Four teams. Only one of them will earn the right to be called a President’s Cup Champion for the 2020-21 season.
The SPHL President’s Cup Playoffs start this week with Knoxville taking on Pensacola and Macon playing Huntsville.
The winners of those two best-of-three series will then meet in the President’s Cup Finals.
But who’ll really end up being the champion? We’re here to make predictions!
Knoxville vs. Pensacola
If you put stock in late-season momentum, the Ice Flyers are worth keeping an eye on. They have scrapped their way to finish third, winning four of their final five games of the regular season. Two of those were the next to last weekend of the season against their playoff opponent, Knoxville, in 4-1 and 4-2 wins. The other side of the coin is Austyn Roudebush and his 1.71 GAA which’s best in the league. With play like that in net, teams have good chances to win a lot of games.
Prediction: Knoxville wins series, 2-1
- Brad Harrison, SPHL Editor
The Ice Flyers offense finished strong down the stretch, lighting the lamp three or more times in seven of the final 11 games, including the final three games of the regular season. The IceBears’ defense has allowed four or more goals in four of their last six games to finish the season. The Ice Flyers offense, combined with the strong netminding from Jake Kupsky and Jack Berry, will give the Ice Flyers the advantage in this series.
Prediction: Pensacola wins series, 2-0
- Matthew Harding, The Sin Bin Editor-in-Chief
Macon vs. Huntsville
It’s easy to take a quick glance and predict an easy Macon sweep given the Mayhem’s 9-1-1 record against the Havoc this season. But there’s more to Macon’s success against Huntsville than that as of those nine wins, six have been decided by a single goal, giving credence to the fact that these teams are more even than the win-loss results may show. There’s also the fact that the Havoc has won the past two President’s Cup titles. Goalie Max Milosek is among those with experience in big postseason moments, so Huntsville has some intangibles on its side.
Still, Macon has been the class of the league all year long with its formidable combo of Ryan Ruck and Jake Theut in goal and the scoring of Mason Baptista, Jason Tackett, and Brian Bowen, among others.
Prediction: Macon wins series, 2-0
- Brad Harrison, SPHL Editor
To be the champ, you gotta beat the champ. Huntsville has the largest of intangibles – a group that has won the last two SPHL titles and can put together a run at any time. For the Havoc to have a chance in this series, they have to play tight defense and limit the Macon offense as much as possible. When the dust settles, we may look back and see this opening round as the toughest test to Macon’s run to a title.
Prediction: Macon wins series, 2-1
- Matthew Harding, The Sin Bin Editor-in-Chief
President’s Cup Finals
Macon beats Knoxville, 2-1 to win both the Coffey Cup and President’s Cup for the second time in franchise history.
- Brad Harrison, SPHL Editor
I think Pensacola will return to the President’s Cup Finals for the first time since winning it in 2016, and they’ll face Macon. Having watched from afar this season, the Mayhem have an incredible amount of depth, which is comparable with some of the great teams in this league. It will be hard for the Ice Flyers to defeat Macon two times in three nights. Macon is your SPHL champion for the second time in four years, winning 2-1.
- Matthew Harding, The Sin Bin Editor-in-Chief
