Snakes, Havoc open SPHL playoffs

HUNTSVILLE, AL – Saying that the Huntsville Havoc and the Columbus Cottonmouths do not like each other is being polite. Each defend its home ice fiercely, which is why it was important to finish as the higher seed going into their best-of-three SPHL playoff series. Having the deciding game at home could be the difference between winning and losing.
When game one gets underway Thursday night in Huntsville, “home ice” will take on a new meaning. Due to a scheduling conflict, the Havoc’s home games have been moved to the smaller confines of Huntsville’s Wilcoxon Municipal Ice Arena, a community arena and the official practice facility for the team.
The Wilcoxon accommodates Huntsville youth, high-school, college and adult hockey with a standing-room capacity of more than 600 fans. That’s far from the Havoc’s average crowd of more than 3,500 per game at the Breland Homes Ice at the Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena. However, the University of Alabama Frozen Tide played an American Collegiate Hockey Association series against Florida Gulf Coast University there with spirited crowds filling the stands and making the situation uncomfortable for the opposition.
For Havoc players like Kevin Kessler who played in small facilities during his early days in Massachusetts, the change could very well be a big advantage.
“It is what it is,” Kessler said. “It’s going to be loud in here and the fans will be on top of the action,

so it’s going to be different and hopefully we can use it to our advantage and win this one and take the next one in Columbus and get back to our home rink (Breland Homes Ice).”
The third-seeded Havoc (30-26) won four of the first five regular season games against the Cottonmouths. However, Columbus has owned Huntsville of late, defeating the Havoc in the last three regular season meetings and outscoring the SPHL reigning champions ten goals to five, including a high-scoring 6-4 affair in Huntsville which closed out the season series.
The season series has been evenly matched with wins by no more than two goals per game for the nine games played.
“I think were pretty evenly matched,” Huntsville head coach Randy Murphy said. “It’s going to be a tight series and it’ll probablygo three games and were going to have to understand that every inch will have to be fought for, but we’re excited and I know they are too and hopefully well come out on positive end.”
For Huntsville, scoring has come regularly from three players as centers Glenn Detulleo (15 goals, 42 assists, 57 points) and Mike MacDonald (17-31-48) and winger Stephen Margeson (19-10-29), who has been out of action with a concussion since January, all scored four goals against the Cottonmouths.Winger Ray Ortiz (16-16-32) contributed during the season series by potting three goals against Columbus.
The Havoc’s defense was led all season by rookie Omar Pacha. Pacha had seven goals and 34 assists for 34 points and a plus-7 rating. His numbers earned Pacha spots on the All-Rookie and All-SPHL first teams. Player/assistant coach Bill McCreary (2-30-32) was his usual steady self with Kessler (3-7-10) and Shaun Arvai (5-19-24) chipping in.
Huntsville’s goaltender tandem of Dan McWhinney and Mark Sibbald is a strong point this season. Sibbald was recently selected as the SBK Goaltender of the Year in a vote of league coaches and media representatives. However, he is only 3-3 against the Cottonmouths with one of the losses coming in relief of McWhinney afterMcWhinney allowed three goals on five shots in that game. McWhinney started out strong against Columbus in the early stages of the regular season, winning two of the first three match-ups but dropping his third start. From that point, Murphy called on Sibbald for the next four games before giving McWhinney the nod for the March 5, 2-1 road loss.
Murphy said his nod to either goalie will be a game day decision.
“We have a luxury there—it’s one of our strong suits,” Murphy said of McWhinney and Sibbald. “I don’t think it matters, but with Dan’s (McWhinney) experience last year and him taking us to the championship and Mark being goaltender of the year, it’s one of my toughest calls I have to make.”
Like the rest of the league, Huntsville had a difficult time solving Columbus’ penalty killing units. The Havoc power play scored just six goals in 53 opportunities, which translates to a success rate of just 11.3 percent, significantly lower that the 16.8 percent overall success rate. As for Huntsville’s penalty killing, it allowed ten goals in 54 times short for a respectable 81.5 percent kill rate. For the entire regular season, the Havoc killed off 85.5 percent of their short-handed opportunities – a number that placed them second in the league behind Columbus.
