2025-26 SPHL Playoffs
2025–26 SPHL President's Cup Playoffs at a Glance
🏆 President's Cup Champion: Evansville Thunderbolts
🥈 Runner-up: Peoria Rivermen
🏒 President's Cup Finals: Evansville defeated Peoria, 3–2
⭐ Playoff MVP: Matthew Hobbs, Evansville Thunderbolts
📅 Playoff Format: Three rounds (First Round, Semifinals, President's Cup Finals) with the first round played as a best-of-three series and both the semifinals and finals contested as best-of-five series.
👥 Teams Qualified: 8 (Top eight teams in the regular-season standings qualified for the President's Cup Playoffs.)
🥅 Championship Notes:
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Evansville captured its second President's Cup championship, successfully defending the title it won in 2025.
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The Thunderbolts defeated regular-season champion Peoria Rivermen in a competitive five-game championship series after advancing through Roanoke in the semifinals.
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Matthew Hobbs was named President's Cup Playoff MVP following another outstanding postseason performance for Evansville.
🎯 Featured on This Page:
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Team Playoff Performance by Goal Differential
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Offense vs. Defense Analysis
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Leading Playoff Scorers
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Leading Playoff Goaltenders
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Season-in-review commentary and analytical insights
2025–26 SPHL President's Cup Playoffs: Season in Review
The 2025–26 SPHL President's Cup Playoffs showcased another exciting postseason in the Southern Professional Hockey League, culminating in the Evansville Thunderbolts successfully defending their championship by defeating the Peoria Rivermen three games to two in a tightly contested President's Cup Finals. Evansville's combination of timely scoring, disciplined defensive play, and outstanding goaltending once again proved to be the formula for postseason success, securing the organization's second consecutive President's Cup.
The road to the championship was far from easy. After advancing through the opening rounds, Evansville faced a talented Peoria club that entered the playoffs as the regular-season champion and one of the league's most complete teams. The Finals featured competitive, closely played games that highlighted the parity across the SPHL, with both teams demonstrating the depth and resilience required to reach the league's championship series.
A key contributor to Evansville's title run was Matthew Hobbs, whose outstanding postseason performance earned him President's Cup Playoff MVP honors. Throughout the playoffs, Hobbs consistently delivered in critical situations, while the Thunderbolts received strong contributions throughout the lineup and dependable play between the pipes. Their balanced attack and ability to limit quality scoring opportunities against them ultimately separated Evansville from the rest of the field.
The 2025–26 playoffs also featured impressive performances from teams across the league. Regular-season powers such as Peoria and Huntsville continued their strong campaigns into the postseason, while several clubs demonstrated that success in the SPHL often depends on a combination of offensive depth, defensive consistency, and elite special teams rather than relying solely on star players. As is often the case in playoff hockey, timely goaltending and disciplined defensive play became increasingly important as the tournament progressed.
The visualizations presented on this page provide a comprehensive statistical review of the 2025–26 President's Cup Playoffs. Team-level charts examine which clubs combined offensive production with defensive efficiency, while player leaderboards recognize the postseason's top scorers and goaltenders. Together, these analytics complement the playoff results by illustrating the underlying performances that shaped the race for the President's Cup and ultimately helped Evansville capture another league championship.
Team Playoff Performance by Goal Differential
The Team Playoff Performance by Goal Differential chart summarizes how each team performed during the 2025–26 President's Cup Playoffs by comparing total goals scored and goals allowed. Goal differential is one of the strongest indicators of postseason success because it reflects a team's ability to consistently outscore its opponents throughout the playoffs. Positive values indicate teams that scored more goals than they allowed, while negative values represent teams that were outscored during their postseason run.
The Peoria Rivermen finished with the highest playoff goal differential at +10, underscoring the dominance they displayed throughout much of the postseason. Their balanced attack and disciplined defensive play helped them reach the President's Cup Finals, where they ultimately fell to Evansville in a tightly contested championship series. Evansville Thunderbolts, the eventual President's Cup champions, finished close behind with a +9 goal differential, demonstrating remarkable consistency on both ends of the ice as they successfully defended their league title. Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs also posted an impressive +5 differential, reflecting a strong postseason performance despite falling short of the Finals.
Several teams finished with modest negative goal differentials, illustrating how competitive many of the playoff series were. Pensacola and Knoxville each concluded the postseason at –2, while Huntsville finished at –3 and Macon at –5. Birmingham recorded the lowest differential at –12, reflecting the challenges the Bulls faced during their brief playoff appearance.
Although goal differential provides an excellent measure of overall team performance, it does not always determine the eventual champion. Peoria's league-leading differential demonstrates the strength of its playoff performance, but Evansville's ability to win close games and deliver in the most important moments ultimately secured the President's Cup. The comparison highlights one of the defining characteristics of playoff hockey: sustained success requires not only outscoring opponents over the course of a postseason, but also finding ways to win critical games when the stakes are highest.
Offense vs. Defense
The Offense vs. Defense chart compares each playoff team's offensive production (goals scored per game) with its defensive performance (goals allowed per game) during the 2025–26 President's Cup Playoffs. Teams positioned farther to the right generated more offense, while teams appearing higher on the chart allowed fewer goals per game because of the inverted defensive axis. Clubs located in the upper-right quadrant combined strong offensive output with stingy defensive play, a combination that typically characterizes the league's most successful postseason teams.
