2017–18 NAHL season

2017–18 NAHL season
LeagueNorth American Hockey League
SportIce hockey
DurationRegular season
September 13, 2017 – April 9, 2018
Post-season
April 13 – May 14, 2018
Number of games60
Number of teams23
Regular season
Season championsFairbanks Ice Dogs
Top scorerJakov Novak
(Janesville Jets)
Robertson Cup Playoffs
Finals championsShreveport Mudbugs
  Runners-upMinot Minotauros

The 2017–18 NAHL season was the 34th season of the North American Hockey League. The regular season ran from September 2017 to April 2018 with a 60-game schedule for each team. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs won the regular season championship. The Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the Minot Minotauros 2–1 in the Championship game to capture the Robertson Cup.

Member changes

  • In May 2017, the Wichita Falls Wildcats applied for inactive status after their owner had failed to find anyone willing to purchase the franchise.[1] Following this season, the team was formally dissolved.

Brown Bears saved

Due to a persistent economic in Alaska, the Kenai River Brown Bears announced that they would either be folding or relocating in 2017. After the team filed for dormancy after the '17 season, a Fundraising effort was held that eventually raised $300,000 as well as secure 300 season ticket applications. By April 17, the team received approval from the NAHL to reactivate in time to participate this season.[3]

Regular season

The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[4]

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 – Aberdeen Wings 60 39 16 4 1 83 194 140
x – Austin Bruins 60 33 19 4 4 74 176 160
x – Minnesota Wilderness 60 33 21 3 3 72 184 181
x – Minot Minotauros 60 28 26 4 2 62 161 168
Bismarck Bobcats 60 24 30 4 2 54 165 184
Brookings Blizzard 60 23 30 2 5 53 169 211

East Division

Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA
xy – Philadelphia Rebels 60 41 15 3 1 86 206 134
x – New Jersey Titans 60 29 22 7 2 67 203 183
x – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 60 30 24 5 1 66 175 196
x – Northeast Generals 60 29 26 4 1 63 184 205
Johnstown Tomahawks 60 23 33 2 2 50 142 195

Midwest Division

Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA
xyz – Fairbanks Ice Dogs 60 45 8 4 3 97 223 125
x – Janesville Jets 60 38 13 6 3 85 181 140
x – Springfield Jr. Blues 60 33 21 5 1 72 169 166
x – Minnesota Magicians 60 28 24 5 3 64 164 183
Coulee Region Chill 60 17 34 4 5 43 162 214
Kenai River Brown Bears 60 18 38 1 3 40 153 238

South Division

Team GP W L OTL SOL Pts GF GA
xy – Shreveport Mudbugs 60 41 12 3 4 89 191 112
x – Lone Star Brahmas 60 38 12 6 4 86 164 111
x – Odessa Jackalopes 60 33 22 3 2 71 192 263
x – Corpus Christi IceRays 60 27 23 5 5 64 160 177
Amarillo Bulls 60 23 26 8 3 57 166 193
Topeka RoadRunners 60 17 39 2 2 38 128 233

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [5]

Player Team GP G A Pts PIM
Jakov Novak Janesville Jets 56 32 41 73 131
Travis Kothenbeutel Austin Bruins 56 24 43 67 26
Hunter Wendt Fairbanks Ice Dogs 60 17 44 61 44
Kip Hoffmann Janesville Jets 58 24 36 60 78
Josh Boyer Brookings Blizzard 58 27 31 58 50
Samuel Ruffin Fairbanks Ice Dogs 57 20 37 57 16
Nathan Burke Aberdeen Wings 60 32 24 56 18
Ricky Carballo Odessa Jackalopes 59 20 36 56 79
Erkka Vänskä Fairbanks Ice Dogs 60 19 36 55 18
Miroslav Mucha Minot Minotauros 59 30 25 55 28

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
James Durham Shreveport Mudbugs 19 1122:42 14 2 1 1 40 497 .942 1.55
Mitchell Gibson Lone Star Brahmas 43 2474:03 26 7 5 4 65 1,019 .936 1.58
Josh Benson Fairbanks Ice Dogs 37 2253:53 28 4 3 2 71 868 .918 1.89
Ryan Keane Philadelphia Rebels 33 1966:48 24 7 2 0 62 819 .924 1.89
Gustavs Dāvis Grigals Shreveport Mudbugs 26 1557:29 17 5 3 1 50 663 .925 1.93

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 Aberdeen Wings 6 0 4 1 0
C4 Minot Minotauros 0 2 1 3 3
C4 Minot Minotauros 4 3* 2** - -
Central Division
C2 Austin Bruins 1 2 1 - -
C2 Austin Bruins 2 3 2 5 -
C3 Minnesota Wilderness 1 1 3 3 -
1 Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5 0 4
4 Minot Minotauros 2 2 5*
E1 Philadelphia Rebels 5 5 0 1 4***
E4 Northeast Generals 0 1 3 3 3
E1 Philadelphia Rebels 1 4 1 - -
East Division
E3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 4 5 2 - -
E2 New Jersey Titans 0 4 5 1 2
E3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 1 3 2 5 5
4 Minot Minotauros 1
2 Shreveport Mudbugs 2
MW1 Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4 3 4 - -
MW4 Minnesota Magicians 3 2 2 - -
MW1 Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4 3 2 4 1
Midwest Division
MW2 Janesville Jets 6 2 3* 2 0
MW2 Janesville Jets 3 3 1 - -
MW3 Springfield Jr. Blues 0 2 0 - -
2 Shreveport Mudbugs 2 2 -
3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 0 1 -
S1 Shreveport Mudbugs 4 3 1 2 2
S4 Corpus Christi IceRays 2 2 5 3* 1
S1 Shreveport Mudbugs 1 2 1 1 3
South Division
S2 Lone Star Brahmas 0 1 2* 3 2
S2 Lone Star Brahmas 3 2 4 - -
S3 Odessa Jackalopes 1 1 1 - -

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

References

  1. ^ "NAHL announces divisional alignment, events for 2017-18 season". NAHL. May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "Rebels announce name change and relocation". NAHL. May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "Kenai River Brown Bears Reactivated By NAHL Vote For 2017-2018". Go Fund Me. April 19, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  4. ^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  5. ^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
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