“We’re pretty evenly matched,” Kessler said. “I know they didn’t have the personnel they wanted at the beginning of the season, but they’ve come on strong and they play a physical game, but our guys can play physically too, so it should be a good series.”
Though the regular season series went Huntsville’s way, Columbus comes in having won the last three meetings, two of them at the Von Braun Center. Good or bad, the Von Braun is not available, so game 1 and if necessary game 3, will instead be played at the Havoc practice facility. Some may see the move to the Wilcoxon Iceplex as a severe disadvantage for Columbus but Cottonmouths forward Peter MacDougall doesn’t see it that way.
“Playoffs are always the most exciting time of the year, you work so hard all season to put yourself in the best position for success. We are not really preparing to play at the Iceplex. It’s just another rink,” MacDougall said. “It still has two nets, a scoreboard, some glass and ice. Both teams have to play there so it is not really a disadvantage.”
Columbus struggled on the road, going 12-16 during the regular season. It was a different story at the Columbus Civic Center as the Snakes went 17-11 at home. Cottonmouths’ head coach Jerome Bechard knows he will need his team’s power play units to play well. During the season against Huntsville, they scored ten goals on 54 chances for an 18.5 percent success rate. Bechard’s penalty killing sets killed off 47 of the 53 times Huntsville had the power play for a spectacular 88.7 percent rate, just over the league-leading 88.7 percent success rate they had over the 56-game schedule.
When the puck drops Thursday, the Snakes will count on the championship experience of player/assistant coach Orrin Hergott. Though he only had asingle goal against Huntsville, he did net 20 points during the regular season with 14 of them being goals. As the lone remaining member of the 2005 President’s Cup championship winning squad, Hergott knows what it takes to win when it counts. Columbus will also be looking for contributions from leading scorer Jesse Cole. Cole finished the season with eight points against Huntsville, and 31 goals and 21 assists for 52 points total. Cole also ended the season on a high note, notching a hat trick against Louisiana.
Much like during the regular season, Columbus will need everyone to contribute. Sam Bowles (23-23-46), Brett Hammond (13-27-40),Daryl Moore (16-22-38), Jordan Braid (17-17-34) and Matt Kinnunen (18-10-28) will all have to be at their best if the Cottonmouths are to succeed.
Rookie defenseman Bret Tyler led all Snakes defensemen with 32 points, while ending up astheir second leading scorer against Huntsville with six points. Kyle Lundale (6-22-28), Will Barlow (2-16-18) and MacDougall (5-13-18) will have to be on their guard against Huntsville’s offense.
Another key to playoff success is between the pipes. The goaltending has been solid all season for the Snakes, more so against Huntsville. Ian Vigier went 2-2 with a 1.77 goals against average and a.944 save percentage while rookie Andrew Loewen went 2-3 with a 2.64 goals against and .912 save percentage in five starts against the Havoc. During the season, Vigier went 17-15 with a 2.79 goals against number and Loewen went 12-12 with a 3.02 goals against average.
Despite Columbus coming in as the lower seed, there’s little doubt they know they can beat Huntsville.
“We played well against Huntsville all year, so if everything goes to plan we should match up well against them,” MacDougall said.
Editor’s Pick: Huntsville and Columbus match up very well. Both teams have solid goaltending and good special teams – in particular on the penalty kill. Whether the home ice advantage that Huntsville will hold at the Wilcoxon Iceplex (just about every person in the building will be a Havoc fan) remains to be seen. The team that is able to maintain its offensive momentum best should win this series. Given that Sibbald and McWhinney have both thrown a shutout against the Cottonmouths and Columbus has been prone to scoring droughts, the Havoc take this series in three games.
Contact the authors at scott.farrow@prohockeynews.com and lee.marion@prohockeynews.com
Photos courtesy of Stephanie Simpers