SPHL Huntsville Havoc

Weekend Preview: Havoc to Wrap up Regular Season on the Road

Published on April 2, 2018 under SPHL (SPHL)
Huntsville Havoc News Release


HUNTSVILLE, AL - The Huntsville Havoc finish the regular season this weekend on the road. Both are winnable games, and the Havoc need the points to improve their standings before the Challenge Round Selection Event at the VBC on Sunday, April 8.

The Havoc (29-16-9) spent last weekend in Southaven, Mississippi, for a pair of games against the RiverKings (27-25-2).

Week Recap

Huntsville started the weekend a mere point behind second-place Pensacola and the team was hoping to leap-frog the Ice Flyers to have more options in the Challenge Round event next Sunday. Unfortunately, the Havoc ended up splitting the weekend series and sliding to fourth-place, a point behind the Macon Mayhem.

On Friday, March 30, the Havoc scored a pair of goals in each of the first two periods and played stout defense, defeating the RiverKings 4-1. Dylan Hood started the scoring barely three minutes into the game while Nolan Kaiser scored two goals and recorded an assist on another goal from Anthony Calabrese. Havoc goalkeeper Mike DeLaVergne stopped 30 of 31 shots.

The RiverKings flipped the script the next night. After the teams traded a goal each during the first 29 minutes, Mississippi broke the game open in the second period. The RiverKings scored four unanswered, putting Huntsville in a deep hole in the third period. Despite scores from Sy Nutkevitch, Jack Ceglarski and Tyler Piancetini, the Havoc could not complete the comeback and dropped their first game against Mississippi this year 5-3.

Huntsville snared two standings points from Mississippi, but the Macon Mayhem (31-16-6) swept the Fayetteville Marksmen (11-37-6) and are now in third place - one point ahead of the Havoc.

Mississippi's win on Saturday put them two points ahead of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs (25-25-4). More importantly, a pair of losses by the Birmingham Bulls (22-27-5) locked in the RiverKings and the Dawgs for the playoffs.

Vs. Mississippi

The Havoc return to Southaven, Mississippi, for their penultimate regular season game.

Huntsville split a double-header there last weekend, which was the team's first loss to Mississippi this year. The Havoc are 5-1-0 against the RiverKings.

Dillan Fox continues to light a spark for Mississippi. Since his return from the ECHL, the RiverKings have won four of five games and Fox has recorded 9 points (6g, 3a).

RiverKing coach Derek Landmesser recorded his 200th regular season win, all with Mississippi.

Over the last ten RiverKings games, three players are averaging a point per game: Daniel Tedesco (8g, 2a), Ryan Marcus (5, 5a) and Derek Sutliffe (4g, 6a).

Mississippi goalkeeper Tyler Green leads the league with 19 wins on the season and 1,081 saves.

The RiverKings can finish no better than fifth in the SPHL standings, which means they will be one of the teams to be challenged during the Challenge Round Selection Show on Sunday, April 8.

Mississippi ranks ninth in the SPHL in the power play (15.36%), but does an excellent job on the penalty kill, ranking second in the league (85.38%).

Vs. Birmingham

The Havoc close out the regular season on the road in Pelham, Alabama, on Saturday, April 7, against the Birmingham Bulls. In eight contests so far this season, Huntsville has won seven of them.

The Bulls were on the road for a pair of games against the Pensacola Ice Flyers last weekend. In game one, the Bulls scored four goals in the third period, but Penacola had already posted seven and Birmingham lost a close one 7-6. On the Saturday night rematch, the Ice Flyers defense clamped down on Birmingham and never let up, handing the Bulls a 3-0 loss.

The loss was Birmingham's fifth in a row and officially eliminated the Bulls from post-season contention.

Jacob Barber has stepped up for the Bulls lately with six points (3g, 3a) in the last five games. He leads all rookies with 52 points (24g, 28a).

Saturday's shutout of Birmingham was the team's third of the season. The other two were at the hands of Roanoke and Huntsville.

By the Numbers...

Sy Nutkevtich and Birmingham's Jacob Barber are tied for the league lead in game-winning goals with six each. Nutkevtich has 10 points (4g, 6a) over his last eight games.

The Havoc have seven power play goals in their last eight contests, allowing only four scores when on the penalty kill in that same span. The team ranks second in the league on the power play, converting the opportunity to a score 20.7% of the time, but are ninth when it comes to penalty kills (79.7%).

Shawn Bates recorded two assists this past weekend, setting a new career high for points in a season with 44 (19g, 25a). He is in the middle of an 8-game point streak.

Nolan Kaiser's two scores on Saturday set a new career high for goals in a regular season with 10.

Keegan Asmundson is tied for fourth in the SPHL in wins (15) and ranks fifth in saves (933). Fellow keeper Mike DeLaVergne is fifth in goals against average (2.89/gm), fourth in save percentage (91.3%) and has won five of his last six starts.

Playoffs

The Havoc are in fourth place in the SPHL and can still finish as high as second. Should the team improve its standing, Huntsville will be among the three teams to select a club in the bottom half of the playoff draw to "challenge" them in the first round. However, it also is still possible for the Havoc to slip as low as fifth, which means the team will be one of the "challenged" by one of the top four in the SPHL.

Regardless, all eyes will be on the Rocket City on Sunday, April 8, for the Challenge Round Selection Show live from the VBC when teams reveal who they will challenge in the first round of the playoffs. The production will be broadcast live from Huntsville and hosted by the voice of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Birmingham Bulls Eli Gold alongside Terry Crisp, the voice of the Nashville Predators. The Havoc players will be there and fans can come celebrate the regular season with a full buffet and some great SPHL playoff prizes. Tickets for the event are available now in the Havoc office.

When our opponent is determined and the official schedule announced, tickets will go on sale Monday, April 9, at 10 a.m. in the Havoc front office.

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Fans can find the latest news and notes on the Huntsville Havoc by downloading the official Havoc app powered by Simple Helix for iOS or Android here. You also can earn Havoc Rewards points to a variety of Havoc merchandise or experiences.

Check out the Huntsville Havoc Statistics

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