1997–98 AHL season
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.
| 1997–98 AHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Regular season | |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Season MVP | Steve Guolla |
| Top scorer | Peter White |
| Calder Cup playoffs | |
| Calder Cup playoffs MVP | Mike Maneluk |
| Finals champions | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Runners-up | Saint John Flames |
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
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
Eastern Conference
| Atlantic | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint John Flames (CGY) | 80 | 43 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 99 | 231 | 201 |
| Fredericton Canadiens (LAK/MTL) | 80 | 33 | 32 | 10 | 5 | 81 | 245 | 244 |
| Portland Pirates (WSH) | 80 | 33 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 80 | 241 | 247 |
| St. John's Maple Leafs (TOR) | 80 | 25 | 32 | 18 | 5 | 73 | 233 | 254 |
| New England | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Falcons (PHX) | 80 | 45 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 99 | 278 | 248 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 80 | 43 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 99 | 272 | 227 |
| Beast of New Haven (CAR/FLA) | 80 | 38 | 33 | 7 | 2 | 85 | 256 | 239 |
| Worcester IceCats (OTT/STL) | 80 | 34 | 31 | 9 | 6 | 83 | 267 | 268 |
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 80 | 19 | 49 | 7 | 5 | 50 | 211 | 301 |
Western Conference
| Empire State | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany River Rats (NJD) | 80 | 43 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 103 | 290 | 223 |
| Hamilton Bulldogs (EDM) | 80 | 36 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 94 | 264 | 242 |
| Syracuse Crunch (PIT/VAN) | 80 | 35 | 32 | 11 | 2 | 83 | 272 | 285 |
| Adirondack Red Wings (DET/TBL) | 80 | 31 | 37 | 9 | 3 | 74 | 245 | 275 |
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 80 | 30 | 38 | 12 | 0 | 72 | 238 | 260 |
| Mid-Atlantic | GP | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI) | 80 | 47 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 106 | 314 | 249 |
| Hershey Bears (COL) | 80 | 36 | 31 | 7 | 6 | 85 | 238 | 235 |
| Kentucky Thoroughblades (NYI/SJS) | 80 | 29 | 39 | 9 | 3 | 70 | 241 | 278 |
| 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 | 78 | 105 | 28 |
| Bob Wren | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | 77 | 42 | 58 | 100 | 151 |
| Steve Guolla | Kentucky Thoroughblades | 69 | 37 | 63 | 100 | 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 |
Calder Cup playoffs
| Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Final | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Saint John | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | St. John's | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Saint John | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Atlantic Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Portland | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Fredericton | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Saint John | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Hartford | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Springfield | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Worcester | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Worcester | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| New England Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Hartford | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Hartford | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | New Haven | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Saint John | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| M1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Albany | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Adirondack | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Albany | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Empire State Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Hamilton | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Hamilton | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Albany | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| M1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| M1 | Philadelphia | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E5 | Rochester | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| M1 | Philadelphia | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mid-Atlantic Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| M2 | Hershey | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| M2 | Hershey | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| M3 | Kentucky | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
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 Cup Playoff champions: | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Richard F. Canning Trophy Eastern Conference playoff champions: | Saint John Flames |
| Robert W. Clarke Trophy Western Conference playoff champions: | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Regular season champions, League: | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Frank Mathers Trophy Regular Season champions, Mid-Atlantic Division: | Philadelphia Phantoms |
| F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy Regular Season champions, New England Division: | Springfield Falcons |
| Sam Pollock Trophy Regular Season champions, Atlantic Division: | Saint John Flames |
| John D. Chick Trophy Regular Season champions, Empire State Division: | Albany River Rats |
Individual awards
| Les Cunningham Award Most valuable player: | Steve Guolla – Kentucky Thoroughblades |
| John B. Sollenberger Trophy Top point scorer: | Peter White – Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award Rookie of the year: | Danny Briere – Springfield Falcons |
| Eddie Shore Award Defenceman of the year: | Jamie Heward – Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Best Goaltender: | Scott Langkow – Springfield Falcons |
| Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Lowest goals against average: | Jean-Sebastien Giguere & Tyler Moss – Saint John Flames |
| Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award Coach of the year: | Bill Stewart – Saint John Flames |
| Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award Sportsmanship / Perseverance: | Craig Charron – Rochester Americans |
| Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Community Service Award: | John Jakopin – Beast of New Haven |
| Jack A. Butterfield Trophy MVP of the playoffs: | Mike Maneluk – Philadelphia Phantoms |
Other awards
| James C. Hendy Memorial Award Most outstanding executive: | Frank Miceli, Philadelphia Phantoms |
| Thomas Ebright Memorial Award Career 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 Award Outstanding marketing executive: | Chris Palin, Rochester Americans |