1996–97 ECHL Season
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 1996–97 ECHL season was the ninth season of the
ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...
. Before the start of the season, two franchises relocated, one was renamed, and two expansion franchises were founded. Founding member Erie Panthers moved to Baton Rouge, LA and the Nashville Knights moved to Pensacola, FL, the Wheeling Thunderbirds changed their name to the Wheeling Nailers following a lawsuit with WHL's
Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...
, and the ECHL welcomed franchises in Peoria, IL and Biloxi, MS. In 1996, the ECHL Board of Governors decided to retire the Jack Riley Cup and create a new trophy, the Patrick J. Kelly Cup, named after founding father and former ECHL commissioner, Patrick J. Kelly. The league also created a new individual award, the Sportsmanship Award, to be awarded to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability as voted by the coaches of each of the ECHL teams. The South Carolina Stingrays finished first overall in the season and became the first team in ECHL history to win the Brabham and Kelly Cups in the same year as they defeated the Louisiana IceGators 4 games to 1.


Regular season


Final standings

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Green shade = Clinched playoff spot, Blue shade = Clinched division''
1996-97 ECHL Standings
/ref>


Kelly Cup playoffs


Bracket


First round


Quarterfinals


Semifinals


Kelly Cup finals


ECHL awards


See also

* ECHL All-Star Game *
List of ECHL seasons This is a list of season (sport), seasons of the ECHL since its inception: Notes References External links ECHL official website
{{Authority control ECHL seasons, *list ...
* 1996 in sports * 1997 in sports


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 ECHL season ECHL seasons ECHL season, 1996-97