October 17 - Game Preview
- Jody Cherneski
- Oct 15, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 15, 2025
Presented by Bham Now
The Birmingham Bulls open the 2025-2026 SPHL hockey season Friday night October 17 at the Pelham Civic Complex as defending Presidents Cup Champion Evansville will be up first. This marks the ninth season for the Bulls in the SPHL. While it will be a season of change hopefully it will also come with a change at the end of this season and bring a first championship ever to the Bulls family.
The most noticeable change will be in goal, where after six seasons with the Bulls, goaltender Austin Lotz has retired. His net protection won 55 games for the Bulls in the last three years which included 10 in the playoffs. Another big hit to the roster comes in the retirement of Taylor Brierley. Brierley arguably was the league's best defenseman the past two seasons.
Also gone from last seasons playoff roster is former leading goal scorer Carson Rose, Andrew Bellant, Troy MacTavish, Ben Higgins, Drake Glover, Nikita Kozyrev, Ryan Romeo, and Trevor Thurston. This year will be a real rebuilding effort for both Head Coach Craig Simchuk and Assistant Coach Kevin Kerr to undertake. The first part of the rebuild is done.
Fresh to the Bulls this season will be Jordan Gagnon (Peoria), Michael Herrera (Pensacola), Parker Saretsky (German League), Vadim Frolov (Federal League), Phillippe Caron (France 2 League), Kevni Sadovsky (Quad City), and rookies Doug Scott, Shawn Kennedy, Kyren Gronick, and Matt Wood.
Along with Hayden Stewart, Jacob Mucitelli will pair up in goal for the Bulls. Mucitelli played the last two seasons with Aurora University and spent time in the AHL with Hershey at the end of his college career.
NEXT HOME GAME: Friday, October 24 vs. Macon
Looking forward to the game thanks for the preview! I like using a YT clipper to create short highlights from hockey videos and game recaps.
Tried the SRD Status Check just for fun — it’s a quirky way to see how different features are rated!”
This article builds excitement for the upcoming game by providing a preview of the matchup, key storylines, and what fans can expect on the ice. I appreciated how it highlights the importance of preparation, teamwork, and competitive spirit while giving supporters a reason to follow the action closely. Game previews like this help strengthen the connection between teams and their fans by offering insight into the season and generating enthusiasm before puck drop. It's always enjoyable to see organizations keeping their community informed and engaged. As someone who also follows sports, community, and wellness-related topics through Healthmedsrx, I truly value content that celebrates teamwork, athletic achievement, and the passion that brings fans together.
Looking forward to this matchup! I was checking a few sports updates after spending a little time on sweepstakes casino enjoying some social casino games, and this preview gave a nice overview of what to expect. It should be an entertaining game if both teams show up ready to compete.
Extend images with ai tools are very useful for expanding photo borders, generating missing areas, and improving composition while keeping results natural, realistic, and high-quality.