Havoc, Ice Flyers battle expectations, each other

ST. JOHN’S ISLAND, SC – Most of the time, meeting objectives and expectations is one of life’s greatest rewards. Sometimes, however, it can bring on bigger challenges. The Pensacola Ice Flyers, one of the new entries in the Southern Professional Hockey League this season, achieved one of the organization’s goals for season by making the 2010 SPHL playoffs. As a reward, the fifth-seeded Ice Flyers (25-23-8, 58 points) draw one of the most consistently effective SPHL organizations as they face the second-seeded Huntsville Havoc (31-16-9, 71 points) in the first round of the President‘s Cup playoffs..  The best-of-three series begins on Wednesday in Huntsville with game two scheduled for Friday evening in Pensacola. If a game three in the series is required, they will play on Easter Sunday back in Huntsville. During the regular season, the teams split their eight head-to-head games with each team winning four times. Three of the eight games required overtime. If the past is a prologue, the regular season series results are predictive of a close playoff series that may take all three games to settle. Coach Randy Murphy led his Havoc to a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games of the regular season and come into the playoffs with solid momentum, finishing just five points out of first place. The Havoc, a charter member of the SPHL, averaged 3,513 fans per game, the second best attendance mark in the SPHL in the regular season. They averaged 3.75 goals per game, scoring 199 goals in 56 contests. They gave up an average of 3.17 goals against and have the statistical edge in both categories over the Ice Flyers. They are led on offense by Justin Rohr, who in his first full season with the Havoc has racked up 60 points, including 24 goals to lead the team in scoring.

Other forwards who can be expected to contribute offensively include Mike MacDonald, the team’s second leading scorer with 21 goals and 41 points, veteran Travis Kauffeldt (14-23-37) and forward Mike Carter (18-28-46). Defensively, the Havoc have four defensemen who have played in 50 or more games this season, giving them an experienced defensive corps. Jeff White (13-22-35) appeared in all 56 regular season games. He is joined on the blue line by third year Havoc veteran Bill McCreary (8-25-33), who has a +10 plus/minus ratio. Adam Lukacovic posted seven goals and 10 assists in 56 games while another first year SPHL defenseman, Dean Petiot, leads the team in plus/minus with a +17 rating. Petiot had two goals and 11 points while playing in 50 games. The goaltending tandem consists of Mark Sibbald, 24 games played, 2.82 goals against average and a .910 save percentage andDan McWhinney who played in 32 games fashioning a 3.04 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. Sibbald brings a regular season record of 15-4-3-1 into the playoffs while McWhinney’s record is 16-9-5-0. The Havoc hold a slight statistical edge in special teams play scoring at a 17.48 percent clip on the power play while their penalty kill rate stood at 83.28 percent at season’s end. Huntsville was assessed 1,273 penalty minutes on the season, many of those coming from Dennis Sicard and Martin Kubaliak, who are both no longer with the team. Hockey returned to Pensacola after a couple of season’s hiatus and an average of 3,457 fans helped bring back excitement to the Pensacola Civic Center. Head Coach Todd Gordon piloted his team into the playoffs using the expansion draft and some excellent signings to ice a competitive roster. They come into the playoffs winning four of their last ten games. The Ice Flyers appear to start the series in the hole from a statistical standpoint but as mentioned above, they have been extremely competitive against the Havoc in the regular season, splitting the season series. They averaged 3.14 goals per game on offense while giving up 3.60 goals against over the course of the 56-game regular season. They had a 16.45 percent success rate on power plays and a 79.55 percent success rate on the penalty kill. The Ice Flyers spent 968 minutes in the sin bin, 142 of those racked up by rugged defenseman Matt Withers. On offense, two SPHL veterans led the team in scoring. Both played in all 56 games and approached the 30 goal mark in scoring. Lorne Misita, (29-35-64) and Chris Rebernik, (28-34-62) provide both experience and scoring.Misita has played five season in the SPHL mostly with Columbus. Rebernik, who is also listed as a left wing, is in his eighth season of pro hockey which includes three years in the SPHL. He ended the regular season on a scoring binge, netting three goals and registering five assists in the last five games of the season. Each has a championship ring on the shelf and been Gordon’s go-to players. The defense features Mark Hinz who has 12 goals and 17 assists in 49 games, and the aforementioned Withers, who provides some heavy lifting when needed. Additionally, defenseman Paul Falco, who was traded to the Ice Flyers in late February in a cash deal, will have added incentive, having played 30 games with Huntsville before moving to Pensacola. Ryan Scott has played 37 games in net for Pensacola, posting a record of 15-17-5-2 coupled with a goals against average of 3.28 and a.903 save percentage. His partner in net, Jamie Gilbert, has appeared in 13 games after coming over from Louisiana in a trade, going 6-3-3-0 compiling a 3.92 goals against average and .886 save percentage. Editor’s prediction: Both teams have offenses that can produce at will. Special teams favor Huntsville but not by that much. The Havoc do have more seasoned players but have been through some roster turbulence in the last month. Pensacola’s youth could be a problem, especially if they get behind and lose their collective cool as they did in a game against Mississippi late in the season. The deciding factor should be the goaltending where Huntsville has a decided edge. Havoc win the series in three grueling games. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com