The final three weeks of the season will be a very tight but exciting finish, starting with a pair of games against Roanoke at home.

Presented by Bham Now

With only eight points separating second place and eighth place in the SPHL, the final three weeks of the season will be a very tight but exciting finish.  The Birmingham Bulls are right in the middle of the pack, sitting in sixth place just three points out of second place, yet just six points ahead of ninth-place Macon.  There is a razor-thin margin of error for either having home ice advantage in the playoffs or sitting at home watching them.  This weekend, the fun gets started.

The fourth-place Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs are set for a pair of games this Friday and Saturday night at the Pelham Civic Complex.  Birmingham has won all three previous meetings between the two this season.  Separated by only two points in the standings, these two games could put one of them in a good position for the playoffs, while the other will be fighting for their playoff lives.  Everybody will be fighting to win every game remaining on their schedule.  

“We are approaching every game like it’s a playoff game.  From second to tenth place, it’s incredibly tight.  I’ve never seen it like this before,” Head Coach Craig Simchuk said.  “We can’t take a weekend or game off.  It’s imperative we need to be ready to go every shift, but I’m sure every team is approaching the final three weeks of the season with that same mentality.”

It seems it has been this way every game the past month for Birmingham.  And they have responded accordingly.  The Bulls have won 10 of the last 14 games, and each of their losses has been by one goal during that run.  But the importance of the remaining eight games is now exponential, with home ice advantage as well as just qualifying for the playoffs at stake.

“Every game is huge.  Anyone in this league can win on any given night,” Simchuk said.  “There is so much skill and competitive teams this year, which is great for the league and hockey. It's that time of the year when you have to fight every battle like it means your playoff lives.”

This past weekend, the Bulls won two of three games, beating Knoxville 7-4, then splitting a pair of games in Macon, winning 2-0 Friday night, then dropping a 2-1 decision on Saturday night.  In a rare stat, the Bulls were led in scoring by a pair of defensemen over those three games.  Jordan Gagnon led all Bulls scorers with two goals and two assists, while Connor Scahill added three assists and was a +2 over those two games.

The goaltending tandem of Austyn Roudebush and Gabe Rosek held the Huntsville Havok to just one goal in two games last weekend, while Joe Widmar (24G 39A) leads the league in scoring but was held scoreless in the last two games.  Travis Broughman (18G 27A) is fifth in the scoring race, while longtime Yard Dawg defenseman Matt O’Dea (9G 22A) is having a career year.