1997–98 NAHL season
Sports season
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The 1997–98 NAHL season was the 14th season of the North American Hockey League. The season ran from September 1997 to April 1998 with a 56-game schedule for each team. The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors won the regular season championship and went on to defeat the USNTDP 2 games to 0 for the Robertson Cup.
SportIce hockey
DurationRegular season
September 1997 – March 1998
Postseason
April 9 – April 24, 1998
September 1997 – March 1998
Postseason
April 9 – April 24, 1998
Games56
| 1997–98 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 1997 – March 1998 Postseason April 9 – April 24, 1998 |
| Games | 56 |
| Teams | 9 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors |
| Top scorer | David Del Monte (Chicago Freeze) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors |
| Runners-up | USNTDP |
Member changes
- The Detroit Freeze relocated and became the Chicago Freeze.
- The league admitted the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) under-18 team to the league.
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[1]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched regular season title
Standings
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Springfield Jr. Blues | 56 | 42 | 12 | 2 | 86 | 274 | 175 |
| x – Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 56 | 39 | 16 | 1 | 79 | 219 | 151 |
| x – Soo Indians | 56 | 35 | 20 | 1 | 71 | 203 | 138 |
| x – Danville Wings | 56 | 31 | 20 | 5 | 67 | 233 | 218 |
| x – Chicago Freeze | 56 | 28 | 24 | 4 | 60 | 202 | 208 |
| x – USNTDP | 56 | 25 | 29 | 2 | 52 | 184 | 198 |
| x – St. Louis Sting | 56 | 23 | 32 | 1 | 47 | 188 | 237 |
| x – Gaylord Grizzlies | 56 | 14 | 36 | 6 | 34 | 159 | 228 |
| Cleveland Jr. Barons | 56 | 15 | 38 | 3 | 33 | 160 | 269 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [2]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Del Monte | Chicago Freeze | 56 | 36 | 49 | 85 | 115 |
| Ryan Zoller | Springfield Jr. Blues | 56 | 36 | 41 | 77 | 252 |
| David Francis | Springfield Jr. Blues | 55 | 30 | 42 | 72 | 49 |
| Aaron Davis | Chicago Freeze | 49 | 26 | 43 | 69 | 95 |
| Raffie Kalajian | Springfield Jr. Blues | 56 | 37 | 28 | 65 | 97 |
| John Shouneyia | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 55 | 16 | 49 | 65 | 61 |
| Yevgeni Dubravin | Springfield Jr. Blues | 50 | 22 | 42 | 64 | 29 |
| Charlie Daniels | Danville Wings | 55 | 35 | 27 | 62 | 65 |
| Nick Field | Cleveland Jr. Barons | 56 | 34 | 28 | 62 | 38 |
| T. J. Latorre | Springfield Jr. Blues | 53 | 25 | 34 | 59 | 73 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
| Quarterfinal (Best-of-3) | Semifinal (Best-of-3) | Championship (Best-of-3) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 7 | 6 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Gaylord Grizzlies | 1 | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Springfield Jr. Blues | 6 | 3 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | USNTDP | 2 | 6 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | St. Louis Sting | 4 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | USNTDP | 2 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 5 | 4 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Soo Indians | 3 | 0 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | USNTDP | 4** | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 4 | 5 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Danville Wings | 3 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Danville Wings | 3 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Chicago Freeze | 1 | 4** | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)