1997–98 WHL season

Junior ice hockey season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1997–98 WHL season was the 32nd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The season featured eighteen teams and a 72-game season. The Portland Winter Hawks won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and the President's Cup as playoff champions before going on to win the 1998 Memorial Cup, which was hosted by the Spokane Chiefs.

LeagueWestern Hockey League

SportIce hockey

Teams18

Scotty Munro Memorial TrophyPortland Winter Hawks (2)

Quick facts League, Sport ...

1997–98 WHL season
League	Western Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Teams	18
Regular season
Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy	Portland Winter Hawks (2)
Season MVP	Sergei Varlamov (Swift Current Broncos)
Top scorer	Sergei Varlamov (Swift Current Broncos)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Brent Belecki (Winter Hawks)
Finals champions	Portland Winter Hawks (2)
Runners-up	Brandon Wheat Kings
WHL seasons
1996–97 1998–99

LeagueCanadian Hockey League

SportIce hockey

Teams51

Finals championsPortland Winter Hawks (WHL) (2nd title)

Quick facts League, Sport ...

1997–98 CHL season
League	Canadian Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Teams	51
OHL
QMJHL
WHL
Memorial Cup
Finals champions	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL) (2nd title)
Runners-up	Guelph Storm (OHL)

Regular season

Map of WHL, 1996–97 to 1997–98

190km
118miles

Wheat Kings

Pats

Warriors

Raiders

Blades

Broncos

Tigers

Hurricanes

Ice

Rebels

Hitmen

Chiefs

Americans

Rockets

Blazers

Thunderbirds

Winter Hawks

Cougars

East Division

Central Division

West Division

Final standings

More information Pos, Team ...

East Division
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	x – Regina Pats	72	46	21	5	334	250	97
2	x – Swift Current Broncos	72	44	19	9	276	220	97
3	x – Brandon Wheat Kings	72	45	21	6	322	235	96
4	x – Saskatoon Blades	72	25	39	8	263	327	58
5	x – Moose Jaw Warriors	72	23	39	10	235	281	56
6	Prince Albert Raiders	72	20	47	5	222	288	45

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
x – qualified for playoffs

More information Pos, Team ...

Central Division
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	x – Calgary Hitmen	72	40	28	4	265	232	84
2	x – Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	32	29	11	261	237	75
3	x – Red Deer Rebels	72	27	40	5	281	323	59
4	Edmonton Ice	72	17	49	6	242	328	40
5	Medicine Hat Tigers	72	16	50	6	188	340	38

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
x – qualified for playoffs

More information Pos, Team ...

West Division
Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	x – Portland Winter Hawks	72	53	14	5	342	203	111
2	x – Spokane Chiefs	72	45	23	4	288	235	94
3	x – Prince George Cougars	72	43	24	5	311	236	91
4	x – Kamloops Blazers	72	37	32	3	234	253	77
5	x – Kelowna Rockets	72	33	35	4	313	290	70
6	x – Seattle Thunderbirds	72	31	35	6	286	278	68
7	Tri-City Americans	72	17	49	6	264	371	40

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
x – qualified for playoffs

Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Serhiy Varlamov	Swift Current Broncos	72	66	53	119	132
Cory Cyrenne	Brandon Wheat Kings	72	47	71	118	28
Ronald Petrovicky	Regina Pats	71	64	49	113	178
Shane Willis	Lethbridge Hurricanes	64	58	54	112	73
Quinn Hancock	Prince George Cougars	69	54	58	112	31
Shawn McNeil	Red Deer Rebels	72	47	62	109	69
Mark Smith	Lethbridge Hurricanes	70	42	67	109	206
Todd Robinson	Portland Winter Hawks	71	35	74	109	55
Jason Deleurme	Kelowna Rockets	72	51	52	103	47
Brad Moran	Calgary Hitmen	72	53	49	102	64

Goaltending leaders

Note: GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

More information Player, Team ...

