1996–97 ISL season

The 199697 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the inaugural season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).

1996–97 ISL season
LeagueIce Hockey Superleague
SportIce hockey
1996–97
Benson & Hedges CupNottingham Panthers
League championsCardiff Devils
Playoff championsSheffield Steelers

The league was formed by the owners of the Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers. Ayr was the only new team with the rest of the teams having left the British Hockey League.

Benson & Hedges Cup

The Benson & Hedges Cup consists of the teams from the ISL and the top teams from the British Hockey League. Sixteen teams in total were split into four regional groups playing each team in their group at home and away. The top two teams of each group then progressed to the quarter finals where the teams were paired off and the winning team on aggregate (after playing home and away) progressed to the semi finals. Again the winning team on aggregate progressed to the one-off final game held at Sheffield Arena.

Group A

Group A GP W T L GF GA Pts
Ayr Scottish Eagles6510481411
Newcastle Cobras641143169
Kingston Hawks610517502
Telford Tigers610520482

Group B

Group B GP W T L GF GA Pts
Cardiff Devils6600361412
Manchester Storm631225247
Slough Jets612319304
Swindon Ice Lords601523351

Group C

Group C GP W T L GF GA Pts
Sheffield Steelers6501461310
Nottingham Panthers641146239
Solihull Blaze621325355
Peterborough Pirates600610560

Group D

Group D GP W T L GF GA Pts
Basingstoke Bison6600431112
Bracknell Bees640240128
Guildford Flames620425314
Medway Bears60069630

Quarter-finals

Ayr Scottish Eagles vs Manchester Storm

  • Manchester Storm 2-4 Ayr Scottish Eagles
  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 3-2 Manchester Storm (Ayr win 7-4 on aggregate)

Basingstoke Bison vs Bracknell Bees

  • Basingstoke Bison 5-3 Bracknell Bees
  • Bracknell Bees 5-6 Basingstoke Bison (Basingstoke win 11-8 on aggregate)

Cardiff Devils vs Nottingham Panthers

  • Nottingham Panthers 0-1 Cardiff Devils
  • Cardiff Devils 3-4 Nottingham Panthers (after penalty shots, Nottingham win 5-4 on aggregate)

Sheffield Steelers vs Newcastle Cobras

  • Newcastle Cobras 0-2 Sheffield Steelers
  • Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Newcastle Cobras (Sheffield win 8-3 on aggregate)

Semi-finals

Nottingham Panthers vs Sheffield Steelers

  • Sheffield Steelers 2-3 Nottingham Panthers
  • Nottingham Panthers 3-1 Sheffield Steelers (Nottingham win 6-3 on aggregate)

Basingstoke Bison vs Ayr Scottish Eagles

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 0-2 Basingstoke Bison
  • Basingstoke Bison 4-9 Ayr Scottish Eagles (Ayr win 9-6 on aggregate)

Final

The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Nottingham Panthers.

  • Ayr Scottish Eagles 3–5 Nottingham Panthers

League

Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the playoffs.

Superleague GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Cardiff Devils423031820813064
Sheffield Steelers422742916812760
Ayr Scottish Eagles4221601517115748
Nottingham Panthers4221121816014745
Newcastle Cobras4217251815817241
Bracknell Bees4215212416920233
Manchester Storm4214312414219132
Basingstoke Bison4211332515220228

Playoffs

All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Ayr, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle while Group B consisted of Basingstoke, Bracknell, Nottingham and Sheffield. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the playoff weekend at NYNEX Arena.

Group A

Group A GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Cardiff Devils66000291412
Ayr Scottish Eagles6300324226
Newcastle Cobras6200416234
Manchester Storm6100511212

Group B

Group B GP W T OTL L GF GA Pts
Nottingham Panthers65010261611
Sheffield Steelers65001221510
Basingstoke Bison6111316264
Bracknell Bees6011416232

Semi-finals

The finals weekend took place at NYNEX Arena in Manchester.

Winner A vs Runner-Up B

  • Cardiff Devils 2-5 Sheffield Steelers

Winner B vs Runner-Up A

  • Nottingham Panthers 6-5 Ayr Scottish Eagles (after overtime)

Final

Winner A vs Winner B

  • Sheffield Steelers 3-1 Nottingham Panthers

Awards

All Star team

PosPlayerTeam
GSteve LyleCardiff Devils
DKip NobleCardiff Devils
DGarth PremakNottingham Panthers
FPaul AdeyNottingham Panthers
FIvan MatulikCardiff Devils
FVezio SacratiniCardiff Devils
CJustin FarkasNottingham Panthers

Scoring leaders

References

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