This weekend, the Huntsville Havocs will face off against the Knoxville Ice Bears in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum for their fifth and sixth matches of the season. The Knoxville Ice Bears are a consistently formidable team in the Southern Professional Hockey League, having made the playoffs every season the team has been in existence. Mix in the fact that the Ice Bear’s Justin MacDonald is currently the SPHL’s highest-scoring player by several goals, and it becomes clear that the Ice Bears are not a team lightly.
Photo Cred: Knoxvilleicebears.com
The Havoc is not a team intimidated by the Ice Bear’s record. In this season alone, the Havoc has faced off against the Ice Bears four times. come out the victor thrice. Furthermore, the Havoc have consistently proven themselves to be a match for the Ice Bears, beating the Bears 22 out of 33 times in the last five seasons.
Photo Cred: HuntsvilleHavoc.com
This season, the Havoc has also proven to have more consistent players than the Ice Bears. With the top-scoring Havoc players being relatively close in points scored. The Ice Bears may have Justin MacDonald, but no other player on the team has come close to his level. Both teams have been strongly performing this season. They’re relatively equal in wins throughout the season, with the Havoc having won 20 games and the Ice Bears 18. Both teams also perform worse in the environment they will be played in for these next two games.
Photo Cred: Huntsville Havoc
The Huntsville Havoc have shown that they are weaker in away games, with twelve wins at home and eight away. The Ice Bears struggle to defend their home territory and prefer to invade the ice of others. With each team seeming to have an advantage against the other for each disadvantage, the weekend’s games are anybody’s game.
