SPHL concludes annual Board of Governors meeting

CHARLOTTE, NC (June 18, 2010) – The annual meeting of the Southern Professional Hockey League Board of Governors concluded Wednesday in Las Vegas, NV with several topics being discussed, including finalization of the 2011 playoff format. 

2011 Playoff Format:

The top six (6) finishers in the league standings will make the playoffs:

ROUND 1

Series A - #1 Seed will play #6 Seed in a best-of-five series with the #1 Seed hosting Games 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary)

Series B - #2 Seed will play #5 Seed in a best-of-three series with the #2 Seed hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary)

Series C - #3 Seed will play #4 Seed in a best-of-three series with the #3 Seed hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary).

ROUND 2

Winner of Series A gets a bye to Championship Round

Winner of Series B plays winner of Series C in a best-of-three series with the highest-seeded team hosting Games 1 and 3 (if necessary)

PRESIDENT’S CUP FINALS

The highest remaining seed will host Games 1, 3 and 5 (if necessary) in the best-of-five Championship.

“By far, the playoff format was the most discussed topic of the meeting,” stated President Jim Combs.  “The Board evaluated several different scenarios in trying to come up with a format that gave equal weight to competition and economics.  Ultimately, the Board voted to retain the playoff format that was used last season and while not perfect, we feel it offers the best overall balance for the teams involved.”

Team Rosters

Teams will still have an 18-man roster during the season, but will only be allowed to dress 17 players for games, one fewer than last season.

League Standings

For the 2010-2011 regular season, teams will no longer receive a point for an overtime or shootout loss.  The winning team will still receive two points in the standings.

“We feel that eliminating the point for an overtime or shootout loss will increase the quality and intensity of play throughout the league,” explained Combs.  “In researching what effect the loss of the additional point would have had on past standings, we found that the point differential between teams actually decreased, making the overall standings much closer.

2009-2010                                       2009-2010

Standings (actual)                    Standings (without OTL)

Team                  Points               Team                Points

xMississippi          76                  Mississippi          68 

xHuntsville            71                  Huntsville            62

xFayetteville          65                  Fayetteville          62

xKnoxville             63                  Knoxville             60

xPensacola            58                  Pensacola            50

xColumbus           51                  Louisiana             46 

Louisiana              48                  Columbus            44

x-made playoffs

“In the past, teams that have been tied late in the game would change their style of play in order to finish the third period still tied, knowing they were getting a point by doing so,” added Combs.  “Now that it’s either two points or none, the emphasis is back on playing to win instead of playing not to lose.”

Election of Officers

By unanimous vote of the Board, the following individuals were elected to serve as officers for the 2010-2011 season:

Chairman:            Tim Kerr, Pensacola

Vice Chairman:     Mike Murray, Knoxville

Treasurer:            Keith Jeffries, Huntsville

Secretary:             Doug Price, League Office

Roster Deadlines

The SPHL trade deadline will be Monday, February 28, 2011 while the last day for SPHL teams to add a player who has played outside of North America during the 2010-2011 season will be Tuesday, February 1, 2011.