1998–99 ISL season

Ice hockey Ice Hockey Superleague 1998–99 Ice Hockey Superleague season Benson & Hedges Cup Nottingham Panthers Manchester Storm Playoffs Cardiff Devils Challenge Cup Sheffield Steelers 1997–98 1999–2000 The 1998–99 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the third season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL). Having reached a sponsorship deal with Sekonda, the league was now formally known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague. Basingstoke Bison left the league and joined the British National League. The London Knights were formed and joined the ISL playing out of London Arena. The Newcastle franchise also changed their name from the Newcastle Cobras to the Newcastle Riverkings. Losing the Daily Express sponsorship, the Express Cup was renamed the Challenge Cup. The competition was also integrated into the league fixtures with the first round of games between teams (home and away) counting towards the Challenge Cup table and the league table. The league season was therefore increased to forty-two rounds. Benson & Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup consisted of the teams from the ISL and the top teams from the British National League. In the 1998–99 season, sixteen teams in total were split into four groups (two ISL and two BNL) playing each team in their group once at home and once away. All sixteen teams then progressed to a challenge round of a home and away game with the winners on aggregate progressing. The quarter finals and semi finals were also home and away aggregate rounds with the final being a one off game held at Sheffield Arena. Group A Group A GP W T L GF GA Pts Bracknell Bees 6 4 0 2 25 20 8 Ayr Scottish Eagles 6 3 2 1 29 25 8 Cardiff Devils 6 2 1 3 21 25 5 Newcastle Riverkings 6 1 1 4 24 29 3 Group B Group B GP W T L GF GA Pts Manchester Storm 6 4 2 0 19 12 10 Sheffield Steelers 6 3 1 2 20 18 7 Nottingham Panthers 6 2 2 2 19 16 6 London Knights 6 0 1 5 12 24 1 Group C Group C GP W T L GF GA Pts Telford Tigers 6 4 0 2 26 20 8 Fife Flyers 6 3 1 2 25 20 7 Edinburgh Capitals 6 2 1 3 19 26 5 Paisley Pirates 6 1 2 3 19 23 4 Group D Group D GP W T L GF GA Pts Guildford Flames 6 4 1 1 30 23 9 Slough Jets 6 4 1 1 25 19 9 Peterborough Pirates 6 1 1 4 25 32 3 Kingston Hawks 6 0 3 3 23 29 3 Finals Note: The first home team is shown first 2 y Challenge round Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final B2 Sheffield Steelers 15 8 23 D3 Peterborough Pirates 2 1 3 B1 Manchester Storm 7 9 16 D4 Kingston Hawks 1 2 3 B3 Nottingham Panthers 14 5 19 D2 Slough Jets 0 0 0 A4 Newcastle Riverkings 3 6 9 C1 Telford Tigers 2 2 4 A2 Ayr Scottish Eagles 14 9 23 C3 Edinburgh Capitals 0 2 2 A1 Bracknell Bees 11 13 24 C4 Paisley Pirates 1 1 2 A3 Cardiff Devils 13 9 22 C2 Fife Flyers 0 0 0 D1 Guildford Flames 1 3 4 B4 London Knights 10 6 16 B1 Manchester Storm 2 4 6 B2 Sheffield Steelers 2 2 4 B3 Nottingham Panthers 3 4 7 A4 Newcastle Riverkings 0 1 1 A1 Bracknell Bees 1 4 5 A2 Ayr Scottish Eagles 7 4 11 B4 London Knights 3 5 8 A3 Cardiff Devils 0 4 4 B1 Manchester Storm 3 1 4 B3 Nottingham Panthers 2 3 5 A2 Ayr Scottish Eagles 6 6 12 B4 London Knights 4 0 4 B3 Nottingham Panthers 2 A2 Ayr Scottish Eagles 1 Challenge Cup All eight teams in the league competed in the newly renamed Challenge Cup. The first round was the first home and away meeting of each team in the league with the points counting towards both the Challenge Cup table and the league table. The top four teams