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. With 9 teams now in the SPHL, the league adopted an 8-team playoff format, with all rounds using best-of-three game series.
Teams 2011-12 Southern Professional Hockey League Team City Arena Augusta RiverHawks Augusta, Georgia James Brown Arena Columbus Cottonmouths Columbus, Georgia Columbus Civic Center Fayetteville FireAntz Fayetteville, North Carolina Cumberland County Crown Coliseum Huntsville Havoc Huntsville, Alabama Von Braun Center Knoxville Ice Bears Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville Civic Coliseum Louisiana IceGators Lafayette, Louisiana Cajundome Mississippi RiverKings Southaven, Mississippi Landers Center Mississippi Surge Biloxi, Mississippi Mississippi Coast Coliseum Pensacola Ice Flyers Pensacola, Florida Pensacola Civic Center
Map of teams
Regular season
Final standings Team Augusta RiverHawks‡ 56 36 13 7 206 159 79 Columbus Cottonmouths 56 35 16 5 185 155 75 Knoxville Ice Bears 56 32 16 8 208 170 72 Pensacola Ice Flyers 56 30 22 4 187 176 64 Mississippi Surge 56 29 24 3 166 162 61 Mississippi RiverKings 56 25 28 3 167 177 53 Louisiana IceGators 56 24 27 5 177 202 53 Huntsville Havoc 56 22 28 6 163 198 50 Fayetteville FireAntz 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. 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) Defenseman of the Year: Mark Van Vliet (Knoxville) Goaltender of the Year: Ian Vigier (Columbus) Coach of the Year: Jeff Bes (Mississippi Surge) Playoff MVP: Ian Vigier (Columbus)
All-SPHL selections
1st Team All-SPHL F Kevin Swider (Knoxville) F Emery Olauson (Knoxville) F Jim Gehring (Augusta) D Mark Van Vliet (Knoxville) D Ed Snetsinger (Augusta) G Ian Vigier (Columbus)
2nd Team All-SPHL F Matt Auffrey (Augusta) F Chris Wilson (Pensacola) F Jason Hill (Louisiana) D Bret Tyler (Columbus) D Ricky Helmbrecht (Knoxville) G Kiefer Smiley (Mississippi Surge)
All-Rookie Team 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