The 2008–09 NAHL season was the 25th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2008 to March 2009 with a 58-game schedule for each team. The St. Louis Bandits won the regular season championship and went on to defeated the Wenatchee Wild 3 to 2 in overtime to capture the Robertson Cup.
Member changes In February, 2008 the NAHL approved Wenatchee, Washington for an expansion franchise. By May, the team's name was revealed as the Wenatchee Wild.
On March 24, 2008 the NAHL approved the relocation of the Southern Minnesota Express to Detroit. The team would rebrand as the Motor City Machine. Less than two months later, the league approved of an expansion team in the Machine's former home of Owatonna, Minnesota. The new team would be called the Owatonna Express.
Due to renovations at their home arena, the Texas Tornado sat out this season.
After the USHL announced the addition of a new franchise in Fargo, North Dakota, the NAHL attempted to find a new home for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets. When nothing materialized, the franchise suspended operating on May 19, 2008.
In June, the NAHL approved the addition of the Albert Lea Thunder as an expansion team.
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title Standings Central Division
Team xy – Bismarck Bobcats 584313288202121 x – North Iowa Outlaws 583518575229171 x – Owatonna Express 582924563214189 x – Alexandria Blizzard 582626658180201 Albert Lea Thunder 58449513112309
North Division
Team xy – Team USA 583716579230154 x – Mahoning Valley Phantoms 583617577224173 x – Traverse City North Stars 583417775182171 x – Alpena IceDiggers 582725660157184 Marquette Rangers 582624860165170 Motor City Machine 581145224134254
South Division
Team xyz – St. Louis Bandits 58429791213119 x – Topeka RoadRunners 584211589204138 x – Wichita Falls Wildcats 582425957163203 x – Springfield Jr. Blues 582528555183185
West Division
Team xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs 583912886226152 x – Wenatchee Wild 583519474197182 x – Alaska Avalanche 582330551172224 x – Kenai River Brown Bears 581437836167254
Statistics Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.
Player Team Austin Block Fairbanks Ice Dogs 57 29 44 73 96 Jon Gaffney Springfield Jr. Blues 56 33 34 67 147 Jordan George Topeka RoadRunners 58 27 40 67 173 Jack Paul North Iowa Outlaws 56 26 39 65 10 Brandon Brodhag North Iowa Outlaws 56 33 32 65 46 Chad Pietila Marquette Rangers 57 25 36 61 81 Andrew Hamburg St. Louis Bandits 50 12 48 60 61 Michael Juola Fairbanks Ice Dogs 51 16 43 59 75 Jerry Freismuth Alexandria Blizzard 56 15 42 57 87 Alex Carlson North Iowa Outlaws 52 24 33 57 71 Kyle Bonis Traverse City North Stars 57 30 27 57 60
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SOL GA SO SV% GAA Keith Kinkaid St. Louis Bandits 40 2392:52 30 5 3 1 71 7 .935 1.78 David Bosner Bismarck Bobcats 33 1970:48 24 7 0 1 60 6 .930 1.83 Bryce Merriam Topeka RoadRunners 32 1799:08 22 4 1 3 60 3 .910 2.00 Joseph Phillippi Fairbanks Ice Dogs 25 1227:56 14 2 1 2 41 3 .931 2.00 Matt Grogan Bismarck Bobcats 27 1549:27 19 6 1 0 56 3 .924 2.17
Robertson Cup playoffs Five teams qualified for the Round Robin semifinal, the host (North Iowa) and the four division champions. If North Iowa won the Central division final, the runner-up would receive the final qualifying spot. For the round robin semifinal, ties were broken first by head-to-head matchup and then by goal differential.
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Division Semifinals
Central Division
(C1) Bismarck Bobcats vs. (C4) Alexandria Blizzard
(C2) North Iowa Outlaws vs. (C3) Owatonna Express
North Division
(N1) Team USA vs. (N4) Alpena IceDiggers
(N2) Mahoning Valley Phantoms vs. (N3) Traverse City North Stars
South Division
(S1) St. Louis Bandits vs. (S4) Springfield Jr. Blues
(S2) Topeka RoadRunners vs. (S3) Wichita Falls Wildcats
West Division
(W1) Fairbanks Ice Dogs vs. (W4) Kenai River Brown Bears
(W2) Wenatchee Wild vs. (W3) Alaska Avalanche
Division Finals
Central Division
(C1) Bismarck Bobcats vs. (C3) Owatonna Express
North Division
(N1) Team USA vs. (N2) Mahoning Valley Phantoms
South Division
(S1) St. Louis Bandits vs. (S2) Topeka RoadRunners
West Division
(W1) Fairbanks Ice Dogs vs. (W2) Wenatchee Wild
Semifinal
April 28
April 29
April 30
May 1
May 2
Robertson Cup Final
(S1) St. Louis Bandits vs. (W2) Wenatchee Wild
References
NAHL reference
External links Official website of the North American Hockey League