1997–98 ISL season

The 1997–98 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the second season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).

1997–98 Ice Hockey Superleague season
LeagueIce Hockey Superleague
SportIce hockey
Benson & Hedges CupAyr Scottish Eagles
League championsAyr Scottish Eagles
Playoffs championsAyr Scottish Eagles
Express Cup championsAyr Scottish Eagles

There were no changes in the teams taking part during the season – Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers.

The league season was reduced to twenty-eight rounds in the hope of organising a European tournament. However, this failed to materialise so the league arranged a new cup competition to meet the shortfall in fixtures.[1] With the sponsorship of the Daily Express newspaper the Express Cup was launched.

Ayr Scottish Eagles won a Grand Slam of all available trophies.

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 1997–98 season, twelve teams in total were split into two regional groups playing each team in their group once at home and once away. The top four teams of each group then progressed to the quarter finals where the teams were paired off and the winning team on aggregate (after playing home and away) progressed to the semi finals. Again the winning team on aggregate progressed to the one-off final game held at Sheffield Arena.

Group A

Group A GP W T L GF GA Pts
Manchester Storm10721652116
Newcastle Cobras10622592414
Ayr Scottish Eagles10622562614
Sheffield Steelers10523653512
Telford Tigers1010923842
Paisley Pirates1010921992

Group B

Group B GP W T L GF GA Pts
Cardiff Devils10811581917
Nottingham Panthers10811541617
Basingstoke Bison10514403211
Bracknell Bees10424442610
Slough Jets1012729704
Peterborough Pirates1001918801

Quarter finals

Quarter final A: Winner A (Manchester) vs 4th place B (Bracknell)

  • Bracknell Bees 2–2 Manchester Storm
  • Manchester Storm 5–4 Bracknell Bees (Manchester win 7–6 on aggregate)

Quarter final B: 3rd place A (Ayr) vs 2nd place B (Nottingham)

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 4–2 Nottingham Panthers
  • Nottingham Panthers 3–4 Ayr Scottish Eagles (Ayr win 8–6 on aggregate)

Quarter final C: 2nd place A (Newcastle) vs 3rd place B (Basingstoke)

  • Newcastle Cobras 1–1 Basingstoke Bison
  • Basingstoke Bison 1–5 Newcastle Cobras (Newcastle win 6–2 on aggregate)

Quarter final D: 4th place A (Sheffield) vs Winner B (Cardiff)

  • Sheffield Steelers 2–3 Cardiff Devils
  • Cardiff Devils 5–2 Sheffield Steelers (Cardiff win 8–4 on aggregate)

Semi finals

Winner QF A (Manchester) vs Winner QF B (Ayr)

  • Manchester Storm 4–4 Ayr Scottish Eagles
  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 4–2 Manchester Storm (Ayr win 8–6 on aggregate)

Winner QF C (Newcastle) vs Winner QF D (Cardiff)

  • Cardiff Devils 6–2 Newcastle Cobras
  • Newcastle Cobras 3–2 Cardiff Devils (Cardiff win 8–5 on aggregate)

Final

The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Cardiff Devils.

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 2–1 Cardiff Devils

Express Cup

All eight teams in the league competed in the new competition for the Express Cup. The first round was a round-robin league with each team playing their opponents once at home and once away. 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

Express Cup GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Ayr Scottish Eagles1412011643425
Sheffield Steelers149005615518
Bracknell Bees147214585517
Nottingham Panthers148006605416
Manchester Storm145324544415
Cardiff Devils146107414913
Basingstoke Bison144001043698
Newcastle Cobras141211035565

Semi finals

1st place (Ayr) vs 4th place (Sheffield)

  • Nottingham Panthers 4–4 Ayr Scottish Eagles
  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 12–4 Nottingham Panthers (Ayr win 16–8 on aggregate)

2nd place (Sheffield) vs 3rd place (Bracknell)

  • Bracknell Bees 3–1 Sheffield Steelers
  • Sheffield Steelers 4–4 Bracknell Bees (Bracknell win 7–4 on aggregate)

Final

Winner A vs Winner B

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 3–2 Bracknell Bees

League

Each team played two home games and two away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the playoffs.

Superleague GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Ayr Scottish Eagles28201251176943
Manchester Storm28183161238040
Cardiff Devils2815229997934
Nottingham Panthers28143011959931
Bracknell Bees281411129511530
Sheffield Steelers2811231210310127
Basingstoke Bison28546138011620
Newcastle Cobras28621196611915

Playoffs

All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Ayr, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield while Group B consisted of Basingstoke, Bracknell, Cardiff and Manchester. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the semi finals, which was a home and away series with the winners on games progressing to the final and the losers progressing to the third place playoff.

Group A

Group A GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Ayr Scottish Eagles6410119129
Sheffield Steelers6221116147
Nottingham Panthers6212116197
Newcastle Cobras6200415214

Group B

Group B GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Cardiff Devils65100311011
Manchester Storm6310221207
Bracknell Bees6300322306
Basingstoke Bison6001517311

Semi Finals

Winner B vs Runner-Up A

  • Cardiff Devils 5-4 Sheffield Steelers
  • Sheffield Steelers 2–6 Cardiff Devils (Cardiff win series 2–0)

Winner A vs Runner-Up B

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 5–3 Manchester Storm
  • Manchester Storm 2-7 Ayr Scottish Eagles (Ayr win series 2–0)

Third place playoff

Loser A vs Loser B

  • Sheffield Steelers 5–2 Manchester Storm

Final

Winner A vs Winner B

  • Cardiff Devils 2-3 Ayr Scottish Eagles (after overtime)

Awards

All Star teams

First TeamPositionSecond Team
Rob Dopson, Ayr Scottish Eagles G Mark Bernard, Bracknell Bees
Scott Young, Ayr Scottish Eagles D Kip Noble, Cardiff Devils
Kris Miller, Manchester Storm D Shayne McCosh, Bracknell Bees
Ed Courtenay, Sheffield Steelers F Tony Hand, Sheffield Steelers
Mark Montanari, Ayr Scottish Eagles F Steve Thornton, Cardiff Devils
Craig Woodcroft, Manchester Storm F Sam Groleau, Ayr Scottish Eagles

Scoring leaders

The scoring leaders are taken from all league and Express Cup games.

Footnotes

  1. "97-98.htm". Archived from the original on 2007-10-01. Retrieved 2007-12-06.

References

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