Huntsville Havoc

Last updated
Huntsville Havoc
Huntsville Havoc logo.png
City Huntsville, Alabama
League SPHL
Founded2004
Home arena Von Braun Center
ColorsBlack, red, white, silver
    
Owner(s)HSV Sports, LLC
Head coachStuart Stefan
CaptainDom Procopio
Website https://www.huntsvillehavoc.com/
Franchise history
2003–presentHuntsville Havoc
Championships
Playoff championships3 (2009–10, 2017–18, 2018–19)
Hockey current event.svg Current season

The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the SPHL. They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. [1]

Contents

History

The team began play in the 2004–05 season, following the defunct Huntsville Channel Cats of the South East Hockey League. The team finished sixth out of eight teams in the regular season in 2004–05 and lost a one-game playoff to the Jacksonville Barracudas. In 2006, Huntsville finished fifth in the league and was defeated two games to none by the Florida Seals in the second round of playoffs after knocking off the defending league champion Columbus Cottonmouths in three games in the opening round. In 2007, Huntsville's fourth-place regular season finish was for naught as they were swept out of the playoffs by the eventual league champion Fayetteville FireAntz.

In 2008, the Havoc finished last in the SPHL standings and were the only team left out of the league playoffs. Immediately following the conclusion of the season, the team announced it would not renew the contract of head coach John Gibson, who had led the Havoc through all four SPHL seasons, coached the SEHL Channel Cats to the league championship in 2004, and was an All-Star defenseman for the CHL version of the Channel Cats. Eric Soltys was named head coach of the team for the 2008–09 season with Paul Snell serving as his assistant. In the 2008–09 SPHL season the Havoc finished in fourth place. In the 2009 SPHL Playoffs the Havoc was beaten in the first round by the eventual SPHL champions (Knoxville Ice Bears) in 5 games (5 game series). With Randy Murphy taking over coaching duties in 2009–10, the Havoc finished season play in second place, earning a team-record 71 points. The Havoc entered the SPHL playoffs as the #2 seed. In round 1 Huntsville defeated the Pensacola Ice Flyers 2 games to 1. In round 2 the Havoc swept the Knoxville Ice Bears. The Havoc then went on to sweep the Mississippi Surge in the finals, winning their first SPHL President's Cup. In the 2010–11 season, the Havoc finished 3rd in the regular season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Columbus.

In the 2018 SPHL playoffs, the fourth-seeded Havoc defeated the Mississippi RiverKings in the Challenge Round 2-game-to-1, the Macon Mayhem in the semifinals 2-games-to-1, and the top-seeded Peoria Rivermen 2-games-to-1 in the finals to claim the franchise's second President's Cup. It was the first time in league history that a fourth-seeded team won the championship.

In 2019, the Huntsville Havoc repeated as SPHL President's Cup Champions by defeating the Birmingham Bulls 2-games-to-0 in the finals.

Year-by-year record

SeasonGPWLOTLPtsPctGFGAPIMCoachFinishPlayoffs
2004–05 562927—580.5181831811542John Gibson6thLost in first round, 1–2 (Jacksonville)
2005–06 5632213670.5712031861905John Gibson5thLost in second round, 1–2 (Florida)
2006–07 5629234620.5542212102108John Gibson4thLost in first round, 0–2 (Fayetteville)
2007–08 5223272480.4621952111451John Gibson7thDid not qualify
2008–09 6029247650.5422041971335Eric Soltys4thLost in first round, 2–3 (Knoxville)
2009–10 5831169710.6341991781273Randy Murphy2ndWon Championship, 3–0 (Mississippi)
2010–11 563026—600.5361681581006Randy Murphy3rdLost in first round, 0–2 (Columbus)
2011–12 5622286500.4461631981229Randy Murphy/Keith Jeffries/Glenn Detulleo8thLost in second round, 0–2 (Columbus)
2012–13 5621296480.4291351791379Glenn Detulleo8thLost in championship, 1–2 (Pensacola)
2013–14 5631214660.589180158991Glenn Detulleo5thLost in second round, 0–2 (Columbus)
2014–15 561138729.2591301841250Glenn Detulleo8thDid not qualify
2015–16 562626456.5001511581282Glenn Detulleo7thLost in first round, 0–2 (Pensacola)
2016–17 563416674.661200165849Glenn Detulleo4thLost in semifinals, 1–2 (Peoria)
2017–18 5630161070.625203180923Glenn Detulleo4thWon Championship, 2–1 (Peoria)
2018–19 563617375.670209152632Glenn Detulleo3rdWon Championship, 2–0 (Birmingham)
2019–20 462714559.641144124675Glenn Detulleo3rdSeason cancelled
2020–21 421922139.464123137392Glenn Detulleo4thLost in semifinals, 0–2 (Pensacola)
2021–22 564113284.750194124697Glenn Detulleo2ndLost in semifinals, 0–2 (Roanoke)
2022–23 563419371.634197162826Glenn Detulleo3rdLost in semifinals, 1–2 (Birmingham)

Attendance

YearTotalGamesAverageLeague Average
2004–0575,978282,7132,440
2005–0687,871283,1382,720
2006–07109,615283,9142,985
2007–0899,672263,8332,969
2008–09106,848303,5612,921
2009–1098,365283,5133,041
2010–1198,327283,5132,762
2011–1294,354283,3692,796
2012–1398,383283,5142,804
2013–14103,993283,7143,000
2014–15100,381283,5853,248
2015–16117,298284,1873,034
2016–17130,166284,6482,967
2017–18133,672284,7743,214
2018–19138,106284,9323,132

Honored numbers

The following numbers were retired by the Huntsville Havoc.

NameNumberTenure
Chris George17Channel Cats 1996–2000, Tornado 2001
Mike Degurse33Channel Cats 1996–2000, 2004, Havoc 2004–07
John Gibson23Channel Cats 1995–2000, as coach 2003–04, Havoc coach 2004–2008
Stuart Stefan7Havoc 2011–18, as coach 2018-present
Nolan Kaiser10Havoc 2015-2022Tyler Piacentini14Havoc 2017-2023, as coach 2023-present

Records

through 2022-23 season

Career

Games379Stuart Stefan (2011–2018)
Goals115Sy Nutkevitch (2016–2023)
Assists256Sy Nutkevitch (2016–2023)
Points371Sy Nutkevitch (2016–2023)
Penalty Minutes994Luke Phillips (2004–2007)
Wins92Matt Carmichael (2004–2008)
Shutouts7Dan McWhinney (2009–2013)

Max Milosek (2018-2023)

Single-season

Goals37Travis Kauffeldt (2008–09)
Assists52James Patterson (2006–07)
Points78James Patterson (2006–07)
Penalty Minutes396Luke Phillips (2005–06)
GAA1.93Hunter Vorva (2021–22)
SV%.934Hunter Vorva (2021–22)

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References

  1. ↑ McCarter, Mark (March 25, 2015). "Von Braun Center has celebrated much sports success, but also been graveyard for some franchises". The Huntsville Times . Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications . Retrieved April 3, 2015.
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