If you are not aware, Fayetteville has a professional hockey team in the Southern Professional Hockey League. Since it is hockey, and hockey here in North Carolina, we are going to give a run at the Marksmen and throw a little Cardiac Canes love their way.
Here is an overview of the big names to set your sites on if you decide to aim your gaze at the Fayetteville Marksmen.
First off, with a record of 17-18-5 the Fayetteville Marksmen are sitting 8th (of 10) in the SPHL with 39 points. The Peoria Rivermen are leading the league with 56 points. That 17 points are mathematically insurmountable with the remaining games BUT it is very likely the Marksmen will make the play-offs if their season continues as it has.
With 16 games left, there is a chance to gain some ground for a much higher seed in the 8 team SPHL tournament.
As offensive stats go, Fayetteville has Brian Bowers cracks the top 10 at 10th in the league in scoring at 17 goals for the season. For perspective, Knoxville Ice Bear Justin MacDonald has 28 which is the most in the league. With 43 total points, Bowers ranks 7th and is joined by Austin Alger in the top 20 with 33.
Bowers is also 9th in the league in assists with 26 and leads the league in shots on goal with 206. Also leading the league with 3 is Nick Mangone in the Short Handed Goals category. Rounding out the offensive numbers for the Marksmen is Charlotte, NC native Bryan Moore with 99 PIM which put him 6th in the SPHL. The league leader is former Marksman Sacha Roy now of the Macon Mayhem with 167. (I bet he has his own seat cushion for the box. If he doesn’t he should)
Fayetteville’s bright spot, according to the stat sheet, on defense is Andrew Lane. He is 6th (5) in goals, 4th (20) in assists, and 4th (25) in total points. Lane is also 16th in the league with 1 GWG. With 82 Shots On Goal, Lane leads the team with attempts which is an interesting wrinkle. Lane’s point total at 25 puts him 5th on the team
Marksmen Goalie Jason Pawloski looks to be a technically solid netminder. He ranks 4th in save percentage at .913, but 8th in GAA with 3.04 and has let in 66 which ranks him 2nd in the league for the most let by. His record is a little worse for the wear, but other SPHL tenders have posted worse records.
For those of you, like me, uninitiated in the ways of the SPHL, it has some really fun rule quarks making it a little more “wild west”. For example, there are no stick curvature limitations, so players are free to experiment with odd configurations.
Also pretty fun is the fact that teams often play each other in series, which in hockey means there is plenty of chances for some chirp and chip. Remember Sacha Roy and his 167 minutes of penalty time.
So if you find yourself in need of more hockey take a look at the Fayetteville Marksmen.
You can catch a game if you are close OR take a listen at their YouTube channel to catch up on the games you’ve missed.
We here at Cardiac Cane will be keeping an eye on them, as well as branching our our coverage to include the Carolina Thunderbirds (Winston Salem), so be looking!