Bulls Looking for a Win against Roanoke
Published on November 6, 2025 under SPHL (SPHL)
Birmingham Bulls News Release
Just two years ago Birmingham and Roanoke were in the finals of the SPHL playoffs. Entering this Friday night, the Bulls need a win in the worst of ways and the Rail Yard Dawgs aren't much better off. The two teams are only separated by two points and are at the bottom half of the league.
The Bulls lost the first two games in shootouts. Three games were lost by one goal while another was a one goal game until Birmingham surrendered an empty net goal. On top of all that, the Bulls have hit the post or crossbar a total of nine times. If the Bulls score on half of those posts, they have three or four wins.
Roanoke is coming into Friday's game at Birmingham after splitting a pair last weekend with Fayetteville. Much like the Bulls, Roanoke has had trouble consistently scoring goals. The Dawgs have scored more than three goals just once this year. In three of six games Roanoke was held to two goals or less including being shutout by Knoxville on Halloween.
Head Coach Craig Simchuk summed up the weekend games, "It's a big weekend. We had a good week of practice and will be ready". He went on to talk about results, "We want to get in the win column so bad, We are playing two very good teams and it will be a big task. I'm excited to see how the guys respond".
The Bulls Filimon (Phil) Ledziankou leads the team in scoring with five assists on the season. He has points in four of the five Bulls games but hasn't scored a goal. His linemate Shawn Kennedy is second with four points. Rookie Matt Wood scored his first professional goal last week against Knoxville and has points in his last two games. Kip Ledziankou has scored goals in each of the last two games.
Birmingham has scored eleven goals in their five games while Roanoke has just 14 goals in six games. Both teams are dealing with injuries and a changing roster.
This week the Dawgs put defensemen Fabrice Bourgeois and Oliver Beaudoin on the 14-day IR while activating defenseman Andrew Stacey and LW Tim Manning. They also picked up well-traveled defenseman Gehrig Lindberg off waivers. Lindberg has played for six different SPHL teams in the last two seasons as well as three teams in the Federal League.
Birmingham signed former Bull goaltender, nine year veteran, and fan favorite Austin Lotz for games Friday vs. Roanoke and Sunday at Huntsville. He will serve as a backup to Hayden Stewart until current Bull goalie Jacob Mucitelli returns from bereavement leave. Mucitelli is scheduled to return Sunday but may not be available for a 5:00 p.m. faceoff in Huntsville.
Mucitelli (0-1-0-1) has given Birmingham a formidable two man front in the net. In two games he has a 2.91 GAA and a .914 SV%. Shane Murphy (LW) is still on the injured reserve and is scheduled to return on November 11. Murphy scored two goals in three games before his injury and stint on the injured reserve.
Rookie Left Winger Danny Weight also missed the last game against Knoxville. Weight is nursing an upper body injury suffered in the game against Pensacola on October 30. He is day to day.
SPHL Stories from November 6, 2025
- Five Observations, Five Answers, as Ice Flyers Hit the Road with Strong Start - Pensacola Ice Flyers
- Pregame Event on December 27: Icebreaker Brawl - Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
- Bulls Looking for a Win against Roanoke - Birmingham Bulls
- Rivermen Prepare for Home and Home with Rival Storm - Peoria Rivermen
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