This is the 2015-16 Southern Professional Hockey League season. This was the league's 11th season.
Membership changes[]
- The former Augusta RiverHawks franchise annouced they were relocating to Macon, Georgia on June 25, 2014. The team known as the Macon Mayhem and be based out of the Macon Coliseum.
- On October 20th, 2015, the league announced that the franchise rights to the former Mississippi Surge franchise was sold and the team will play in Roanoke, Virginia for the 2016-17 season. The team will be based out of the Berglund Center in Roanoke. The team will announce their logo and name on November 19th.
Teams[]
| Team | City/Area | Arena | Founded | Joined | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Cottonmouths | Columbus, Georgia | Columbus Civic Center | 1996 | 2004 | Jerome Bechard |
| Fayetteville FireAntz | Fayetteville, North Carolina | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum | 2002 | 2004 | Jeff Bes |
| Huntsville Havoc | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Center | 2004 | Glenn Detulleo | |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | Knoxville, Tennessee | Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum | 2002 | 2004 | Mike Craigen |
| Louisiana IceGators | Lafayette, Louisiana | Cajundome | 1995 | 2009 | Kevin Kaminski |
| Macon Mayhem | Macon, Georgia | Macon Coliseum | 2010 | 2015 | Kevin Kerr |
| Mississippi RiverKings | Southaven, Mississippi (Memphis area) | Lander's Center | 1992 | 2011 | Derek Landmesser |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | Pensacola, Florida | Pensacola Bay Center | 2009 | Rod Aldoff | |
| Peoria Rivermen | Peoria, Illinois | Carver Arena | 2013 | Jean-Guy Trudel | |
Standings[]
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
| Peoria Rivermen | 56 | 39 | 12 | 5 | 196 | 125 | 1142 | 83 |
| Pensacola Ice Flyers | 56 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 175 | 157 | 1098 | 67 |
| Mississippi RiverKings | 56 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 151 | 161 | 668 | 66 |
| Fayetteville FireAntz | 56 | 30 | 21 | 5 | 167 | 145 | 1090 | 65 |
| Knoxville Ice Bears | 56 | 29 | 21 | 6 | 163 | 165 | 903 | 64 |
| Louisiana IceGators | 56 | 26 | 26 | 4 | 151 | 162 | 1008 | 56 |
| Huntsville Havoc | 56 | 26 | 26 | 4 | 151 | 158 | 1282 | 56 |
| Macon Mayhem | 56 | 24 | 27 | 5 | 138 | 157 | 833 | 53 |
| Columbus Cottonmouths | 56 | 19 | 29 | 8 | 124 | 186 | 828 | 46 |
President's Cup Playoffs[]
Format[]
With the addition of a ninth team the playoff format was changed to having the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs (up from the top six teams for 2014-15). The first round consists of four best-of-three series with the 1st place team playing the 8th place team, 2nd playing 7th, 3rd playing 6th, and 4th playing 5th. The highest seeded first round winner plays the lowest seeded first round winner and the 2nd highest seeded first round winner plays the third highest first round winner. The semifinal winners then moves on to meet the top seed in the best-of-three President's Cup Final.
Quarterfinals[]
- Peoria Rivermen defeated Macon Mayhem 2 games to 1 (2-3, 2-0, 4-1)
- Pensacola Ice Flyers defeated Huntsville Havoc 2 games to none (3-1, 5-1)
- Mississippi RiverKings defeated Louisiana IceGators 2 games to none (5-3, 5-2)
- Fayetteville FireAntz defeated Knoxville Ice Bears 2 games to 1 (0-2, 5-2, 2-0)
Semifinals[]
- Peoria Rivermen defeated Fayetteville FireAntz 2 games to none (1-0, 4-0)
- Pensacola Ice Flyers defeated Mississippi RiverKings 2 games to none (4-1, 6-5 (2ot))
President's Cup Final[]
- Pensacola Ice Flyers defeated Peoria Rivermen 3 games to none (3-2 (ot), 3-2, 5-4)
2016 SPHL champs Pensacola Ice Flyers