1988–89 ECHL season

Ice hockey league season August 2023 The 1988–89 ECHL season was the inaugural season of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The league's first season consisted of five teams in Erie, Pennsylvania, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Knoxville, Tennessee, Vinton, Virginia and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The five teams played 60 games each in the schedule. The Erie Panthers finished first overall in the regular season. The Carolina Thunderbirds won the first Riley Cup championship. Regular season Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot East Coast Hockey League GP W L OTL Pts GF GA Erie Panthers 60 37 20 3 77 327 256 Johnstown Chiefs 60 32 22 6 70 295 251 Knoxville Cherokees 60 32 27 1 65 266 286 Carolina Thunderbirds 60 27 32 1 55 266 329 Virginia Lancers 60 22 30 8 52 266 298 Riley Cup playoffs Riley Cup Semifinals Riley Cup Finals 1 4 Erie Carolina 0 4 3 2 Knoxville Johnstown 0 4 4 2 Carolina Johnstown 4 3 1989 Riley Cup Finals Johnstown Chiefs vs. Carolina Thunderbirds Carolina Thunderbirds Johnstown Chiefs Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Cambria County War Memorial Arena April 1 2 8 – 1 2 April 2 2 6 – 1 2 April 5 1 7 – 4 1 April 8 2 3 – 5 1 April 9 1 7 – 1 1 April 10 1 4 – 7 2 April 12 2 4 – 7 1 Carolina wins series 4 – 3 ECHL awards ECHL awards Jack Riley Cup: Carolina Thunderbirds Henry Brabham Cup: Erie Panthers John Brophy Award: Ron Hansis (Erie) ECHL Most Valuable Player: Daryl Harpe (Erie) Riley Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: Nick Vitucci (Carolina) ECHL Rookie of the Year: Tom Sasso (Johnstown) Defenseman of the Year: Kelly Szauter (Erie) Leading Scorer: Daryl Harpe (Erie) See also ECHL All-Star Game Kelly Cup List of ECHL seasons 1988 in sports 1989 in sports References External links HockeyDB.com Category:ECHL seasons 3