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
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Mike Maneluk
Calder Cup
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

•  y–  indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot
•  x–  indicates team clinched a playoff spot
•  e–  indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
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	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
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	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
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	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	GF	GA
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	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

• complete list

Calder Cup playoffs

Main article: 1998 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

See also

• List of AHL seasons

References

• AHL official site
• AHL Hall of Fame
• HockeyDB