SPHL Huntsville Havoc

Havoc Ends Season in Dramatic Fashion - 5-4 OT Win against Birmingham

Published on April 8, 2018 under SPHL (SPHL)
Huntsville Havoc News Release


PELHAM, ALABAMA - For the second consecutive night, the Huntsville Havoc scored in the final minute to send the game to overtime.

In the six previous overtime contests, dating back to mid-February, Huntsville was on the wrong end of the final outcome.

On Saturday night at the Pelham Civic Complex, the Havoc also scored in the final minute of overtime to come away with the 5-4 win against the Birmingham Bulls in the regular season finale.

"We rebounded from another slow start and fought for an exciting finish to the regular season," said Havoc Head Coach Glenn Detulleo.

This was the second "slow start" in as many nights for Huntsville as they once again spotted their opponent a three-goal lead before starting a comeback. Birmingham got three in the first 15 minutes, but Derek Perl scored his first goal in two months for the Havoc, blasting a powerplay goal from the blue line to make it a 3-1 game heading in to the first intermission.

The second period was light on scoring, but heavy on penalties with multiple fighting and roughing bookings. Neither team could put one into the back of the net as the Havoc dominated the shots on goal column 15 to 4 in the middle frame.

Stuart Stefan recorded his second assist on the night, feeding Kyle Sharkey to bring the Havoc to within one just seven minutes into the third period.

Birmingham's Josh Harris brought the home team crowd to its feet about 80 seconds later when he scored his second goal of the night to reestablish the two score cushion for the Bulls. However, it was the last time Birmingham would light the lamp this season.

During a powerplay with about three minutes remaining, the Havoc pulled goalie Keegan Asmundson to give the team an extra attacker. The gamble worked as Tyler Piacentini scored to get Huntsville back to within one, earning a frenzied vocal response from the few hundred Rocket City fans who made the short trip to Pelham.

Asmundson returned to the bench with a minute to play and Scott Trask wasted no time at all, tying the game with 48 ticks left on the clock. His goal was Stefan's third assist of the night, and the third period of the regular season finale came to a close with the teams tied at four.

Asmundson and the Havoc defense smothered the Bulls in overtime, including when Sy Nutkevitch was booked for hooking barely 90 seconds into the extra frame.

However, it was an interference call on the Bulls with less than two minutes left that would make a difference. The Havoc had the man advantage late in the OT when, with 12 second remaining, Anthony Calabrese slipped a cross ice pass from one circle to the other, where Stefan was waiting by an open back door to one-time the puck into the net for the 5-4 win.

The score was the team's third powerplay goal of the night and Stefan's goal gave him 13 on the season, leading all SPHL defenders in that category. His 42 total points on the year is one shy of his career-high of 43 in the 2013-14 season. It's also the sixth consecutive season Stefan has played in all 56 games.

Sy Nutkevtich's assist in the game allows him to finish the season on a five-game point streak (4g, 6a). He racked up 62 points (21g, 41a) on the year, a career-high and good for fifth on the league scoring list this season.

Huntsville outshot the Bulls 44 to 32 in the contest and finishes the season series against Birmingham with eight wins and one loss.

The Havoc finishes the season with 30 or more wins for the sixth time in franchise history and 70 or more points for the third time. The other two times they performed that feat were in last year's franchise record 34-win season, and the 2009-10 regular season when the Havoc won the SPHL President's Cup championship.

"The team is excited to get the playoffs started next week and reach our ultimate goal of a championship," said Detulleo.

The Challenge Round of the playoffs will be determined in the Challenge Round Selection Show on Sunday, April 8, at the Von Braun Center arena. The production will be broadcast live from the Rocket City as Crimson Tide broadcast legend Eli Gold will host toe show alongside Stanley Cup winner Terry Crisp, the voice of the Nashville Predators. The top three SPHL teams will reveal their selections of who they will challenge in the first round of the SPHL playoffs.

When Huntsville's opponent is decided and the official schedule announced, tickets will go on sale Monday, April 9, at 10 a.m. at the Havoc front office.

Check out the Huntsville Havoc Statistics

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