# 1996–97 CHL season

The 1996–97 CHL season was the fifth season of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

## Teams

1996–97 Central Hockey League :
| Division | Team | City | Arena |
| Eastern | Columbus Cottonmouths | Columbus, Georgia | Columbus Civic Center |
| Eastern | Huntsville Channel Cats | Huntsville, Alabama | Von Braun Civic Center |
| Eastern | Macon Whoopee | Macon, Georgia | Macon Coliseum |
| Eastern | Memphis RiverKings | Memphis, Tennessee | Mid-South Coliseum |
| Eastern | Nashville Nighthawks | Nashville, Tennessee | Nashville Municipal Auditorium |
| Western | Fort Worth Fire | Fort Worth, Texas | Fort Worth Convention Center |
| Western | Oklahoma City Blazers | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Myriad Convention Center |
| Western | San Antonio Iguanas | San Antonio, Texas | Freeman Coliseum |
| Western | Tulsa Oilers | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Tulsa Coliseum |
| Western | Wichita Thunder | Wichita, Kansas | Britt Brown Arena |

## Regular season
### Division standings

| Eastern Division | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
| x-Huntsville Channel Cats | 66 | 39 | 24 | 3 | 311 | 297 | 81 |
| x-Macon Whoopee | 66 | 38 | 24 | 4 | 276 | 237 | 80 |
| x-Memphis RiverKings | 66 | 35 | 27 | 4 | 278 | 260 | 74 |
| x-Columbus Cottonmouths | 66 | 32 | 28 | 6 | 292 | 291 | 70 |
| e-Nashville Nighthawks | 66 | 12 | 52 | 2 | 219 | 359 | 26 |
| Western Division | GP | W | L | SOL | GF | GA | Pts |
| y-Oklahoma City Blazers | 66 | 48 | 12 | 6 | 307 | 200 | 102 |
| x-Fort Worth Fire | 66 | 43 | 16 | 5 | 279 | 210 | 95 |
| x-Tulsa Oilers | 66 | 30 | 32 | 4 | 286 | 284 | 64 |
| x-Wichita Thunder | 66 | 25 | 31 | 10 | 279 | 324 | 60 |
| e-San Antonio Iguanas | 66 | 26 | 36 | 4 | 261 | 326 | 56 |
y – clinched league title; x – clinched playoff spot; e – eliminated from playoff contention

## Playoffs
### Playoff Bracket

| Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Quarter Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Championships | Championships | Championships |
| 1 | Huntsville | 3 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Columbus | 0 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Columbus | 0 | 1 | Huntsville | 2 | | | |
| Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | 1 | Huntsville | 2 | | | |
| Eastern | Eastern | Eastern | 3 | Memphis | 4 | | | |
| 2 | Macon | 2 | 3 | Memphis | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Memphis | 3 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Memphis | 3 | | | | 2 | Fort Worth | 4 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Memphis | 3 |
| 1 | Oklahoma City | 1 | | | | | | | 3 | Memphis | 3 |
| 4 | Wichita | 3 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wichita | 3 | 2 | Fort Worth | 4 | | | |
| Western | Western | Western | 2 | Fort Worth | 4 | | | |
| Western | Western | Western | 4 | Wichita | 1 | | | |
| 2 | Fort Worth | 3 | 4 | Wichita | 1 | | | |
| 3 | Tulsa | 2 | | | | | | |

## CHL awards

| Ray Miron Cup: | Fort Worth Fire |
| Adams Cup: | Oklahoma City Blazers |
| Coach of the Year: | Bill McDonald (Fort Worth) |
| Most Valuable Player: | Trevor Jobe (Columbus) |
| Playoff Most Valuable Player: | Steve Plouffe (Fort Worth) |
| Most Outstanding Goaltender: | Jean-Ian Filiatrault (Oklahoma City) |
| Most Outstanding Defenseman | Hardy Sauter (Oklahoma City) |
| Rookie of the Year | Cory Dosdall (Wichita) |
| Scoring Champion | Trevor Jobe (Columbus) |

## Player statistics
### Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Trevor Jobe | Wichita Thunder Columbus Cottonmouths | 61 | 61 | 73 | 134 | 139 |
| Doug Lawrence | Tulsa Oilers | 66 | 27 | 100 | 127 | 250 |
| Terry Menard | Fort Worth Fire | 63 | 50 | 65 | 115 | 138 |
| Marcel Richard | Columbus Cottonmouths | 63 | 51 | 58 | 109 | 74 |
| Randy Murphy | Columbus Cottonmouths | 65 | 36 | 69 | 105 | 42 |
| Hardy Sauter | Oklahoma City Blazers | 66 | 32 | 69 | 101 | 54 |
| Alex Kholomeyev | Huntsville Channel Cats | 57 | 37 | 58 | 95 | 90 |
| Luc Beausoleil | Tulsa Oilers | 62 | 60 | 35 | 95 | 57 |
| Bruno Villeneuve | Memphis RiverKings | 66 | 49 | 46 | 95 | 14 |
| Joe Burton | Oklahoma City Blazers | 65 | 53 | 41 | 94 | 39 |