PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University men's ice hockey alumnus Payton Schaly '26 (Orillia, Ontario) has signed a professional contract with the Fayetteville Marksmen of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), the organization announced this week.
 
Based in Fayetteville, N.C., the Marksmen play home games at Crown Coliseum. The team went 23-28 last season with 53 points, finishing five points shy of a playoff spot. The 2026-27 season opens in mid-October and runs through early April, before league playoffs.
 
Entering its 23rd season, the SPHL is the fourth-highest level of professional ice hockey in North America. Headquartered in Huntersville, N.C., the league has expanded to 13 teams for the upcoming season, with programs based in Athens, Ga., Huntsville, Ala., Florence, S.C., Roanoke, Va., Pelham, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., Pensacola, Fla., Evansville, Ind., Macon, Ga., Peoria, Ill., Mobile, Ala., Moline, Ill., and Fayetteville.
 
Schaly, a 6-0 forward, totaled 30 goals and 34 assists over his four seasons with the Panthers, including career highs of 12 goals, 11 assists and 23 points in 21 games before suffering a season-ending injury last February. He recorded an eight-game goal-scoring streak between Dec. 6 and Jan. 23, tallying nine goals and three assists during the binge. Schaly was named the MVP of the 2023-24 MASCAC Tournament after potting the game-winning goal in both the semifinals and championship game, leading PSU to a fifth-straight tournament title.
 
Plymouth State went 15-11-1 overall and 11-6-1 in the inaugural season of LEC ice hockey, earning the No. 3 seed for the LEC Tournament. The Panthers defeated VTSU Castleton, 5-2, in the first round before falling to second-seeded and No. 13-ranked Babson in the semifinals.