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
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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