2008–09 PIHA season

2009 PIHA season
League	Professional Inline Hockey Association
Sport	Inline hockey
Duration	December 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009
Regular season
Best Overall Record Trophy	Colorado Springs Thunder
Season MVP	none
Top scorer	Brian Yingling (Colorado Springs)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Connecticut Blaze
Eastern runners-up	Harrisburg Lunatics
Western champions	Colorado Springs Thunder
Western runners-up	St. Louis Cobras
Playoffs Playoffs MVP	CJ Yoder (Colorado Springs)
Finals
Champions	Colorado Springs Thunder
Runners-up	Connecticut Blaze

The 2009 PIHA season was the eighth season of the Professional Inline Hockey Association. It runs from November 1, 2008 through April 18, 2009 with the Founders Cup playoffs to follow, ending on May 31, 2009.

Regular season

The first goal of the season was scored by Ryan Carey of the expansion Suffolk Sting in Moriches, New York against the expansion New Jersey Assault.

Standings

GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime/Shootout Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points.

Eastern Conference

Mason Dixon Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
z–Harrisburg Lunatics	32	25	6	1	158	93	51
x–Marple Gladiators	32	14	13	5	114	111	33
x–Potomac Mavericks	32	14	16	2	120	151	30
x–Pennsylvania Typhoon	32	5	23	4	93	173	14
e–South Carolina Pirates	8	4	3	1	32	40	9

Northeast Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y–Suffolk Sting	32	21	10	1	143	89	43
x–New Jersey Grizzlies	32	19	11	2	105	94	40
x–Connecticut Blaze	32	19	11	2	115	121	40
e–New Jersey Assault	32	11	17	4	88	96	26

Western Conference

Gateway Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
y–St. Louis Cobras	32	19	11	2	135	110	40
x–Midwest Tornados	32	19	12	1	147	140	39
x–St. Peters Wheelers	32	17	13	2	114	118	36
x–Southside Snipers	32	9	19	4	114	142	22

Rocky Mountain Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
b–Colorado Springs Thunder	32	31	1	0	196	77	62
x–Denver Blizzard	32	17	14	1	134	132	35
x–Fort Collins Catz	32	16	15	1	116	120	33
x–Parker Prowlers	32	11	17	4	109	149	26
e–Lakewood Fire	32	5	26	1	112	189	11

Conference standings

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
z–Harrisburg Lunatics *	32	25	6	1	158	93	51
y–Suffolk Sting *	32	21	10	1	143	89	43
x–New Jersey Grizzlies	32	19	11	2	105	94	40
x–Connecticut Blaze	32	19	11	2	115	121	40
x–Marple Gladiators	32	14	13	5	114	111	33
x–Potomac Mavericks	32	14	16	2	120	151	30
x–Pennsylvania Typhoon	32	5	23	4	93	173	14
e–New Jersey Assault	32	11	17	4	88	96	26
e–South Carolina Pirates	8	4	3	1	32	40	9

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
b–Colorado Springs Thunder *	32	31	1	0	196	77	62
y–St. Louis Cobras *	32	19	11	2	135	110	40
x–Midwest Tornados	32	19	12	1	147	140	39
x–St. Peters Wheelers	32	17	13	2	114	118	36
x–Denver Blizzard	32	17	14	1	134	132	35
x–Fort Collins Catz	32	16	15	1	116	120	33
x–Parker Prowlers	32	11	17	4	109	149	26
x–Southside Snipers	32	9	19	4	114	142	22
e–Lakewood Fire	32	5	26	1	112	189	11

Tiebreaking procedures

In the event of a tie in points in the standings at the end of the season, ties are broken using the following tiebreaking procedures. The higher ranked team is the one with:

1. The greater number of games won.
2. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs.
3. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; Star = Star Points; PIM = Penalty Minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	Star	PIM
Brian Yingling	Colorado Springs Thunder	32	49	50	99	50	18
CJ Yoder	Colorado Springs Thunder	30	41	46	87	44	8
John Pinheiro	Connecticut Blaze	31	37	29	66	42	10
Scott Gartzke	Harrisburg Lunatics	32	28	38	66	35	16
Derek Thede	Fort Collins Catz	32	19	40	59	36	2
Kyle Gouge	Midwest Tornados	26	36	21	57	39	8
Jason Allen	Pennsylvania Typhoon	30	32	25	57	27	8
Jay Mazer	Harrisburg Lunatics	32	23	30	53	17	12
Mike Ciolli	Colorado Springs Thunder	22	18	34	52	16	14
John McGuinness	Suffolk Sting	22	29	22	51	33	6