progressed to the semi-finals. The semi finals were home and away games with the winner on aggregate progressing to the one off final game. First round Challenge Cup GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts Manchester Storm 14 10 1 2 1 47 28 23 Nottingham Panthers 14 9 0 2 3 50 36 20 Cardiff Devils 14 8 0 2 4 41 33 18 Sheffield Steelers 14 6 2 2 4 55 46 16 Ayr Scottish Eagles 14 6 2 1 5 40 43 15 Bracknell Bees 14 6 0 1 7 39 52 13 Newcastle Riverkings 14 5 1 1 7 36 43 12 London Knights 14 2 2 1 9 39 66 7 Semi-finals 1st place (Manchester) vs 4th place (Sheffield) Sheffield Steelers 5–0 Manchester Storm Manchester Storm 1–3 Sheffield Steelers (Sheffield win 8–1 on aggregate) 2nd place (Nottingham) vs 3rd place (Cardiff) Cardiff Devils 2–3 Nottingham Panthers Nottingham Panthers 3–3 Cardiff Devils (after overtime, Nottingham win 6–5 on aggregate) Final Winner A vs Winner B Sheffield Steelers 4–0 Nottingham Panthers League Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the playoffs. Superleague GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts Manchester Storm 42 30 1 4 7 155 86 65 Cardiff Devils 42 27 0 5 10 144 102 59 Nottingham Panthers 42 25 1 2 14 140 134 53 Bracknell Bees 42 19 2 4 17 144 149 44 Ayr Scottish Eagles 42 18 3 3 18 136 140 42 Sheffield Steelers 42 17 4 2 19 135 141 40 Newcastle Riverkings 42 14 2 2 24 117 150 32 London Knights 42 10 3 4 25 114 183 27 Playoffs All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Bracknell, London, Manchester and Sheffield while Group B consisted of Ayr, Cardiff, Newcastle and Nottingham. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the finals weekend. The third place playoff was dropped for this season. Group A Group A GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts Manchester Storm 6 5 0 0 1 22 9 10 Bracknell Bees 6 5 0 0 1 25 19 10 Sheffield Steelers 6 2 0 0 4 20 23 4 London Knights 6 0 0 1 5 14 30 1 Group B Group B GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts Nottingham Panthers 6 5 0 0 1 20 16 10 Cardiff Devils 6 3 1 0 2 20 16 7 Ayr Scottish Eagles 6 2 1 0 3 21 20 5 Newcastle Riverkings 6 1 0 2 3 14 23 4 Semi-finals Winner A vs Runner-Up B Manchester Storm 0-5 Cardiff Devils Winner B vs Runner-Up A Nottingham Panthers 4–3 Bracknell Bees Final Winner A vs Winner B Cardiff Devils 2-1 Nottingham Panthers Awards Coach of the Year Trophy – Kurt Kleinendorst, Manchester Storm Player of the Year Trophy – Frank Pietrangelo, Manchester Storm Ice Hockey Annual Trophy – Tony Hand, Sheffield Steelers British Netminder of the Year – Stevie Lyle, Cardiff Devils Alan Weeks Trophy – Stephen Cooper, Newcastle Riverkings All Star teams First team Position Second Team Frank Pietrangelo, Manchester Storm G Trevor Robins, Nottingham Panthers Kip Noble, Cardiff Devils D Kris Miller, Manchester Storm Troy Neumeier, Manchester Storm D Rob Stewart, Bracknell Bees Greg Hadden, Nottingham Panthers F Ivan Matulik, Cardiff Devils Ed Courtenay, Sheffield Steelers F Jeff Tomlinson, Manchester Storm Paul Adey, Nottingham Panthers F Jeff Jablonski, Manchester Storm Scoring leaders The scoring leaders are taken from all league games. Most points: 56 Paul Adey (Nottingham Panthers) Most goals: 29 Greg Hadden (Nottingham Panthers) Most assists: 35 Paul Adey (Nottingham Panthers) Most PIMs: 152 Paxton Schulte (Bracknell Bees) References Ice Hockey Journalists UK The Internet Hockey Database Malcolm Preen's Ice Hockey Results and Tables Category:Ice Hockey Superleague seasons 1 United