1997–98 ECHL season

Ice hockey league season August 2023 The 1997–98 ECHL season was the tenth season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, the league saw the Knoxville Cherokees move to Florence, SC and welcomed expansion teams in New Orleans, LA and Upper Marlboro, MD. The Louisiana IceGators finished the regular season first overall and the Hampton Roads Admirals won their record setting third overall ECHL championship (1st Kelly Cup), defeating the Pensacola Ice Pilots 4 games to 2. League realignment With the league expanding to 25 teams, the Board of Governors decided to divide the league into two conference (Northern and Southern), with two divisions each. With the realignment the Board of Governors also created two new trophies, one each for the playoff champion of each conference.ECHL Trophies and Awards https://web.archive.org/web/20080215235303/http://www.echl.com/awards.shtml 2008-02-15 Northern Conference Northeast Division Chesapeake Icebreakers Hampton Roads Admirals Johnstown Chiefs Richmond Renegades Roanoke Express Wheeling Nailers Northwest Division Columbus Chill Dayton Bombers Huntington Blizzard Louisville RiverFrogs Peoria Rivermen Toledo Storm Southern Conference Southeast Division Charlotte Checkers Jacksonville Lizard Kings Pee Dee Pride Raleigh Icecaps South Carolina Stingrays Tallahassee Tiger Sharks Southwest Division Baton Rouge Kingfish Birmingham Bulls Louisiana IceGators Mississippi Sea Wolves Mobile Mysticks New Orleans Brass Pensacola Ice Pilots Regular season Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot; Blue shade = Clinched division; (z) = Clinched home-ice advantage Northern Conference Northeast Division GP W L T PTS GF GA Roanoke Express 70 42 21 7 91 235 208 Wheeling Nailers 70 37 24 9 83 255 255 Chesapeake Icebreakers 70 34 28 8 76 252 239 Hampton Roads Admirals 70 32 28 10 74 222 225 Richmond Renegades 70 30 33 7 67 218 277 Johnstown Chiefs 70 23 41 6 52 219 297 Northwest Division GP W L T PTS GF GA Peoria Rivermen 70 44 19 7 95 296 213 Toledo Storm 70 41 21 8 90 251 210 Dayton Bombers 70 36 26 8 80 255 256 Huntington Blizzard 70 34 29 7 75 230 259 Columbus Chill 70 33 30 7 73 221 220 Louisville RiverFrogs 70 32 31 7 71 228 257 Southern Conference Southeast Division GP W L T PTS GF GA South Carolina Stingrays 70 41 23 6 88 246 218 Charlotte Checkers 70 35 24 11 81 251 237 Pee Dee Pride 70 34 25 11 79 214 215 Jacksonville Lizard Kings 70 35 29 6 76 243 239 Raleigh Icecaps 70 32 33 5 69 236 254 Tallahassee Tiger Sharks 70 24 44 2 50 210 320 Southwest Division GP W L T PTS GF GA Louisiana IceGators 70 43 17 10 96 298 232 Birmingham Bulls 70 39 23 8 86 293 257 Pensacola Ice Pilots 70 36 24 10 82 276 262 New Orleans Brass 70 36 24 10 82 278 263 Mobile Mysticks 70 35 27 8 78 236 233 Mississippi Sea Wolves 70 34 27 9 77 225 224 Baton Rouge Kingfish 70 33 27 10 76 220 238 Kelly Cup playoffs Bracket Conference Quarterfinals(Best of 5) Conference Semifinals(Best of 5) Conference Finals(Best of 7) Kelly Cup Finals(Best of 7) Northern Conference Southern Conference 1 Peoria 0 8 Hampton Roads 3 4 Wheeling 3 5 Dayton 2 3 Toledo 3 6 Chesapeake 0 2 Roanoke 3 7 Huntington 1 1 Louisiana 3 8 Mobile 0 4 Pensacola 3 5 New Orleans 1 3 Birmingham 1 6 Charlotte 3 2 South Carolina 2 7 Pee Dee 3 3 Toledo 1 4 Wheeling 3 2 Roanoke 2 8 Hampton Roads 3 1 Louisiana 3 7 Pee Dee 0 4 Pensacola 3 6 Charlotte 0 4 Wheeling 2 8 Hampton Roads 4 1 Louisiana 2 4 Pensacola 4 8 Hampton Roads 4 4 Pensacola 2 Northern Conference Quarterfinals (1) Peoria vs. (8) Hampton Roads Date Away Home March 31 Hampton Roads 7 Peoria 3 April 3 Peoria 0 Hampton Roads 2 April 4 Peoria 3 Hampton Roads 4 OT Hampton Roads wins series 3–0 (2) Roanoke vs. (7) Huntington Date Away Home March 31 Huntington 1 Roanoke 4 April 3 Roanoke 2 Huntington 