2016–17 NAHL season
| 2016–17 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 9, 2016 – April 10, 2017 Post-season April 14 – May 14, 2017 |
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Aston Rebels |
| Top scorer | Chase Thudium (Odessa Jackalopes) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Lone Star Brahmas |
| Runners-up | Aston Rebels |
The 2016–17 NAHL season was the 33rd season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2016 to April 2017 with a 60-game schedule for each team. The Aston Rebels won the regular season championship and advanced to the Championship game where they were defeated by the Lone Star Brahmas who captured the Robertson Cup.
Member changes
- On October 22, 2015, the NAHL approved the addition of the Shreveport Mudbugs as an expansion franchise. As the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum was undergoing renovations at the time to include an ice surface once more, the team would be ready to play for this season.[1]
- At the beginning of April, the Northeast Generals of the North American 3 Eastern Hockey League were permitted to found a separate Tier II team that would begin play in the NAHL this season.[2]
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[3]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
Central Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Minot Minotauros | 60 | 38 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 80 | 192 | 156 |
| x – Minnesota Wilderness | 60 | 32 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 70 | 188 | 179 |
| x – Brookings Blizzard | 60 | 30 | 25 | 4 | 1 | 65 | 192 | 193 |
| x – Aberdeen Wings | 60 | 29 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 65 | 184 | 185 |
| Bismarck Bobcats | 60 | 28 | 30 | 1 | 1 | 58 | 187 | 209 |
| Austin Bruins | 60 | 24 | 27 | 4 | 5 | 57 | 185 | 202 |
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Aston Rebels | 60 | 46 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 95 | 214 | 106 |
| x – Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 40 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 84 | 209 | 148 |
| x – New Jersey Titans | 60 | 34 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 72 | 228 | 198 |
| x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | 60 | 30 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 65 | 201 | 193 |
| Northeast Generals | 60 | 4 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 116 | 305 |
Midwest Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Janesville Jets | 60 | 42 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 89 | 224 | 153 |
| x – Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 60 | 33 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 69 | 185 | 165 |
| x – Minnesota Magicians | 60 | 31 | 22 | 4 | 3 | 69 | 180 | 169 |
| x – Coulee Region Chill | 60 | 31 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 64 | 220 | 220 |
| Springfield Jr. Blues | 60 | 27 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 59 | 174 | 189 |
| Kenai River Brown Bears | 60 | 12 | 46 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 121 | 233 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Lone Star Brahmas | 60 | 44 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 190 | 135 |
| x – Shreveport Mudbugs | 60 | 35 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 76 | 189 | 151 |
| x – Corpus Christi IceRays | 60 | 32 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 73 | 183 | 155 |
| x – Wichita Falls Wildcats | 60 | 29 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 65 | 187 | 203 |
| Odessa Jackalopes | 60 | 26 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 61 | 183 | 200 |
| Amarillo Bulls | 60 | 22 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 54 | 173 | 206 |
| Topeka RoadRunners | 60 | 21 | 34 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 176 | 228 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [4]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Thudium | Odessa Jackalopes | 59 | 27 | 43 | 70 | 111 |
| George Mika | Amarillo Bulls | 60 | 30 | 39 | 69 | 34 |
| Caleb Schroer | Coulee Region Chill | 59 | 26 | 41 | 67 | 66 |
| Nick Bruce | Johnstown Tomahawks | 60 | 27 | 40 | 67 | 126 |
| Dalton Hunter | Johnstown Tomahawks | 58 | 30 | 31 | 61 | 63 |
| Paul Cotter | Brookings Blizzard | 59 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 103 |
| Justin Misiak | Austin Bruins | 60 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 50 |
| Kevin Dineen | Coulee Region Chill | 58 | 20 | 39 | 59 | 36 |
| Kevin Fitzgerald | Aberdeen Wings | 60 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 62 |
| Mitchel Slattery | Minnesota Magicians | 54 | 20 | 39 | 59 | 106 |
| Matthew Barry | Bismarck Bobcats | 59 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 26 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mareks Mitens | Aston Rebels | 41 | 2332:59 | 31 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 839 | .925 | 1.62 |
| Jack Leavy | Aston Rebels | 20 | 1122:40 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 425 | .920 | 1.82 |
| Erik Gordon | Lone Star Brahmas | 32 | 1752:39 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 753 | .927 | 1.88 |
| Jacob Barczewski | Janesville Jets | 35 | 1986:46 | 27 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 64 | 906 | .929 | 1.93 |
| Alec Calvaruso | Lone Star Brahmas | 36 | 1830:42 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 660 | .902 | 2.13 |
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 | Minot Minotauros | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Aberdeen Wings | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3** | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C4 | Aberdeen Wings | 4** | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Minnesota Wilderness | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C2 | Minnesota Wilderness | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C3 | Brookings Blizzard | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4* | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Aston Rebels | 4 | 2 | 2* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Aberdeen Wings | 2 | 3* | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Aston Rebels | 3 | 2 | 7 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Aston Rebels | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | New Jersey Titans | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3* | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Johnstown Tomahawks | 1 | 0 | 2 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| E3 | New Jersey Titans | 3 | 1 | 3* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Aston Rebels | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Lone Star Brahmas | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Janesville Jets | 3 | 3** | 4* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW4 | Coulee Region Chill | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW1 | Janesville Jets | 4 | 5 | 1 | 5 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Midwest Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 1 | 0 | 3* | 2 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW2 | Fairbanks Ice Dogs | 2 | 4 | 7 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| MW3 | Minnesota Magicians | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Lone Star Brahmas | 3* | 3 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Janesville Jets | 2 | 1 | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Lone Star Brahmas | 3 | 7 | 4* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Wichita Falls Wildcats | 0 | 3 | 3 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Lone Star Brahmas | 4* | 0 | 1 | 3* | 1* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Corpus Christi IceRays | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Shreveport Mudbugs | 0 | 3 | 1 | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | Corpus Christi IceRays | 2 | 5 | 2* | - | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
- ^ "Ice, ice, baby! Mudbugs hockey returns to Shreveport". Shreveport Times. October 22, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
- ^ "Northeast Generals accepted into the NAHL for the 2016-17 season". NAHL. April 1, 2016.
- ^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.