Player	Team	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Brent Belecki	Portland Winter Hawks	51	3052	35	10	5	131	2	.918	2.58
Terry Friesen	Swift Current Broncos	44	2640	26	10	7	124	1	.907	2.82
Scott Myers	Prince George Cougars	48	2823	29	13	4	139	2	.900	2.95
Alexandre Fomitchev	Calgary Hitmen	60	3383	32	23	1	168	1	.898	2.98
Ryan Hoople	Lethbridge/Regina	58	3266	34	18	4	164	4	.899	3.01

1998 WHL Playoffs

Top eight teams in the Eastern Conference (East and Central divisions) qualified for playoffs
Top six teams in the Western Conference (division) qualified for the playoffs

First round

Division Semi-Finals

Division Finals

WHL Championship

Calgary

Saskatoon

Calgary

Swift Current

Swift Current

Red Deer

Calgary

Brandon

Regina

Moose Jaw

Regina

Brandon

Lethbridge

Brandon

Portland

Seattle

Portland

bye

Portland

Spokane

Spokane

Kelowna

Spokane

Prince George

Prince George

Kamloops

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

More information Regina vs. Moose Jaw, Date ...

Regina vs. Moose Jaw
Date	Away	Home
March 19	Moose Jaw 0	7 Regina
March 20	Moose Jaw 1	2 Regina
March 22	Regina 4	3 Moose Jaw	2OT
March 23	Regina 6	5 Moose Jaw	2OT
Regina wins series 4–0

Brandon vs. Lethbridge
Date	Away	Home
March 18	Lethbridge 3	5 Brandon
March 20	Lethbridge 3	6 Brandon
March 22	Brandon 7	3 Lethbridge
March 23	Brandon 4	1 Lethbridge
Brandon wins series 4–0

Calgary vs. Saskatoon
Date	Away	Home
March 17	Calgary 3	0 Saskatoon
March 19	Saskatoon 4	1 Calgary
March 22	Saskatoon 1	3 Calgary
March 24	Calgary 1	6 Saskatoon
March 25	Saskatoon 2	3 Calgary
March 27	Calgary 3	2 Saskatoon
Calgary wins series 4–2

Swift Current vs. Red Deer
Date	Away	Home
March 19	Red Deer 0	3 Swift Current
March 20	Red Deer 3	4 Swift Current	OT
March 22	Swift Current 3	4 Red Deer
March 23	Swift Current 3	2 Red Deer
March 29	Red Deer 2	5 Swift Current
Swift Current wins series 4–1

Western Conference

More information Spokane vs. Kelowna, Date ...

Spokane vs. Kelowna
Date	Away	Home
March 21	Spokane 4	6 Kelowna
March 24	Kelowna 3	4 Spokane	OT
March 25	Spokane 2	5 Kelowna
April 27	Kelowna 2	6 Spokane
March 29	Kelowna 6	3 Spokane
March 31	Spokane 2	0 Kelowna
April 1	Kelowna 1	5 Spokane
Spokane wins series 4–3

Prince George vs. Kamloops
Date	Away	Home
March 20	Kamloops 2	1 Prince George
March 21	Kamloops 0	6 Prince George
March 24	Prince George 3	5 Kamloops
March 25	Prince George 1	2 Kamloops
March 27	Kamloops 1	4 Prince George
March 29	Prince George 4	3 Kamloops
March 31	Kamloops 1	2 Prince George
Prince George wins series 4–3

Portland vs. Seattle
Date	Away	Home
March 20	Seattle 3	7 Portland
March 21	Portland 1	3 Seattle
March 22	Seattle 1	5 Portland
March 26	Portland 5	2 Seattle
March 27	Seattle 2	3 Portland
Portland wins series 4–1

Conference semifinals

More information Eastern Conference, Calgary vs. Swift Current ...

Eastern Conference

Calgary vs. Swift Current
Date	Away	Home
March 30	Swift Current 2	5 Calgary
April 1	Calgary 2	3 Swift Current	2OT
April 2	Calgary 1	5 Swift Current
April 4	Swift Current 5	2 Calgary
April 6	Swift Current 2	3 Calgary
April 7	Calgary 4	1 Swift Current
April 8	Swift Current 0	1 Calgary
Calgary wins series 4–3

Regina vs. Brandon
Date	Away	Home
March 30	Brandon 4	2 Regina
March 31	Brandon 2	5 Regina
April 2	Regina 1	6 Brandon
April 4	Regina 3	5 Brandon
April 6	Brandon 7	3 Regina
Brandon wins series 4–1

More information Western Conference, Spokane vs. Prince George ...