3 April 4 Huntington 2 Roanoke 5 April 6 Roanoke 3 Huntington 2 Roanoke wins series 3–1 (3) Toledo vs. (6) Chesapeake Date Away Home April 1 Chesapeake 2 Toledo 4 April 3 Chesapeake 1 Toledo 4 April 4 Toledo 3 Chesapeake 2 OT Toledo wins series 3–0 (4) Wheeling vs. (5) Dayton Date Away Home April 1 Dayton 1 Wheeling 4 April 3 Dayton 2 Wheeling 1 April 4 Wheeling 3 Dayton 4 OT April 7 Wheeling 3 Dayton 2 OT April 8 Dayton 2 Wheeling 4 Wheeling wins series 3–2 Semifinals (2) Roanoke vs. (8) Hampton Roads Date Away Home April 9 Hampton Roads 0 Roanoke 3 April 11 Hampton Roads 2 Roanoke 3 OT April 15 Roanoke 3 Hampton Roads 4 April 17 Roanoke 1 Hampton Roads 2 April 20 Hampton Roads 3 Roanoke 2 OT Hampton Roads wins series 3–2 (3) Toledo vs. (4) Wheeling Date Away Home April 10 Wheeling 3 Toledo 0 April 11 Wheeling 5 Toledo 6 April 15 Toledo 2 Wheeling 3 OT April 17 Toledo 0 Wheeling 3 Wheeling wins series 3–1 Finals (4) Wheeling vs. (8) Hampton Roads Date Away Home April 22 Hampton Roads 4 Wheeling 3 OT April 24 Hampton Roads 1 Wheeling 2 April 25 Hampton Roads 3 Wheeling 4 OT April 30 Wheeling 1 Hampton Roads 3 May 2 Wheeling 1 Hampton Roads 2 OT May 3 Wheeling 1 Hampton Roads 5 Hampton Roads wins series 4–2 Southern Conference Quarterfinals (1) Louisiana vs. (8) Mobile Date Away Home March 31 Mobile 2 Louisiana 4 April 4 Louisiana 8 Mobile 7 OT April 6 Mobile 4 Louisiana 6 Louisiana wins series 3–0 (2) South Carolina vs. (7) Pee Dee Date Away Home April 30 Pee Dee 6 South Carolina 3 April 1 South Carolina 0 Pee Dee 3 April 3 Pee Dee 1 South Carolina 5 April 4 South Carolina 3 Pee Dee 0 April 8 Pee Dee 4 South Carolina 3 OT Pee Dee wins series 3–2 (3) Birmingham vs. (6) Charlotte Date Away Home April 1 Charlotte 4 Birmingham 2 April 2 Charlotte 3 Birmingham 4 April 4 Birmingham 4 Charlotte 5 OT April 5 Birmingham 2 Charlotte 5 Charlotte wins series 3–1 (4) Pensacola vs. (5) New Orleans Date Away Home April 2 New Orleans 2 Pensacola 3 April 3 New Orleans 4 Pensacola 2 April 4 Pensacola 6 New Orleans 5 OT April 7 Pensacola 6 New Orleans 4 Pensacola wins series 3–1 Semifinals (1) Louisiana vs. (7) Pee Dee Date Away Home April 10 Pee Dee 3 Louisiana 6 April 11 Pee Dee 3 Louisiana 7 April 16 Louisiana 3 Pee Dee 0 Louisiana wins series 3–0 (4) Pensacola vs. (6) Charlotte Date Away Home April 10 Charlotte 2 Pensacola 3 April 11 Charlotte 3 Pensacola 4 OT April 16 Pensacola 2 Charlotte 1 Pensacola wins series 3–0 Finals (1) Louisiana vs. (4) Pensacola Date Away Home April 22 Pensacola 1 Louisiana 3 April 25 Pensacola 1 Louisiana 3 April 26 Louisiana 4 Pensacola 9 April 28 Louisiana 4 Pensacola 6 April 30 Pensacola 8 Louisiana 2 May 3 Louisiana 4 Pensacola 5 OT Pensacola wins series 4–2 Kelly Cup finals Kelly Cup Finals (4) Pensacola vs. (8) Hampton Roads Date Away Home May 8 Hampton Roads 4 Pensacola 7 May 9 Hampton Roads 3 Pensacola 1 May 12 Pensacola 1 Hampton Roads 0 OT May 13 Pensacola 2 Hampton Roads 4 May 18 Pensacola 3 Hampton Roads 7 May 20 Hampton Roads 4 Pensacola 1 Hampton Roads wins series 4–2 ECHL awards ECHL awards Patrick J. Kelly Cup: Hampton Roads Admirals Henry Brabham Cup: Louisiana IceGators Northern Conference Champion: Hampton Roads Admirals Southern Conference Champion: Pensacola Ice Pilots John Brophy Award: Chris Nilan (Chesapeake) ECHL Most Valuable Player: Jamey Hicks (Birmingham) Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: Sebastien Charpentier (Hampton Roads) ECHL Goaltender of the Year: Nick Vitucci (Toledo) ECHL Rookie of the Year: Sean Venedam (Toledo) Defenseman of the Year: Chris Valicevic (Louisiana) Leading Scorer: Jamey Hicks (Birmingham) Sportsmanship Award: Cal Ingraham (Tallahassee) See also ECHL All-Star Game List of ECHL seasons 1997 in sports 1998 in sports References Category:ECHL seasons ECHL season, 1997-98