The Southern Hockey League (abbreviated SHL) is a defunct low-level professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

league. It operated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for one season, 1995–1996, with teams in the

southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. It was originally named the

Sunshine Hockey League The Sunshine Hockey League (SuHL) was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 to 1995. The league was based in Florida and consisted of five teams in its inaugural 1992–93 Sunshine Hockey League season, 1992–93 ...

, but changed its name after expanding outside of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The league only played one season. The

Huntsville Channel Cats The Huntsville Channel Cats was a professional ice hockey team based in Huntsville, Alabama. The franchise was a member of several different leagues, the Southern Hockey League (1995–1996), the Central Hockey League (1996–2001) and the Sou ...

, along with the planned 1996–97 expansion teams

Columbus Cottonmouths The Columbus Cottonmouths were a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes and played their home games at the Columbus Civic Center. In 2017, the team suspended operations after failing to find a new ...

, Macon Whoopee, and

Nashville Nighthawks The Nashville Ice Flyers (named the Nashville Nighthawks for the 1996–97 season) were a professional ice hockey franchise that played in the Central Hockey League from 1996–1998. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, they played their home game ...

, joined the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

following the SHL's demise.

Final standings

Regular season

Playoffs

External links

1995-96 Southern Hockey League Standings
at HockeyDB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Southern Hockey League (1995-1996) Defunct ice hockey leagues in the United States 1995–96 in American ice hockey by league