The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) is expanding from 10 to 12 teams. Then, in 2027, the league will add a thirteenth team.
The Pee Dee IceCats, based in Florence, South Carolina, will join the SPHL this season. The IceCats were founded in 2023 as the Elmira River Sharks. After several name changes, they entered their first season of SPHL play in 2026. The Athens Rock Lobsters (Athens, Georgia) will join, too. The Rock Lobsters played their inaugural season (2024-25) in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and will now shift to the SPHL.
Then, in 2027, the Mobile Mysticks (Mobile, Alabama), will be join the southern circuit. It’s the first professional hockey to grace the city in nearly a quarter-century, when the original Mysticks last took the ice in 2002.
Why did I believe expansion is good for the league and its fans?
First, the playoffs will be more meaningful. The SPHL had been run an eight-team playoff format, and expansion meeans there will be tougher competition to get one of those eight spots. Every game has meaning–every goal, win, loss, and point in the standings. It means more because there are still only eight playoff spots.
Second, there will be new rivalries.
ATHENS ROCK LOBSTERS VS MACON MAYHEM: Until now, the Mayhem has been the only Georgia-based team in the SPHL. The Lobsters makes it two. Less than two hours away from eatch other, the proximity will add to the excitement.
Courtesy Ice Flyers
PEE DEE ICECATS VS PENSACOLA ICE FLYERS: To me, this is “The Gary Graham Rivalry.” Gary Graham is the IceCats head coach and former head coach of the Ice Flyers. His first stint in the 2012-2013 season resulted in the Ice Flyers’ first-ever President’s Cup championship. After many years away from Pensacola, he was brought back in 2023 when legendary Ice Flyers coach Rod Aldoff retired. Now, he is the head coach of the PeeDee IceCats, and that will add spice to what I believe will be an emerging rivalry.
ALABAMA HATE TRIANGLE: The SPHL currently has two teams in Alabama, the Huntsville Havoc and the Birmingham Bulls, and (let me tell you) they don’t like each other. Added to that, a third team–the Mobile Mysticks–will take the ice. The league’s expansion should make things exciting for Alabama’s pro hockey fans!
MOBILE MYSTICKS VS PENSACOLA ICE FLYERS: It’s “Back to the Future” for this rivalry. When the original Mysticks played in the ECHL, Pensacola also had an ECHL team, the Pensacola Ice Pilots, and with the two locations so close (60 miles apart), the teams played in “The Battle of the Bay.” Then, both cities lost their hockey franchizes … until now. As local resident and former Ice Flyers employee, I can’t wait until 2027! I’m not alone, either. Hockey fans are chomping at the bit for “The Battle of the Bay” to resume!
