2011–12 SPHL season

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.

2011–12 SPHL season
LeagueSouthern Professional Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationOctober 20, 2011–April 14, 2012
Regular season
Season championsAugusta RiverHawks
Season MVPKevin Swider (Knoxville)[1]
Top scorerKevin Swider (Knoxville)
Playoffs
Finals championsColumbus Cottonmouths
  Finals runners-upPensacola Ice Flyers
Playoffs MVPIan Vigier (Columbus)[2]

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]

Regular season

Final standings
Team[6] GP W L OTL GF GA Pts
Augusta RiverHawks‡563613720615979
Columbus Cottonmouths563516518515575
Knoxville Ice Bears563216820817072
Pensacola Ice Flyers563022418717664
Mississippi Surge562924316616261
Mississippi RiverKings562528316717753
Louisiana IceGators562427517720253
Huntsville Havoc562228616319850
Fayetteville FireAntz561932518024043
‡ William B. Coffey Trophy winners
     Advanced to playoffs

Attendance
Team Total Games Average
Knoxville100,425283,586
Huntsville94,354283,369
Fayetteville91,521283,268
Pensacola86,752283,098
Mississippi RiverKings82,068282,931
Columbus76,484282,731
Mississippi Surge63,280282,260
Louisiana56,514282,018
Augusta53,266281,902
League704,6642522,796

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

* indicates overtime game.

Finals

All times are local (EDT/CDT)

April 12, 2012
7:30 PM		Pensacola2–3
(0–1, 1–0, 1–2)		ColumbusColumbus Civic Center, Columbus, GA
Attendance: 2,245
April 14, 2012
7:05 PM		Columbus3–1
(1–1, 1–0, 1–0)		PensacolaPensacola Civic Center, Pensacola, FL
Attendance: 5,630

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)[1]
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)[2]

All-SPHL selections
All-Rookie Team[14]

F Jordan Chong (Pensacola)
F Brayden Metz (Louisiana)
F Greg Beller (Columbus)
D Andrew Krelove (Columbus)
D James Isaacs (Mississippi Surge)
G Kiefer Smiley (Mississippi Surge)

References
  1. Link, Dave (4 April 2012). "Kevin Swider of Ice Bears named MVP of SPHL". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
  2. Gierer, Kathy (16 April 2012). "Columbus Cottonmouths celebrate third title". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbus, GA. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  3. Van Tuyl, Chris (13 June 2011). "Mississippi RiverKings announce change to Southern Professional Hockey League". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  4. Link, Dave (7 July 2011). "SPHL expands to eight-team playoff". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. "New Playoff Format". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbus, GA. 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  6. "SPHL Standings". Pointstreak.com. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  7. "SPHL Awards Schedule Announced". Press release. 22 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  8. "Surge's Smiley, Ice Pilots' Chong Named SBK Co-Rookies of the Year". Press release. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. "Knoxville's Mark Van Vliet Named SBK Defenseman of the Year". Press release. 28 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  10. "Columbus' Ian Vigier Named SBK Goaltender of the Year". Press release. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  11. "Surge's Jeff Bes Named SBK Coach of the Year". Press release. 3 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  12. "Ice Bears, RiverHawks Head All-SPHL First Team". Press release. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  13. "All-SPHL Second Team Announced". Press release. 27 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  14. "Cottonmouths, Surge Lead SPHL All-Rookie Team". Press release. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
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