# 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.

## 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 |

## Regular season
### Final standings

| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
| 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

| First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | First Round | | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Augusta RiverHawks | 4* | 3 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Huntsville Havoc | 3 | 4* | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | 8 | Huntsville Havoc | 0 | 1 | X | | | | | |
| 5 | Mississippi Surge | 1 | 0 | X | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Mississippi Surge | 1 | 0 | X | | | | | | | | 2 | Columbus Cottonmouths | 3 | 3 | X |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 2 | Columbus Cottonmouths | 3 | 3 | X |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 4 | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 2 | 1 | X |
| 6 | Mississippi RiverKings | 6 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4 | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 2 | 1 | X |
| 3 | Knoxville Ice Bears | 3 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 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 | | | 3 | Knoxville Ice Bears | 1 | 0 | X | | | | | |
| 2 | Columbus Cottonmouths | 4 | 3* | X | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* 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)