The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama.
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.
Year-by-year record
| Season | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Pct | GF | GA | PIM | Coach | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2004–05 | SPHL | 56 | 29 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 0.518 | 183 | 181 | 1542 | John Gibson | 6th | Lost in first round, 1–2 (Jacksonville) |
| 2004–06 | SPHL | 56 | 32 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 67 | 0.571 | 203 | 186 | 1905 | John Gibson | 5th | Lost in second round, 1–2 (Florida) |
| 2006–07 | SPHL | 56 | 29 | 23 | 0 | 4 | 62 | 0.554 | 221 | 210 | 2108 | John Gibson | 4th | Lost in first round, 0–2 (Fayetteville) |
| 2007–08 | SPHL | 52 | 23 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 0.462 | 195 | 211 | 1451 | John Gibson | 7th | Did not qualify |
| 2008–09 | SPHL | 60 | 29 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 65 | 0.542 | 204 | 197 | 1335 | Eric Soltys | 4th | Lost in first round, 2–3 (Knoxville) |
| 2009–10 | SPHL | 58 | 31 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 71 | 0.634 | 199 | 178 | 1273 | Randy Murphy | 2nd | Won Championship, 3–0 (Mississippi) |
| 2010–11 | SPHL | 56 | 30 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 0.536 | 168 | 158 | 1006 | Randy Murphy | 3rd | Lost in first round, 0–2 (Columbus) |
| 2011-12 | SPHL | 56 | 22 | 28 | 0 | 6 | 50 | 0.446 | 163 | 198 | 1229 | Randy Murphy/Keith Jeffries/Glenn Detulleo | 8th | Lost in second round, 0-2
(Columbus) |
| 2012-13 | SPHL | 56 | 21 | 29 | 0 | 6 | 48 | 0.429 | 135 | 179 | 1379 | Glenn Detulleo | 8th | Lost Championship, 1-2 (Pensacola Ice Flyers) |
Attendance
| Year | Total | Games | Average | League Average |
|---|
| 2004–05 | 75,978 | 28 | 2,713 | 2,440 |
| 2005–06 | 87,871 | 28 | 3,138 | 2,720 |
| 2006–07 | 109,615 | 28 | 3,914 | 2,985 |
| 2007–08 | 99,672 | 26 | 3,833 | 2,969 |
| 2008–09 | 106,848 | 30 | 3,561 | 2,921 |
| 2009–10 | 98,365 | 28 | 3,513 | 3,041 |
| 2010–11 | 98,327 | 28 | 3,513 | 2,762 |
| 2011-12 | 94,354 | 28 | 3,369 | 2,796 |
| 2012-13 | 98,383 | 28 | 3,514 | 2,804 |
2009–10 President's Cup Championship Roster
| Forwards |
|---|
| # |
|
align=left!!width=35%|Player |
Pos. |
Shoots |
Height |
Weight |
Place of Birth |
| 4 |
 |
Andrew Schembri |
RW |
|
5' 6" |
168 lbs. |
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| 5 |
|
Chris Myers |
F |
|
6' 2" |
200 lbs. |
Wallaceburg, Ontario, Canada |
| 9 |
|
Brett Liscomb |
F |
|
5' 9" |
180 lbs. |
Long Sault, Ontario, Canada |
| 11 |
|
Mike MacDonald (A) |
F |
|
5' 6" |
160 lbs. |
New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| 12 |
 |
Ray Ortiz (A) |
F |
R |
5' 11" |
190 lbs. |
Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA |
| 14 |
|
Nick Monroe |
F |
|
5' 9" |
175 lbs. |
Groton, Massachusetts, USA |
| 16 |
|
B.J. Radovich |
F |
R |
5' 9" |
185 lbs. |
Hermantown, Minnesota, USA |
| 18 |
|
Mike Carter |
F |
|
5' 8" |
180 lbs. |
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada |
| 37 |
|
Travis Kauffeldt (C) |
LW |
L |
6' 1" |
195 lbs. |
Bancroft, Ontario, Canada |
| 82 |
|
Justin Rohr |
F |
|
5' 7" |
175 lbs. |
Lloydminster, Alberta, Canada |
| Defensemen |
|---|
| # |
|
align=left!!width=35%|Player |
Pos. |
Shoots |
Height |
Weight |
Place of Birth |
| 2 |
 |
Vladimir Hartinger |
D |
|
6' 0" |
200 lbs. |
Šternberk, Czech Republic |
| 6 |
|
Jeff White |
D |
R |
5' 10" |
180 lbs. |
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada |
| 8 |
|
Adam Lukacovic |
D |
L |
6' 0" |
179 lbs. |
Kopřivnice, Czech Republic |
| 15 |
|
Bill McCreary (A) |
D |
L |
5' 10" |
175 lbs. |
Howell, Michigan, USA |
| 24 |
|
Jeff Winchester |
D |
L |
6' 3" |
205 lbs. |
Dalhousie, New Brunswick, Canada |
| 67 |
|
Dean Petiot |
D |
L |
6' 1" |
200 lbs. |
Daysland, Alberta, Canada |
- Head Coach: Randy Murphy
- Assistant Coach: Paul Snell
Retired numbers
| Name | Number | Tenure |
|---|
| Chris George | 17 | Channel Cats 1996–00, Tornado 2000–01 |
| Matt Carmichael | 29 | Channel Cats 1999–00, 03–04, Tornado 2000–01, Havoc 2004–08 |
| Mike Degurse | 33 | Channel Cats 1996–00, 03–04, Havoc 04–06 |
Honored numbers
The following numbers were retired by the Huntsville Channel Cats. The numbers are still being honored by the Huntsville Havoc as no player has been issued the numbers.
| Name | Number | Tenure |
|---|
| Phil Daigle | 21 | Channel Cats 1995–99, Tornado 2000–01 |
| John Gibson | 23 | Channel Cats 1995–00, Coach 2003–04, Havoc Coach 2004–08 |
| Derek Puppa | 30 | UAH 1992–96, Channel Cats 1996–97, 1998–99 |
Records
through 2010–11 season
Single season
- Goals: Travis Kauffeldt, 37 (08–09)
- Assists: James Patterson, 52 (06–07)
- Points: James Patterson, 78 (06–07)
- Penalty Minutes: Luke Phillips, 396 (05–06)
- GAA: Mark Sibbald, 2.51 (10–11)
- SV%: .921 Matt Carmichael (04–05)
Career
- Career Goals: James Patterson, 110
- Career Assists: James Patterson, 179
- Career Points: James Patterson, 289
- Career Penalty Minutes: Luke Phillips, 994
- Career Goaltending Wins: Matt Carmichael, 92
- Career Shutouts: Dan McWhinney, 7
- Career Games: Ray Ortiz, 225
External links
