2015–16 NAHL season
| 2015–16 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 11, 2015 – April 10, 2016 Post-season April 14 – May 15, 2016 |
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 22 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Fairbanks Ice Dogs |
| Top scorer | Todd Burgess (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Fairbanks Ice Dogs |
| Runners-up | Wichita Falls Wildcats |
The 2015–16 NAHL season was the 32nd season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2015 to April 2016 with a 60-game schedule for each team. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs won the regular season championship and went on to defeat the Wichita Falls Wildcats 2–0 in the championship game to captured the Robertson Cup.
Member changes
- After the NAHL assumed control of the Keystone Ice Miners in the middle of the previous season,[1] the franchise was suspended at the conclusion of the year.
- In early March, the Michigan Warriors announced that they would be relocating after their lease with the Perani Arena and Event Center would not be renewed for this season.[2] After failing to find a new home venue, the team suspended operations.
- In May, The NAHL approved the addition of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights to the league.[3] At the time, the team was an active member of the Eastern Hockey League, however, as part of the agreement, they purchased the franchise rights to the dormant Dawson Creek Rage. Rather than operate teams in both leagues, the Knights moved their Tier III club to the North American 3 Hockey League.[4] Despite the move, the Tier III club suspended play for two years before reappearing in the EHL in 2017.
- After the 2014–15 season, the Soo Eagles announced that they would be leaving the NAHL due to the loss of all other regional teams over the past few years (including the Michigan Warriors). The Eagles sold their franchise rights to the New Jersey Junior Titans youth organization which was moved to Middletown, New Jersey.[5]
- Lewiston, Maine had been approved for an expansion team for this season, however, the prospective owner withdrew his bid due to a lack of preparation time with the intention of reapplying later.[6]
- In early June, the Wenatchee Wild announced that they would be leaving the NAHL for the British Columbia Hockey League.[7] The club cited a reduction in travel expenses as their primary concern.
- On the same day, news broke that the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees would soon be moving to Aston, Pennsylvania.[8] In response the Bees' home city announced that unless the team's president could not keep the club in Hidalgo, Texas, the franchise would cease operations for the next season. Ultimately, however, the NAHL approved the relocation and the franchise became the Aston Rebels.[9]
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[10]
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 | 60 | 37 | 19 | 4 | 78 | 185 | 153 |
| x – Minot Minotauros | 60 | 35 | 19 | 6 | 76 | 185 | 158 |
| x – Austin Bruins | 60 | 29 | 27 | 4 | 62 | 181 | 168 |
| x – Brookings Blizzard | 60 | 25 | 29 | 6 | 56 | 149 | 200 |
| Minnesota Magicians | 60 | 24 | 28 | 8 | 56 | 164 | 198 |
| Aberdeen Wings | 60 | 22 | 27 | 11 | 55 | 131 | 171 |
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Aston Rebels | 60 | 35 | 21 | 4 | 74 | 196 | 146 |
| x – New Jersey Titans | 60 | 34 | 22 | 4 | 72 | 187 | 156 |
| x – Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 31 | 24 | 5 | 67 | 197 | 200 |
| x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | 60 | 22 | 28 | 10 | 54 | 159 | 232 |
Midwest Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 60 | 49 | 8 | 3 | 101 | 251 | 116 |
| x – Janesville Jets | 60 | 35 | 18 | 7 | 77 | 181 | 150 |
| x – Minnesota Wilderness | 60 | 34 | 18 | 8 | 76 | 183 | 161 |
| x – Coulee Region Chill | 60 | 33 | 26 | 1 | 67 | 177 | 165 |
| Springfield Jr. Blues | 60 | 29 | 25 | 6 | 64 | 155 | 164 |
| Kenai River Brown Bears | 60 | 4 | 51 | 5 | 13 | 109 | 292 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Wichita Falls Wildcats | 60 | 44 | 11 | 5 | 93 | 224 | 141 |
| x – Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 39 | 12 | 9 | 87 | 186 | 136 |
| x – Topeka RoadRunners | 60 | 34 | 24 | 2 | 70 | 190 | 154 |
| x – Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 27 | 29 | 4 | 58 | 185 | 218 |
| Corpus Christi IceRays | 60 | 25 | 29 | 6 | 56 | 139 | 170 |
| Amarillo Bulls | 60 | 13 | 43 | 4 | 30 | 133 | 218 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [11]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Burgess | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 60 | 38 | 57 | 95 | 52 |
| Ryner Gorowsky | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 59 | 28 | 55 | 83 | 84 |
| Hampus Sjodahl | Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 35 | 34 | 69 | 34 |
