2008–09 NAHL season
| 2008–09 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 17, 2008 – March 29, 2009 Post-season April 3 – May 3, 2009 |
| Number of games | 58 |
| Number of teams | 19 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | St. Louis Bandits |
| Season MVP | Keith Kinkaid (St. Louis Bandits) |
| Top scorer | Austin Block (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | St. Louis Bandits |
| Runners-up | Wenatchee Wild |
The 2008–09 NAHL season was the 25th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2008 to March 2009 with a 58-game schedule for each team. The St. Louis Bandits won the regular season championship and went on to defeated the Wenatchee Wild 3 to 2 in overtime to capture the Robertson Cup.
Member changes
- In February, 2008 the NAHL approved Wenatchee, Washington for an expansion franchise.[1] By May, the team's name was revealed as the Wenatchee Wild.
- On March 24, 2008 the NAHL approved the relocation of the Southern Minnesota Express to Detroit.[2] The team would rebrand as the Motor City Machine. Less than two months later, the league approved of an expansion team in the Machine's former home of Owatonna, Minnesota.[3] The new team would be called the Owatonna Express.
- Due to renovations at their home arena, the Texas Tornado sat out this previous season.[4]
- After the USHL announced the addition of a new franchise in Fargo, North Dakota, the NAHL attempted to find a new home for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets. When nothing materialized, the franchise suspended operating on May 19, 2008.[5]
- In June, the NAHL approved the addition of the Albert Lea Thunder as an expansion team.[6]
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[7]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
Central Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Bismarck Bobcats | 58 | 43 | 13 | 2 | 88 | 202 | 121 |
| x – North Iowa Outlaws | 58 | 35 | 18 | 5 | 75 | 229 | 171 |
| x – Owatonna Express | 58 | 29 | 24 | 5 | 63 | 214 | 189 |
| x – Alexandria Blizzard | 58 | 26 | 26 | 6 | 58 | 180 | 201 |
| Albert Lea Thunder | 58 | 4 | 49 | 5 | 13 | 112 | 309 |
North Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – USNTDP | 58 | 37 | 16 | 5 | 79 | 230 | 154 |
| x – Mahoning Valley Phantoms | 58 | 36 | 17 | 5 | 77 | 224 | 173 |
| x – Traverse City North Stars | 58 | 34 | 17 | 7 | 75 | 182 | 171 |
| x – Alpena IceDiggers | 58 | 27 | 25 | 6 | 60 | 157 | 184 |
| Marquette Rangers | 58 | 26 | 24 | 8 | 60 | 165 | 170 |
| Motor City Machine | 58 | 11 | 45 | 2 | 24 | 134 | 254 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – St. Louis Bandits | 58 | 42 | 9 | 7 | 91 | 213 | 119 |
| x – Topeka RoadRunners | 58 | 42 | 11 | 5 | 89 | 204 | 138 |
| x – Wichita Falls Wildcats | 58 | 24 | 25 | 9 | 57 | 163 | 203 |
| x – Springfield Jr. Blues | 58 | 25 | 28 | 5 | 55 | 183 | 185 |
West Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 58 | 39 | 12 | 8 | 86 | 226 | 152 |
| x – Wenatchee Wild | 58 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 74 | 197 | 182 |
| x – Alaska Avalanche | 58 | 23 | 30 | 5 | 51 | 172 | 224 |
| x – Kenai River Brown Bears | 58 | 14 | 37 | 8 | 36 | 167 | 254 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [8]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Block | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 57 | 29 | 44 | 73 | 96 |
| Jon Gaffney | Springfield Jr. Blues | 56 | 33 | 34 | 67 | 147 |
| Jordan George | Topeka RoadRunners | 58 | 27 | 40 | 67 | 173 |
| Jack Paul | North Iowa Outlaws | 56 | 26 | 39 | 65 | 10 |
| Brandon Brodhag | North Iowa Outlaws | 56 | 33 | 32 | 65 | 46 |
| Chad Pietila | Marquette Rangers | 57 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 81 |
| Andrew Hamburg | St. Louis Bandits | 50 | 12 | 48 | 60 | 61 |
| Michael Juola | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 51 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 75 |
| Jerry Freismuth | Alexandria Blizzard | 56 | 15 | 42 | 57 | 87 |
| Alex Carlson | North Iowa Outlaws | 52 | 24 | 33 | 57 | 71 |
| Kyle Bonis | Traverse City North Stars | 57 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 60 |
Leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SOL = Shootout losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SOL | GA | SO | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Kinkaid | St. Louis Bandits | 40 | 2392:52 | 30 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 71 | 7 | 1,085 | .935 | 1.78 |
| David Bosner | Bismarck Bobcats | 33 | 1970:48 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 6 | 857 | .930 | 1.83 |
| Bryce Merriam | Topeka RoadRunners | 32 | 1799:08 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 60 | 3 | 663 | .910 | 2.00 |
| Joseph Phillippi | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 25 | 1227:56 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 41 | 3 | 592 | .931 | 2.00 |
| Matt Grogan | Bismarck Bobcats | 27 | 1549:27 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 3 | 739 | .924 | 2.17 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
Five teams qualified for the Round Robin semifinal, the host (North Iowa) and the four division champions. If North Iowa won the Central division final, the runner-up would receive the final qualifying spot. For the round robin semifinal, ties were broken first by head-to-head matchup and then by goal differential.
| Division Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Division Finals (Best-of-5) | Semifinal (Round Robin) | Championship (Best-of-1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Bismarck Bobcats | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Alexandria Blizzard | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Bismarck Bobcats | 4 | 1 | 3* | 1 | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Owatonna Express | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | North Iowa Outlaws | 6 | 1 | 2* | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Owatonna Express | 7** | 4 | 1 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | USNTDP | 5 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Alpena IceDiggers | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | USNTDP | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Mahoning Valley Phantoms | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Mahoning Valley Phantoms | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | C1 | Bismarck Bobcats | - | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3** | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Traverse City North Stars | 4 | 4* | 0 | 4 | 1 | N2 | Mahoning Valley Phantoms | 4 | - | 2 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | St. Louis Bandits | 3* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | St. Louis Bandits | 5 | 5 | - | 6 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Wenatchee Wild | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | St. Louis Bandits | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | - | W2 | Wenatchee Wild | 3 | 5* | 0 | - | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | C2 | North Iowa Outlaws | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | St. Louis Bandits | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Topeka RoadRunners | 1 | 1 | 1** | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Topeka RoadRunners | 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 2 | 3 | 2* | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 4 | 7 | 5 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Kenai River Brown Bears | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Wenatchee Wild | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3* | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Wenatchee Wild | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Alaska Avalanche | 4* | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
- ^ "New Wenatchee team ready to run Wild". NAHL. May 20, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "NAHL approves relocation of membership". NA3HL. March 24, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "Owatonna membership approved for 2008-09". NAHL. May 15, 2008. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "Dr Pepper Arena reopens in June". Dallas Business Journal. April 30, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
- ^ "Fargo-Moorhead ceases operations | North American Hockey League | NAHL". North American Hockey League. 2008-05-19. Archived from the original on 2024-01-07. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
- ^ "Albert Lea Thunder Hockey Registration & Management Software By GOALLINE.ca". Archived from the original on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-06-29.
- ^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.