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1996–97 IHL season
North American ice hockey season
North American ice hockey season
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1996-97 IHL season |
| league | International Hockey League |
| sport | Ice hockey |
| duration | October 4, 1996 – June 15, 1997 |
| no_of_games | 82 |
| no_of_teams | 19 |
| season | Regular season |
| season_champ_name | Fred A. Huber Trophy |
| MVP | Frederic Chabot (Aeros) |
| MVP_link | James Gatschene Memorial Trophy |
| top_scorer | Rob Brown (Wolves) |
| top_scorer_link | Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy |
| season_champs | Detroit Vipers |
| playoffs | Playoffs |
| playoffs_MVP | Peter Ciavaglia (Vipers) |
| playoffs_MVP_link | Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy (IHL) |
| finals | Turner Cup |
| finals_link | Turner Cup |
| finals_champ | Detroit Vipers |
| finals_runner-up | Long Beach Ice Dogs |
| prevseason_year | 1995–96 |
| nextseason_year | 1997–98 |
| finals_runner-up = Long Beach Ice Dogs
The 1996–97 IHL season was the 52nd season of the International Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. 19 teams participated in the regular season, and the Detroit Vipers won the Turner Cup.
Offseason
The Atlanta Knights relocated to Quebec to become the Quebec Rafales due to the Omni being demolished to make room for Philips Arena.
The Peoria Rivermen organization left the IHL and joined the ECHL. The IHL franchise relocated to San Antonio to become the San Antonio Dragons.
After the Winnipeg Jets relocation to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Coyotes, the Phoenix Roadrunners competed for fans. The Minnesota Moose were purchased by a group by Canadian businessmen and relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba to become the Manitoba Moose to provide a new tenant at Winnipeg Arena and keeping pro hockey in the city.
The Los Angeles Ice Dogs relocated to Long Beach retaining the same name due to poor attendance.
The San Francisco Spiders folded due to bankruptcy, low attendance, even though on weekends and holidays did very well, and issues with Cow Palace.
Regular season
Eastern Conference
| Central | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Ice | 82 | 44 | 29 | 9 | 289 | 230 | 97 |
| Cleveland Lumberjacks | 82 | 40 | 32 | 10 | 286 | 280 | 90 |
| Michigan K-Wings | 82 | 31 | 44 | 7 | 208 | 272 | 69 |
| Fort Wayne Komets | 82 | 28 | 47 | 7 | 223 | 318 | 63 |
| North | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Vipers | 82 | 57 | 17 | 8 | 280 | 188 | 122 |
| Orlando Solar Bears | 82 | 53 | 24 | 5 | 305 | 232 | 111 |
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 82 | 43 | 29 | 10 | 254 | 248 | 96 |
| Québec Rafales | 82 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 267 | 248 | 93 |
| Grand Rapids Griffins | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 244 | 246 | 92 |
Western Conference
| Midwest | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio Dragons | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 276 | 278 | 97 |
| Kansas City Blades | 82 | 38 | 29 | 15 | 271 | 270 | 91 |
| Chicago Wolves | 82 | 40 | 36 | 6 | 276 | 290 | 86 |
| Milwaukee Admirals | 82 | 38 | 36 | 8 | 253 | 298 | 84 |
| Manitoba Moose | 82 | 32 | 40 | 10 | 262 | 300 | 74 |
| South | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Beach Ice Dogs | 82 | 54 | 19 | 9 | 309 | 247 | 117 |
| Houston Aeros | 82 | 44 | 30 | 8 | 247 | 228 | 96 |
| Utah Grizzlies | 82 | 43 | 33 | 6 | 259 | 254 | 92 |
| Las Vegas Thunder | 82 | 41 | 34 | 7 | 287 | 299 | 89 |
| Phoenix Roadrunners | 82 | 27 | 42 | 13 | 239 | 309 | 67 |
