SPHL Huntsville Havoc

Weekend Preview: Havoc to Face Mississippi in Inaugural Challenge Round

Published on April 9, 2018 under SPHL (SPHL)
Huntsville Havoc News Release


HUNTSVILLE, AL - The Challenge Round Selection show took place in the Von Braun Center arena last night and, for the third weekend in a row, the Huntsville Havoc will face the Mississippi RiverKings.

The winner of a best-of-three series will move on to the semifinals of the SPHL President's Cup championship.

The Havoc (30-16-10) went to overtime last Friday against Mississippi (29-25-2) before traveling to Pelham, Alabama for the regular season finale against the Birmingham Bulls (22-28-6).

Week Recap

Huntsville would need to win its remaining two games and get some help from teams playing the Macon Mayhem and Pensacola Ice Flyers to try and move up in the standings before Challenge Round selection. The Havoc ended up splitting a pair of overtime contests to wrap up the regular season.

The Havoc spotted the RiverKings a three-goal lead before starting a comeback on Friday, April 6, in Southaven, Mississippi. Huntsville recovered by putting four goals in the net in the second period - two of them from Sy Nutkevitch -- but couldn't hold on to the momentum. In fact, Christian Powers scored with 12 second left in regulation to send it to overtime where the RiverKings eventually put the game away, defeating the Havoc 6-5.

The next night, Huntsville took on the Birmingham Bulls at the Pelham Civic Complex, and the team once again allowed three goals by its opponents before clawing back in to the game. The Havoc scored four the rest of the way to Birmingham's single tally, and a last-minute goal from Scott Trask sent the Havoc to their second overtime in as many days. Stuart Stefan provided the heroics in the extra frame, scoring with 16 seconds left to give the Havoc a 5-4 win.

Huntsville finished the regular season in fourth place. The decision on who the Havoc would face in the Challenge Round would lie in the hands of the Peoria Rivermen, Macon Mayhem and Pensacola Ice Flyers, who would select from the teams in fifth through eighth place. Huntsville would play the remaining team.

Challenge Round Selection

More than 600 Havoc fans gathered at a special party in the VBC arena where broadcast legend Eli Gold and Stanley Cup winner Terry Crisp hosted the live Challenge Round selection show, streamed to SPHL cities around the region.

When the dust had settled and SPHL President Jim Combs had revealed all the match-ups, the Havoc learned they would face the seventh-seeded Mississippi RiverKings in a best-of-three series. The complete schedule, including the matchups of all the Challenge Round teams, can be found on the SPHL website.

Game one in the series will be in Southaven, Mississippi at the Landers Center at 7 p.m. CDT. The series shifts to Pharmacy First Ice at the VBC for game two on Saturday, April 14, at 7 p.m. CDT and, if necessary, game three will be Sunday, April 15, at 5 p.m. CDT. Tickets are on sale now at the Havoc office, where fans can get special playoff packages that include four tickets, four sodas and a popcorn. The general admission package is $48 and silver reserved is $60.

Vs. Mississippi

The Havoc were back in Southaven, Mississippi, last Friday for the second week in a row. In fact, half of their final eight games of the season were against the RiverKings. The Havoc lost its second consecutive game to Mississippi, dropping a high-scoring affair in overtime 6-5. Before the losses, Huntsville had won five straight against Mississippi. The Havoc finished the regular season series with Mississippi at 5-1-1.

In the RiverKings' regular season finale, they matched the SPHL record for most goals in a game by dismantling the Fayetteville Marksmen 12-1. Four different players scored two goals and Daniel Tedesco was responsible for five assists.

Tedesco has been on fire as of late, scoring 19 points (10g, 9a) in his last ten games. In fact, there are seven RiverKings who averaged better than a point per game over that stretch.

During the regular season, Brantley Sherwood and Devin Mantha helped lead the charge for Mississippi when they played Huntsville. Sherwood (2g, 6a) and Mantha (1g, 7a) each had eight points over the course of the year.

The team defenses were very closely matched this year, with the Havoc allowing 180 goals over the course of the season and the RiverKings allowing 181.

Shawn Bates recorded 10 points (4g, 6a) against Mississippi this season. Three other Havoc players put seven on the RiverKings - Sy Nutkevitch, Christian Powers and Justin Fox.

Nutkevitch had a four-point game against the RiverKings last weekend, scoring two goals and two assists.

Mississippi goalkeeper Tyler Green finishes the regular season at the top of the SPHL in wins (19) and saves (1094). He also finishes in a tie for second with 16 losses.

Check out the Huntsville Havoc Statistics

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