PEORIA, IL. (WAFF) – The Huntsville Havoc’s amazing 2023-2024 season has come to a disappointing end. The red & black weren’t able to hold off the offensive firepower of the Peoria Rivermen and fall in Game 3 of the SPHL Finals by a 5-1 score.
Peoria captain Alec Hagaman got the scoring started early, putting the puck past Havoc goaltender Mike Robinson just over one minute into the first period. The Havoc responded quickly with an Alex Kielczewski goal two and a half minutes later, tying thing up at one.
The Rivermen added goals from Mitchell McPherson and Miers Moore before the first period was out, putting them up 3-1.
Neither team broke onto the score sheet, and the Havoc began the final 20 minutes of play with a two goal deficit.
The Rivermen kept the pace moving quickly in the third period, not allowing Huntsville many shots on net. With two minutes left in the game, the Havoc pulled Robinson out of the net to get an extra attacker on the ice, trying to spark some offense. But, Peoria’s Hagaman was able to get the puck into the empty net. Meirs Moore added a second empty netter with 15 seconds left in the game, sealing the President’s Cup for Peoria at 5-1.
Despite coming up short, 2023-2024 was a remarkable year for the Havoc and first year head coach Stuart Stefan. The team sold out 20 of it’s 28 home games in the regular season, shattered it’s own league attendance record and got hot at the right time, propelling them from 5th in the regular season standings all the way to Game 3 of the finals.
