# 2022–23 SPHL season

The 2022–23 SPHL season was the 19th season of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The Peoria Rivermen won their fifth William B. Coffey Trophy during the regular season, while the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs earned their first President's Cup, defeating the Birmingham Bulls in four games.

## League business

The same 11 teams from the 2021–22 season returned. The Vermilion County Bobcats officially ceased operations on February 9, 2023.

## Teams

2022-23 Southern Professional Hockey League :
| Team | City | Arena |
| Birmingham Bulls | Pelham, Alabama | Pelham Civic Center |
| Evansville Thunderbolts | Evansville, Indiana | Ford Center |
| Fayetteville Marksmen | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Crown Complex |
| Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Center |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | Knoxville, Tennessee | Knoxville Civic Coliseum |
| Macon Mayhem | Macon, Georgia | Macon Coliseum |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | Pensacola, Florida | Pensacola Bay Center |
| Peoria Rivermen | Peoria, Illinois | Carver Arena |
| Quad City Storm | Moline, Illinois | Vibrant Arena at The MARK |
| Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | Roanoke, Virginia | Berglund Center |
| Vermilion County Bobcats | Danville, Illinois | David S. Palmer Arena |

## Regular season
### Standings

As of April 8, 2023.
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
| z–Peoria Rivermen | 57 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 82 | 217 | 137 |
| x–Birmingham Bulls | 57 | 37 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 78 | 217 | 162 |
| x–Huntsville Havoc | 56 | 34 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 71 | 197 | 162 |
| x–Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 56 | 32 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 69 | 185 | 161 |
| x–Evansville Thunderbolts | 56 | 32 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 172 | 165 |
| x–Knoxville Ice Bears | 57 | 32 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 67 | 221 | 199 |
| x–Fayetteville Marksmen | 56 | 26 | 22 | 8 | 0 | 60 | 155 | 166 |
| x–Pensacola Ice Flyers | 57 | 26 | 25 | 3 | 3 | 58 | 183 | 190 |
| e–Quad City Storm | 57 | 23 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 136 | 183 |
| e–Macon Mayhem | 57 | 13 | 39 | 4 | 1 | 31 | 166 | 257 |
| e–Vermilion County Bobcats | 30 | 4 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 59 | 126 |
z– indicates team has clinched William B. Coffey Trophy (regular season champion) and a playoff spot  x– indicates team has clinched a playoff spot  e– indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention

### Attendance

| Team | Total | Games | Average |
| Huntsville | 154,362 | 28 | 5,513 |
| Pensacola | 130,024 | 28 | 4,644 |
| Roanoke | 124,569 | 28 | 4,449 |
| Knoxville | 119,522 | 28 | 4,269 |
| Fayetteville | 96,608 | 28 | 3,450 |
| Peoria | 91,930 | 28 | 3,283 |
| Quad City | 87,318 | 28 | 3,119 |
| Evansville | 87,052 | 28 | 3,109 |
| Birmingham | 80,812 | 28 | 2,886 |
| Macon | 44,999 | 28 | 1,607 |
| Vermillion County | 9,635 | 18 | 535 |
| League | 1,026,831 | 298 | 3,446 |

### Statistical leaders
#### Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of April 10, 2023.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Justin MacDonald | Knoxville Ice Bears | 46 | 34 | 45 | 79 | +6 | 44 |
| Garrett Milan | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 57 | 26 | 43 | 69 | −12 | 83 |
| Dean Balsamo | Knoxville Ice Bears | 49 | 27 | 39 | 66 | −7 | 16 |
| Sy Nutkevitch | Huntsville Havoc | 56 | 18 | 45 | 63 | +10 | 16 |
| Alec Hagaman | Peoria Rivermen | 53 | 24 | 37 | 61 | +20 | 202 |
| Tyler Piacentini | Huntsville Havoc | 56 | 22 | 39 | 61 | +12 | 26 |
| Michael Gillespie | Birmingham Bulls | 38 | 27 | 33 | 60 | +24 | 18 |
| Rob Darrar | Huntsville Havoc | 55 | 23 | 33 | 56 | +4 | 31 |
| Nick Ford | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 56 | 16 | 38 | 54 | −2 | 76 |
| Ivan Bondarenko | Pensacola Ice Flyers | 57 | 15 | 39 | 54 | −3 | 15 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 1,320 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Updated as of April 10, 2023.
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | SA | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | W | L | OT |
| Trevor Gorsuch | Evansville Thunderbolts | 23 | 1,352 | 793 | 51 | 2 | 2.26 | .936 | 15 | 8 | 0 |
| Eric Levine | Peoria Rivermen | 34 | 1,771 | 804 | 68 | 5 | 2.30 | .915 | 17 | 8 | 4 |
| Austyn Roudebush | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 42 | 2,313 | 1,036 | 97 | 2 | 2.52 | .906 | 24 | 12 | 4 |
| Kevin Resop | Quad City Storm | 40 | 2,145 | 1,139 | 96 | 3 | 2.69 | .916 | 14 | 22 | 1 |
| Austin Lotz | Birmingham Bulls | 33 | 1,979 | 985 | 90 | 1 | 2.73 | .909 | 24 | 7 | 2 |