Leading goaltenders

GP = Games Played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/Shootout Losses; GA = Goals Against; SO = Shutouts; Sv% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals Against Average

Player	Team	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Dan Lamb	Colorado Springs Thunder	18	423	18	0	28	4	.900	1.59
Jason Rohrbach	Harrisburg Lunatics	24	559	19	5	57	1	.869	2.45
Jason Yocum	Marple Gladiators	22	575	11	11	60	1	.858	2.50
Andrew Goworek	New Jersey Grizzlies	8	228	3	5	24	0	.795	2.53
James McNevin	Suffolk Sting	19	472	14	5	52	1	.845	2.64
Eric Jay	New Jersey Assault	16	424	6	10	49	1	.735	2.77
Dave Thomas	St. Louis Cobras	18	400	12	6	48	0	.830	2.88
Pete Pennecke	Suffolk Sting	13	320	7	6	39	1	.814	2.93
Nuno Costa	New Jersey Grizzlies	19	491	11	8	61	0	.825	2.98
Luke Brind'Amour	Connecticut Blaze	26	691	17	9	89	2	.811	3.09

Playoffs

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, 15 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Colorado Springs Thunder were the Western Conference regular season champions and were also the Best Overall Record Trophy winners with 62 points. The Harrisburg Lunatics earned the Eastern Conference regular season crown with 51 points.

Eastern Conference

Mason Dixon Division

1. Harrisburg Lunatics – Mason Dixon Division and Eastern Conference regular season champion; 51 points
2. Marple Gladiators – 33 points
3. Potomac Mavericks – 30 points
4. Pennsylvania Typhoon – 14 points

Northeast Division

1. Suffolk Sting – Northeast Division champion, 43 points
2. New Jersey Grizzlies – 40 points (11 points head-to-head)
3. Connecticut Blaze – 40 points (6 points head-to-head)

Western Conference

Gateway Division

1. St. Louis Cobras – Gateway Division champion, 40 points
2. Midwest Tornados – 39 points
3. St. Peters Wheelers – 36 points
4. Southside Snipers – 22 points

Rocky Mountain Division

1. Colorado Springs Thunder – Rocky Mountain Division and Western Conference regular season champion; Best Overall Record Trophy winner, 62 points
2. Denver Blizzard – 35 points
3. Fort Collins Catz – 33 points
4. Parker Prowlers – 26 points

Playoff bracket

	Division Semifinals					Division Finals					Conference Finals					Founders Cup Finals
	1	Harrisburg Lunatics	2
	4	Pennsylvania Typhoon	0
						1	Harrisburg Lunatics	2
	Mason Dixon Division
						2	Marple Gladiators	0
	2	Marple Gladiators	2
	3	Potomac Mavericks	0
											MD1	Harrisburg Lunatics	0
	Eastern Conference
										NE3	Connecticut Blaze	3
						1	Suffolk Sting	1
	Northeast Division
						3	Connecticut Blaze	2
	2	New Jersey Grizzlies	0
	3	Connecticut Blaze	2
																NE3	Connecticut Blaze	2
																RM1	Colorado Springs Thunder	4
	1	St. Louis Cobras	2
	4	Southside Snipers	0
						1	St. Louis Cobras	2
	Gateway Division
						2	Midwest Tornados	0
	2	Midwest Tornados	2
	3	St. Peters Wheelers	1
											G1	St. Louis Cobras	1
	Western Conference
										RM1	Colorado Springs Thunder	3
	1	Colorado Springs Thunder	2
	4	Parker Prowlers	0
						1	Colorado Springs Thunder	2
	Rocky Mountain Division
						2	Denver Blizzard	0
	2	Denver Blizzard	2
	3	Fort Collins Catz	1

Records

• The Colorado Springs Thunder set two PIHA team records with a 28-game winning streak to end the season with the best record ever with a 31-1-0 mark for 62 points.

See also

• Season structure of the PIHA
• 2009 Founders Cup playoffs
• 2008 PIHA season
• 2009 PIHA transactions
• 2008 in sports
• 2009 in sports