1997–98 AHL season

August 2023 March 2026 1997–98 AHL season American Hockey League Ice hockey Regular season Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Philadelphia Phantoms Steve Guolla Les Cunningham Award Peter White John B. Sollenberger Trophy Playoffs 1998 Calder Cup playoffs Calder Cup Philadelphia Phantoms Saint John Flames Mike Maneluk Jack A. Butterfield Trophy 1996–97 1998–99 List of AHL seasons AHL The 1997–98 AHL season was the 62nd season of the American Hockey League. The AHL shifts teams in their divisions, and the Canadian division reverts to being named Atlantic division. The Northern conference is renamed the Eastern conference, and the Southern conference renamed the Western conference. The league introduces three new trophies. The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy first awarded for the team which finishes in first place in the league during the regular season. The Yanick Dupre Memorial Award is given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service. The Thomas Ebright Memorial Award honors an individual with outstanding career contributions to the AHL. Eighteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Philadelphia Phantoms repeated finishing first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship. Team changes The Binghamton Rangers move to Hartford, Connecticut, becoming the Hartford Wolf Pack, playing in the New England division. The Carolina Monarchs move to New Haven, Connecticut, becoming the Beast of New Haven, playing in the New England division. The Baltimore Bandits move to Cincinnati, becoming the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, playing in the Mid-Atlantic division. The Portland Pirates switch divisions, from New England to Atlantic. The Hamilton Bulldogs switch divisions, from Canadian to Empire State. Final standings #97DEFF y– darkgray indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot #bbffbb x– darkgray indicates team clinched a playoff spot #ffcccc e– darkgray indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention Eastern Conference Atlantic Division GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against y–Saint John Flames (CGY) 80 43 24 13 0 99 231 201 x–Fredericton Canadiens (LAK/MTL) 80 33 32 10 5 81 245 244 x–Portland Pirates (WSH) 80 33 33 12 2 80 241 247 x–St. John's Maple Leafs (TOR) 80 25 32 18 5 73 233 254 New England Division GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against y–Springfield Falcons (PHX) 80 45 26 7 2 99 278 248 x–Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) 80 43 24 12 1 99 272 227 x–Beast of New Haven (CAR/FLA) 80 38 33 7 2 85 256 239 x–Worcester IceCats (OTT/STL) 80 34 31 9 6 83 267 268 e–Providence Bruins (BOS) 80 19 49 7 5 50 211 301 Western Conference Empire State Division GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against y–Albany River Rats (NJD) 80 43 20 11 6 103 290 223 x–Hamilton Bulldogs (EDM) 80 36 22 17 5 94 264 242 x–Syracuse Crunch (PIT/VAN) 80 35 32 11 2 83 272 285 x–Adirondack Red Wings (DET/TBL) 80 31 37 9 3 74 245 275 x–Rochester Americans (BUF) 80 30 38 12 0 72 238 260 Mid-Atlantic Division GP Games played W Wins L Losses T Ties OTL Overtime losses Pts Points GF Goals for GA Goals against y–Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) 80 47 21 10 2 106 314 249 x–Hershey Bears (COL) 80 36 31 7 6 85 238 235 x–Kentucky Thoroughblades (NYI/SJS) 80 29 39 9 3 70 241 278 e–Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (ANA) 80 23 37 13 7 66 243 303 Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Peter White Philadelphia Phantoms 80 27 78105 28 Bob Wren Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 77 42 58100 151 Steve Guolla Kentucky Thoroughblades 69 37 63100 45 Stacy Roest Adirondack Red Wings 80 34 58 92 30 Danny Briere Springfield Falcons 68 36 56 92 42 Craig Darby Philadelphia Phantoms 77 42 45 87 34 Craig Reichert Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 78 28 59 87 28 Brendan Morrison Albany River Rats 72 35 49 84 44 Alexei Yegorov Kentucky Thoroughblades 79 32 52 84 56 complete list Calder Cup playoffs 1998 Calder Cup playoffs Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Calder Cup Final Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division New England Division Empire State Division Mid-Atlantic Division A1 Saint John A4 St. John's 3 1 A2 Fredericton A3 Portland 1 3 N1 Springfield N4 Worcester 1 3 N2 Hartford N3 New Haven 3 0 E1 Albany E4 Adirondack 3 0 E2 Hamilton E3 Syracuse 3 2 M1 Philadelphia E5 Rochester 3 1 M2 Hershey M3 Kentucky 3 0 A1 Saint John A3 Portland 4 2 N4 Worcester N2 Hartford 3 4 E1 Albany E2 Hamilton 4 0 M1 Philadelphia M2 Hershey 4 0 A1 Saint John N2 Hartford 4 1 E1 Albany M1 Philadelphia 2 4 A1 Saint John M1 Philadelphia 2 4 All Star Classic The 11th AHL All-Star Game was played on February 11, 1998, at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 11–10. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team PlanetUSA won 13–8 over Team Canada. Trophy and award winners Team awards Calder CupPlayoff champions: Philadelphia Phantoms Richard F. Canning TrophyEastern Conference playoff champions: Saint John Flames Robert W. Clarke TrophyWestern Conference playoff champions: Philadelphia Phantoms Macgregor Kilpatrick TrophyRegular season champions, League: Philadelphia Phantoms Frank Mathers TrophyRegular Season champions, Mid-Atlantic Division: Philadelphia Phantoms F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular Season champions, New England Division: Springfield Falcons Sam Pollock TrophyRegular Season champions, Atlantic Division: Saint John Flames John D. Chick TrophyRegular Season champions, Empire State Division: Albany River Rats Individual awards Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: Steve Guolla – Kentucky Thoroughblades John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: Peter White – Philadelphia Phantoms Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: Danny Briere – Springfield Falcons Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: Jamie Heward – Philadelphia Phantoms Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial AwardBest Goaltender: Scott Langkow – Springfield Falcons Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average: Jean-Sebastien Giguere & Tyler Moss – Saint John Flames Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: Bill Stewart – Saint John Flames Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: Craig Charron – Rochester Americans Yanick Dupre Memorial AwardCommunity Service Award: John Jakopin – Beast of New Haven Jack A. Butterfield TrophyMVP of the playoffs: Mike Maneluk – Philadelphia Phantoms Other awards James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost outstanding executive: Frank Miceli, Philadelphia Phantoms Thomas Ebright Memorial AwardCareer contributions: Jack Butterfield James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: Brendan McCarthy, St. John's & Bill Ballou, Worcester, (newspaper)Lance McAllister, Cincinnati, (radio)Rich Coppola, Hartford / New Haven, (television) Ken McKenzie AwardOutstanding marketing executive: Chris Palin, Rochester Americans See also List of AHL seasons References AHL official site AHL Hall of Fame HockeyDB 1996–97 AHL season 1998–99 AHL season AHL seasons Category:American Hockey League seasons 2 2