The two finalists, Peoria Rivermen and Evansville Thunderbolts, occupied ideal positions near the upper-right portion of the chart, reflecting the balanced play that carried both teams to the President's Cup Finals. Peoria paired one of the league's most productive offenses with the fewest goals allowed per game during the postseason, while Evansville combined nearly identical offensive production with outstanding defensive consistency on its way to successfully defending the President's Cup. Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs also stood out by leading the remaining playoff teams in offensive production while maintaining one of the better defensive records, illustrating the balanced performance that propelled them to the semifinals.
Several clubs clustered around the middle of the chart. Knoxville Ice Bears and Pensacola Ice Flyers produced similar offensive numbers while allowing approximately three goals per game, making them competitive throughout their playoff appearances. Huntsville Havoc generated offense comparable to the league's top teams but surrendered significantly more goals, demonstrating how defensive performance can limit postseason success even when offensive production remains strong.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Macon Mayhem and Birmingham Bulls finished toward the lower-left portion of the chart, reflecting challenges on both sides of the puck during their playoff runs. Birmingham, in particular, combined the lowest offensive output with the highest goals-against average among the playoff teams, making sustained postseason success difficult.
Overall, the chart illustrates a familiar playoff trend: the teams that advance deepest typically excel in both offensive efficiency and defensive reliability. Evansville's championship run and Peoria's appearance in the President's Cup Finals reinforce the importance of maintaining balance across all areas of the game, while Roanoke's strong showing further demonstrates how success is built on limiting opponents' scoring opportunities without sacrificing offensive production.
Leading Playoff Scorers
The Leading Playoff Scorers chart highlights the players who recorded the most points during the 2025–26 President's Cup Playoffs. Ranked by total postseason points, the leaderboard showcases the skaters who made the greatest offensive impact while helping their teams advance through the playoffs. Because deeper playoff runs provide additional opportunities to accumulate points, the chart reflects both individual production and team success.
Leading all scorers was Mike Gelatt of the Peoria Rivermen, who finished the postseason with 12 points while helping guide the regular-season champions to the President's Cup Finals. Three players tied for second with 10 points: Jimmy Soper of the Knoxville Ice Bears, Gustav Muller of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, and Aaron Huffnagle of the Evansville Thunderbolts. Their consistent offensive production played a central role in their respective teams' postseason success, particularly Evansville and Roanoke as they advanced to the final four.
The eventual champion Evansville Thunderbolts demonstrated exceptional offensive depth, placing six players among the league's top ten playoff scorers. Scott Kirton, Matthew Hobbs, and Evan Miller each contributed nine points, while Myles Abbate and Isaac Chapman added eight points apiece. Rather than relying on a single offensive star, Evansville received balanced scoring throughout its lineup, making the Thunderbolts difficult to defend over the course of three playoff rounds. Hobbs' postseason production was particularly significant, complementing his outstanding all-around play that earned him President's Cup Playoff MVP honors.
The Rivermen also received strong offensive support beyond Gelatt, as Garrett Devine finished with eight playoff points during Peoria's run to the championship series. Roanoke's Gustav Muller and Knoxville's Jimmy Soper likewise demonstrated how elite individual performances can drive postseason success, even when teams fall short of the league championship.
Overall, the scoring leaderboard illustrates one of the defining characteristics of successful playoff teams: while elite point producers often headline the postseason, championships are frequently won through offensive depth. Evansville's ability to spread scoring throughout its lineup complemented its strong defensive play and reliable goaltending, providing the balanced attack that ultimately propelled the Thunderbolts to their second consecutive President's Cup championship.
Leading Playoff Goaltenders
The Leading Playoff Goaltenders chart recognizes the netminders who made the greatest impact during the 2025–26 President's Cup Playoffs by emphasizing playoff wins while also presenting games played, minutes played, save percentage, goals-against average (GAA), and shutouts. By combining workload with traditional goaltending statistics, the chart highlights those who consistently performed at a high level while carrying their teams through multiple playoff rounds.
Leading the way was Kristian Stead of the Evansville Thunderbolts, who recorded eight playoff victories while appearing in all 12 postseason games during Evansville's championship run. Stead complemented his heavy workload with a .933 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average, providing the dependable goaltending that helped the Thunderbolts successfully defend their President's Cup title. His ability to deliver consistently throughout three playoff rounds made him one of the defining players of the postseason.
Close behind was Nick Latinovich of the Peoria Rivermen, who guided the regular-season champions to the President's Cup Finals with seven playoff victories. Latinovich posted an outstanding .938 save percentage, the highest among the primary starting goaltenders, along with an exceptional 1.55 goals-against average and three shutouts. His remarkable statistical performance was a major reason Peoria reached the championship series and finished with the league's best overall playoff goal differential.
Among the remaining playoff teams, Stephen Mundinger of the Knoxville Ice Bears earned four victories while recording a strong .928 save percentage, and Austyn Roudebush of the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs helped lead his club to the semifinals with two wins, a 2.13 goals-against average, and a shutout. Goaltenders from Pensacola, Macon, Huntsville, and Birmingham also appear on the leaderboard, though their shorter playoff runs naturally limited their opportunities to accumulate victories and postseason workload.
Overall, the chart reinforces one of hockey's most consistent postseason themes: championship teams are built on reliable goaltending. While Peoria received exceptional statistical play from Latinovich, Evansville combined outstanding performances from Kristian Stead with balanced scoring and disciplined team defense to capture its second consecutive President's Cup. Together, the data demonstrate that sustained success in the playoffs depends not only on elite efficiency between the pipes, but also on maintaining that level of performance over an extended championship run.