Western Conference

Spokane vs. Prince George
Date	Away	Home
April 3	Prince George 3	0 Spokane
April 5	Prince George 1	4 Spokane
April 7	Spokane 4	2 Prince George
April 8	Spokane 5	2 Prince George
Spokane wins series 3–1

Portland earns bye

Conference finals

More information Eastern Conference, Western Conference ...

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Calgary vs. Brandon
Date	Away	Home
April 11	Brandon 5	4 Calgary
April 12	Brandon 5	4 Calgary
April 14	Calgary 3	2 Brandon	OT
April 15	Calgary 1	4 Brandon
April 17	Brandon 4	1 Calgary
Brandon wins series 4–1

Portland vs. Spokane
Date	Away	Home
April 11	Spokane 6	3 Portland
April 13	Spokane 0	2 Portland
April 15	Portland 4	1 Spokane
April 16	Portland 3	5 Spokane
April 18	Spokane 2	9 Portland
April 21	Portland 2	5 Spokane
April 22	Spokane 2	3 Portland
Portland wins series 4–3

WHL Championship

More information Portland vs. Brandon, Date ...

Portland vs. Brandon
Date	Away	Home
April 25	Brandon 3	7 Portland
April 26	Brandon 1	5 Portland
April 29	Portland 7	2 Brandon
May 1	Portland 4	3 Brandon
Portland wins series 4–0

All-Star Game

On January 21, the Western Conference defeated the Eastern Conference 7–6 at Regina, Saskatchewan before a crowd of 6,050.^{[citation needed]} The match was refereed by future National Hockey League official Mike Hasenfratz.^[1]

WHL awards

Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Sergei Varlamov, Swift Current Broncos

Scholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Kyle Rossiter, Spokane Chiefs

Top Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Sergei Varlamov, Swift Current Broncos

Most Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Cory Cyrenne, Brandon Wheat Kings

Top Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Michal Rozsival, Swift Current Broncos

Rookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Marian Hossa, Portland Winter Hawks

Top Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Brent Belecki, Portland Winter Hawks

Coach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Dean Clark, Calgary Hitmen

Executive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Ken Hodge, Portland Winter Hawks

Regular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Portland Winter Hawks

Top Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Brad Meier

Marketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Dane MacKinnon, Prince George Cougars

WHL Humanitarian of the Year: Jesse Wallin, Red Deer Rebels

WHL Plus-Minus Award: Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks

WHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Brent Belecki, Portland Winter Hawks

All-Star teams

More information Eastern Conference, First Team ...

Eastern Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Terry Friesen	Swift Current Broncos	Evan Lindsay	Prince Albert Raiders
Defense	Michal Rozsíval	Swift Current Broncos	Johnathan Aitken	Brandon Wheat Kings
Defense	Burke Henry	Brandon Wheat Kings	Brad Stuart	Regina Pats
Forward	Sergei Varlamov	Swift Current Broncos	Josh Holden	Regina Pats
	Shane Willis	Lethbridge Hurricanes	Ronald Petrovicky	Regina Pats
	Cory Cyrenne	Brandon Wheat Kings	Mark Smith	Lethbridge Hurricanes
Western Conference
	First Team		Second Team
Goal	Brent Belecki	Portland Winter Hawks	Randy Petruk	Kamloops Blazers
Defense	Joel Kwiatkowski	Prince George Cougars	Eric Brewer	Prince George Cougars
Defense	Andrew Ference	Portland Winter Hawks	Cory Sarich	Seattle Thunderbirds
Forward	Quinn Hancock	Prince George Cougars	Jason Deleurme	Kelowna Rockets
	Marián Hossa	Portland Winter Hawks	Greg Leeb	Spokane Chiefs
	Mark Parrish	Seattle Thunderbirds	Brett McLean	Kelowna Rockets
	-	-	Todd Robinson	Portland Winter Hawks
	-	-	Trent Whitfield	Spokane Chiefs

1997–98 WHL season

Regular season

Final standings

Scoring leaders

Goaltending leaders

1998 WHL Playoffs

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Conference semifinals

Conference finals

WHL Championship

All-Star Game

WHL awards

All-Star teams

See also

References

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