## Postseason

For 2023, the format returned to the top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the playoffs.

### Playoff bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | President's Cup Final | President's Cup Final | President's Cup Final |
| 1 | Peoria | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Pensacola | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Pensacola | 0 | | | 1 | Peoria | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Roanoke | 2 | | | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 2 | | | 4 | Roanoke | 2 | | | |
| 7 | Fayetteville | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Fayetteville | 1 | | | | | | 2 | Birmingham | 1 |
| (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 | Birmingham | 1 |
| (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 | Roanoke | 3 |
| 3 | Huntsville | 2 | | | | | | | | | 4 | Roanoke | 3 |
| 6 | Knoxville | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Knoxville | 0 | | | 2 | Birmingham | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Huntsville | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Roanoke | 2 | | | 3 | Huntsville | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Evansville | 0 | | | | | | | | |

### Quarterfinals
#### (1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (8) Pensacola Ice Flyers

* Peoria won series 2–0

#### (2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (7) Fayetteville Marksmen

* Birmingham won series 2-1

#### (3) Huntsville Havoc vs. (6) Knoxville Ice Bears

* Huntsville won series 2-0

#### (4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs vs. (5) Evansville Thunderbolts

* Roanoke won series 2–0

### Semifinals
#### (1) Peoria Rivermen vs. (4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

* Roanoke won series 2-1

#### (2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (3) Huntsville Havoc

* Birmingham won series 2-1

### President's Cup Final
#### (2) Birmingham Bulls vs. (4) Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs

* Roanoke won series 3-1

### Statistical leaders
#### Skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of May 2, 2023.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Nick DeVito | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 9 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 4 |
| Nick Ford | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 9 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 8 |
| Carson Rose | Birmingham Bulls | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| Jake Pappalardo | Birmingham Bulls | 9 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 8 |
| Stephen Alvo | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 8 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 19 |

#### Goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 350 minutes played lead the playoffs in goals against average. Updated as of May 2, 2023.
GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | SA | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | W | L | OT |
| Austyn Roudebush | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs | 9 | 552 | 266 | 20 | 1 | 2.18 | .925 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| Austin Lotz | Birmingham Bulls | 6 | 388 | 172 | 15 | 1 | 2.32 | .913 | 3 | 0 | 3 |

## Awards

| Award | Recipient(s) |
| President's Cup | Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs |
| William B. Coffey Trophy (Best regular-season record) | Peoria Rivermen |
| Defenseman of the Year | Zach Wilkie (Peoria) |
| Rookie of the Year | Austin Alger (Fayetteville) |
| Goaltender of the Year | Trevor Gorsuch (Evansville) |
| Coach of the Year | Craig Simchuk (Birmingham) |
| Most Valuable Player | Justin MacDonald (Knoxville) |
| Leading Scorer Award | Justin MacDonald (Knoxville) |

### All-SPHL selections

| Position | First Team | Second Team | All-Rookie |
| G | Trevor Gorsuch (Evansville) | Kevin Resop (Quad City) | Nick Latinovich (Macon) |
| D | Zach Wilkie (Peoria) Rourke Russell (Knoxville) (tie) Nick Neville (Peoria) (tie) | Taylor Brierley (Birmingham) Dominic Procopio (Huntsville) | Rourke Russell (Knoxville) Taylor Brierley (Birmingham) |
| F | Justin MacDonald (Knoxville) Michael Gillespie (Birmingham) Garrett Milan (Pensacola) | Alec Hagaman (Peoria) Dean Balsamo (Knoxville) Sy Nutkevitch (Huntsville) | Austin Alger (Fayetteville) Brandon Harrogate (Evansville) Kolten Olynek (Pensacola) |