Turner Cup playoffs
| RD1-seed01= E1 | RD1-team01= Detroit | RD1-score01= 3 | RD1-seed02= E8 | RD1-team02= Michigan | RD1-score02= 1
| RD1-seed03= E4 | RD1-team03= Cincinnati | RD1-score03= 0 | RD1-seed04= E5 | RD1-team04= Quebec | RD1-score04= 3
| RD1-seed05= E2 | RD1-team05= Orlando | RD1-score05= 3 | RD1-seed06= E7 | RD1-team06= Grand Rapids | RD1-score06= 2
| RD1-seed07= E3 | RD1-team07= Indianapolis | RD1-score07= 1 | RD1-seed08= E6 | RD1-team08= Cleveland | RD1-score08= 3
| RD1-seed09= W1 | RD1-team09= Long Beach | RD1-score09= 3 | RD1-seed10= W8 | RD1-team10= Milwaukee | RD1-score10= 0
| RD1-seed11= W4 | RD1-team11= Utah | RD1-score11= 3 | RD1-seed12= W5 | RD1-team12= Kansas City | RD1-score12= 0
| RD1-seed13= W2 | RD1-team13= San Antonio | RD1-score13= 3 | RD1-seed14= W7 | RD1-team14= Chicago | RD1-score14= 1
| RD1-seed15= W3 | RD1-team15= Houston | RD1-score15= 3 | RD1-seed16= W6 | RD1-team16= Las Vegas | RD1-score16= 0
| RD2-seed01= E1 | RD2-team01= Detroit | RD2-score01= 4 | RD2-seed02= E5 | RD2-team02= Québec | RD2-score02= 2
| RD2-seed03= E2 | RD2-team03= Orlando | RD2-score03= 1 | RD2-seed04= E6 | RD2-team04= Cleveland | RD2-score04= 4
| RD2-seed05= W1 | RD2-team05= Long Beach | RD2-score05= 4 | RD2-seed06= W4 | RD2-team06= Utah | RD2-score06= 0
| RD2-seed07= W2 | RD2-team07= San Antonio | RD2-score07= 1 | RD2-seed08= W3 | RD2-team08= Houston | RD2-score08= 4
| RD3-seed01= E1 | RD3-team01= Detroit | RD3-score01= 4 | RD3-seed02= E6 | RD3-team02= Cleveland | RD3-score02= 1
| RD3-seed03= W1 | RD3-team03= Long Beach | RD3-score03= 4 | RD3-seed04= W3 | RD3-team04= Houston | RD3-score04= 1
| RD4-seed01= E1 | RD4-team01= Detroit | RD4-score01= 4 | RD4-seed02= W1 | RD4-team02= Long Beach | RD4-score02= 2
First round
(E1) Detroit Vipers vs. (E8) Michigan K-Wings
(W1) Long Beach Ice Dogs vs. (W8) Milwaukee Admirals
(E2) Orlando Solar Bears vs. (E7) Grand Rapids Griffins
(W2) San Antonio Dragons vs. (W7) Chicago Wolves
(E3) Indianapolis Ice vs. (E6) Cleveland Lumberjacks
(W3) Houston Aeros vs. (W6) Las Vegas Thunder
(E4) Cincinnati Cyclones vs. (E5) Québec Rafales
(W4) Utah Grizzlies vs. (W5) Kansas City Blades
Quarterfinals
(E1) Detroit Vipers vs. (E5) Quebec Rafales
(W1) Long Beach Ice Dogs vs. (W4) Utah Grizzlies
(E2) Orlando Solar Bears vs. (E6) Cleveland Lumberjacks
(W2) San Antonio Dragons vs. (W3) Houston Aeros
Semifinals
(E1) Detroit Vipers vs. (E6) Cleveland Lumberjacks
(W1) Long Beach Ice Dogs vs. (W3) Houston Aeros
Turner Cup Finals
(E1) Detroit Vipers vs. (W1) Long Beach Ice Dogs
Awards
| 1997 IHL awards |
|---|
| Turner Cup |
| Fred A. Huber Trophy: |
| (Best regular-season record) |
| Frank Gallagher Trophy: |
| (Eastern Conference playoff champion) |
| Ken Ullyot Trophy: |
| (Western Conference playoff champion) |
| Comeback Player of the Year Award: |
| Commissioner's Trophy: |
| (Best coach) |
| Gary F. Longman Memorial Trophy: |
| (Best first-year player) |
| Governor's Trophy: |
| (Best defenceman) |
| I. John Snider, II Trophy: |
| (Leadership and humanitarian contribution) |
| Ironman Award: |
| (Best two-way player over 82 games) |
| James Gatschene Memorial Trophy: |
| (Most valuable player, regular season) |
| James Norris Memorial Trophy: |
| (Goaltenders with fewest goals allowed) |
| Ken McKenzie Trophy: |
| (Best U.S.-born first-year player) |
| Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy: |
| (Player with most points) |
| Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy: |
| (Most valuable player, playoffs) |
References
;Bibliography
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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