiana) Mike Grace (Mississippi RiverKings)
D Stuart Stefan (Huntsville) Leland Fidler (Huntsville) Jason Gray (Columbus)
F Shawn McNeil (Louisiana) Garrett Vermeersch (Peoria) Garrett Vermeersch (Peoria)
F Todd Hosmer (Mississippi RiverKings) Matt Gingera (Columbus) Joe Caveney (Pensacola)
F Joe Caveney (Pensacola) Nick Lazorko (Huntsville) Francis Drolet (Knoxville)

References
  1. "Ice Flyers Capture President's Cup". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  2. "Augusta RiverHawks won't be playing hockey in 2013-14". WRDW-Augusta. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  3. "Bloomington hockey franchise changes name to Thunder". The SHPL. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  4. Peoria to join SPHL under former Rivermen management team - Peoria, IL - pjstar.com
  5. "SPHL Standings". Pointstreak.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  6. "SPHL Announces All-Rookie Team". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  7. "All-SPHL Second Team Announced". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  8. "SPHL Announces First Team Selections". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  9. "Huntsville's Stuart Stefan Named Easton Defenseman of the Year". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. "Pensacola's Joe Caveney Named Easton Rookie of the Year". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  11. "Peoria's Kyle Rank Named Sher-Wood Goaltender of the Year". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  12. "Pensacola's Rod Aldoff Named Easton Coach of the Year". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  13. "Louisiana's Shawn McNeil Named Easton Most Valuable Player". www.thesphl.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
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