| Logan Coomes | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 56 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 71 |
| Derek Brown | Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 14 | 50 | 64 | 28 |
| Tyler Tomberlin | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 59 | 17 | 46 | 63 | 20 |
| Austin Albrecht | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 58 | 26 | 34 | 60 | 94 |
| Gilbert Gabor | Austin Bruins | 55 | 21 | 37 | 58 | 149 |
| Andrew Romano | Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 17 | 39 | 56 | 14 |
| Luke Lynch | Johnstown Tomahawks | 57 | 29 | 27 | 56 | 116 |
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 | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavin Nieto | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 39 | 2350:36 | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 864 | .923 | 1.71 |
| Hunter Shepard | Bismarck Bobcats | 50 | 2932:11 | 34 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 93 | 1,239 | .925 | 1.90 |
| Corbin Kaczperski | Lone Star Brahmas | 39 | 2210:02 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 73 | 728 | .900 | 1.98 |
| Justin Kapelmaster | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 46 | 2618:30 | 33 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 1,106 | .919 | 2.06 |
| C. J. Boothe | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 18 | 1084:47 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 432 | .910 | 2.16 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
Teams are reseeded prior to the semifinal round based upon regular season records.
| Division Semifinals (Best-of-5) | Division Finals (Best-of-5) | Semifinal (Best-of-3) | Championship (Best-of-1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Bismarck Bobcats | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Brookings Blizzard | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C1 | Bismarck Bobcats | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Austin Bruins | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Minot Minotauros | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Austin Bruins | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2 | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Aston Rebels | 1 | 0 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Aston Rebels | 3 | 3 | 6 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Aston Rebels | 5 | 4* | 9 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | New Jersey Titans | 3 | 0 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 5 | 2 | 2* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 1 | 6 | 3 | 4 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW4 | Coulee Region Chill | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2* | 3* | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Midwest Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Minnesota Wilderness | 1 | 2 | 2** | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Janesville Jets | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Minnesota Wilderness | 2 | 2 | 2** | 3* | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 3 | 5 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Bismarck Bobcats | 2 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 6 | 5 | 6 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Odessa Jackalopes | 3 | 0 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 3 | 5 | 2** | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Topeka RoadRunners | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Lone Star Brahmas | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Topeka RoadRunners | 1 | 2* | 5 | 5* | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
- ^ "Keystone ownership voluntarily resigns membership". North American Hockey League (NAHL).
- ^ "NAHL Michigan Warriors Relocating". The Junior Hockey News. March 6, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ "Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights join NAHL in 2015-16 season". NAHL. May 1, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
- ^ "NA3HL announces new markets for the 2019-20 season". NA3HL. April 17, 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ "NA3HL announces new team in Middletown, New Jersey". NA3HL. April 19, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ "Lewiston Maine Withdraws NAHL Application". NAHL. April 1, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
- ^ "Wenatchee Wild Join the BCHL for the 2015-16 Season". www.bchl.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
- ^ "THE DEATH POOL – GOODBYE RIO GRANDE HELLO ASTON PENNSYLVANIA". The Junior Hockey News. June 1, 2015.
- ^ "NAHL announces relocation of Rio Grande Valley to Aston, PA". NAHL. June 9, 2015.
- ^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.