2011–12 SPHL season explained
| 2011–12 SPHL season |
| League: | Southern Professional Hockey League |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Duration: | October 20, 2011–April 14, 2012 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | Augusta RiverHawks |
| Mvp: | Kevin Swider (Knoxville)[1] |
| Top Scorer: | Kevin Swider (Knoxville) |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Conf1: | Finals |
| Conf1 Link: | President's Cup (SPHL) |
| Conf1 Champ: | Columbus Cottonmouths |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Pensacola Ice Flyers |
| Playoffs Mvp: | Ian Vigier (Columbus)[2] |
| Seasonslistnames: | SPHL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2010–11 Southern Professional Hockey League season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2010–11 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2012–13 Southern Professional Hockey League season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 Southern Professional Hockey League season was the eighth season of the Southern Professional Hockey League. The season began October 20, 2011, and ended April 14, 2012, after a 56-game regular season and an eight-team playoff. The Columbus Cottonmouths captured their second SPHL championship.
Preseason
The Mississippi RiverKings joined the SPHL after 19 seasons in the Central Hockey League.[3] With 9 teams now in the SPHL, the league adopted an 8-team playoff format, with all rounds using best-of-three game series.[4] [5]
Teams
Map of teams
Regular season
Final standings
| Team[6] | | | | | | | |
|---|
| Augusta RiverHawks‡ | 56 | 36 | 13 | 7 | 206 | 159 | 79 |
| 56 | 35 | 16 | 5 | 185 | 155 | 75 |
| 56 | 32 | 16 | 8 | 208 | 170 | 72 |
| 56 | 30 | 22 | 4 | 187 | 176 | 64 |
| 56 | 29 | 24 | 3 | 166 | 162 | 61 |
| 56 | 25 | 28 | 3 | 167 | 177 | 53 |
| 56 | 24 | 27 | 5 | 177 | 202 | 53 |
| 56 | 22 | 28 | 6 | 163 | 198 | 50 |
| 56 | 19 | 32 | 5 | 180 | 240 | 43 | |
‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
Advanced to playoffs
Attendance
| Team | Total | Games | Average |
|---|
| Knoxville | 100,425 | 28 | 3,586 |
| Huntsville | 94,354 | 28 | 3,369 |
| Fayetteville | 91,521 | 28 | 3,268 |
| Pensacola | 86,752 | 28 | 3,098 |
| Mississippi RiverKings | 82,068 | 28 | 2,931 |
| Columbus | 76,484 | 28 | 2,731 |
| Mississippi Surge | 63,280 | 28 | 2,260 |
| Louisiana | 56,514 | 28 | 2,018 |
| Augusta | 53,266 | 28 | 1,902 |
| League | 704,664 | 252 | 2,796 | |
President's Cup playoffs
* indicates overtime game.
Finals
All times are local (EDT/CDT)
Awards
The SPHL All-Rookie team was announced March 26, 2012, followed by the All-SPHL teams on March 27, Defenseman of the Year on March 28, Rookie of the Year on March 29, Goaltender of the Year on April 2, Coach of the Year on April 3, and Most Valuable Player on April 4.[7]
| President's Cup | Columbus Cottonmouths |
| Coffey Trophy | Augusta RiverHawks |
| League MVP: | Kevin Swider (Knoxville) |
| Rookies of the Year: | Kiefer Smiley (Mississippi Surge) and Jordan Chong (Pensacola)[8] |
| Defenseman of the Year: | Mark Van Vliet (Knoxville)[9] |
| Goaltender of the Year: | Ian Vigier (Columbus)[10] |
| Coach of the Year: | Jeff Bes (Mississippi Surge)[11] |
| Playoff MVP: | Ian Vigier (Columbus) | |
All-SPHL selections
Notes and References
- News: Link . Dave . Kevin Swider of Ice Bears named MVP of SPHL . . 4 April 2012 . 4 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120808022001/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/apr/04/kevin-swider-of-ice-bears-named-mvp-of-sphl/ . 8 August 2012 . live .
- News: Gierer . Kathy . Columbus Cottonmouths celebrate third title . . . 16 April 2012 . 18 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120510031007/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2012/04/15/2012487/columbus-cottonmouths-clinch-sphl.html . 10 May 2012 . dead . dmy-all .
- News: Van Tuyl . Chris . Mississippi RiverKings announce change to Southern Professional Hockey League . 24 March 2012 . . . 13 June 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110827065958/http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jun/13/mississippi-riverkings-announce-change-southern-pr/ . 27 August 2011 . live .
- News: Link . Dave . SPHL expands to eight-team playoff . 24 March 2012 . . 7 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110915184049/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jul/07/sphl-expands-to-eight-team-playoff/ . 15 September 2011 . live .
- News: New Playoff Format . 24 March 2012 . . . 6 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110820091936/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2011/07/06/1647762/new-playoff-format.html . 20 August 2011 . live .
- Web site: SPHL Standings . Pointstreak.com . 25 March 2012.
- Web site: SPHL Awards Schedule Announced . 22 March 2012 . Press release . 24 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307081101/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4370829 . 7 March 2016 . live .
- Web site: Surge's Smiley, Ice Pilots' Chong Named SBK Co-Rookies of the Year . 30 March 2012 . Press release . 30 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120822060055/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4374325 . 22 August 2012 . live .
- Web site: Knoxville's Mark Van Vliet Named SBK Defenseman of the Year . 28 March 2012 . Press release . 28 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821221917/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4373811 . 21 August 2012 . live .
- Web site: Columbus' Ian Vigier Named SBK Goaltender of the Year . 2 April 2012 . Press release . 2 April 2012 .
- Web site: Surge's Jeff Bes Named SBK Coach of the Year . 3 April 2012 . Press release . 3 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821120611/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4376985 . 21 August 2012 . live .
- Web site: Ice Bears, RiverHawks Head All-SPHL First Team . 27 March 2012 . Press release . 28 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821113418/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4373248 . 21 August 2012 . live .
- Web site: All-SPHL Second Team Announced . 27 March 2012 . Press release . 28 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821105827/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4373220 . 21 August 2012 . live .
- Web site: Cottonmouths, Surge Lead SPHL All-Rookie Team . 26 March 2012 . Press release . 26 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120821091829/http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4372865 . 21 August 2012 . live .
