1997–98 AHL season

The 1997–98 AHL season was the 62nd season of the American Hockey League. The AHL shifts teams in their divisions, and the Canadian division reverts to being named Atlantic division. The Northern conference is renamed the Eastern conference, and the Southern conference renamed the Western conference.
The league introduces three new trophies. The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy first awarded for the team which finishes in first place in the league during the regular season. The Yanick Dupre Memorial Award is given to the player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service. The Thomas Ebright Memorial Award honors an individual with outstanding career contributions to the AHL.
Eighteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Philadelphia Phantoms repeated finishing first overall in the regular season, and won their first Calder Cup championship.
==Team changes==
* The Binghamton Rangers move to Hartford, Connecticut, becoming the Hartford Wolf Pack, playing in the New England division.
* The Carolina Monarchs move to New Haven, Connecticut, becoming the Beast of New Haven, playing in the New England division.
* The Baltimore Bandits move to Cincinnati, Ohio, becoming the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, playing in the Mid-Atlantic division.
* The Portland Pirates switch divisions, from New England to Atlantic.
* The Hamilton Bulldogs switch divisions, from Canadian to Empire State.
==Final standings==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
===Eastern Conference===
Atlantic 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Saint John Flames 	80	43	24	13	0 	99 	231	201
Fredericton Canadiens 	80	33	32	10	5 	81 	245	244
Portland Pirates 	80	33	33	12	2 	80 	241	247
St. John's Maple Leafs	80	25	32	18	5 	73 	233	254
New England 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Springfield Falcons	80	45	26	7 	2 	99 	278	248
Hartford Wolf Pack 	80	43	24	12	1 	99 	272	227
Beast of New Haven 	80	38	33	7 	2 	85 	256	239
Worcester IceCats 	80	34	31	9 	6 	83 	267	268
Providence Bruins 	80	19	49	7 	5 	50 	211	301
===Western Conference===
Empire State 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Albany River Rats 	80	43	20	11	6 	103	290	223
Hamilton Bulldogs 	80	36	22	17	5 	94 	264	242
Syracuse Crunch 	80	35	32	11	2 	83 	272	285
Adirondack Red Wings	80	31	37	9 	3 	74 	245	275
Rochester Americans 	80	30	38	12	0 	72 	238	260
Mid-Atlantic 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Philadelphia Phantoms 	80	47	21	10	2 	106	314	249
Hershey Bears 	80	36	31	7 	6 	85 	238	235
Kentucky Thoroughblades	80	29	39	9 	3 	70 	241	278
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	80	23	37	13	7 	66 	243	303
==Scoring leaders==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Peter White 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	80	27	78	105	28
Bob Wren 	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	77	42	58	100	151
Steve Guolla 	Kentucky Thoroughblades	69	37	63	100	45
Stacy Roest 	Adirondack Red Wings 	80	34	58	92 	30
Danny Briere 	Springfield Falcons 	68	36	56	92 	42
Craig Darby 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	77	42	45	87 	34
Craig Reichert 	Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	78	28	59	87 	28
Brendan Morrison	Albany River Rats 	72	35	49	84 	44
Alexei Yegorov 	Kentucky Thoroughblades	79	32	52	84 	56
* complete list
==Calder Cup playoffs==
==All Star Classic==
The 11th AHL All-Star Game was played on February 11, 1998, at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 11-10. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team PlanetUSA won 13-8 over Team Canada. 
==Trophy and award winners==
===Team awards===
Calder CupPlayoff champions: 	Philadelphia Phantoms
Richard F. Canning TrophyEastern Conference playoff champions: 	Saint John Flames
Robert W. Clarke TrophyWestern Conference playoff champions: 	Philadelphia Phantoms
Macgregor Kilpatrick TrophyRegular season champions, League: 	Philadelphia Phantoms
Frank Mathers TrophyRegular Season champions, Mid-Atlantic Division: 	Philadelphia Phantoms
F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular Season champions, New England Division:	Springfield Falcons
Sam Pollock TrophyRegular Season champions, Atlantic Division: 	Saint John Flames
John D. Chick TrophyRegular Season champions, Empire State Division: 	Albany River Rats
===Individual awards===
Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: 	Steve Guolla - Kentucky Thoroughblades
John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: 	Peter White - Philadelphia Phantoms
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: 	Danny Briere - Springfield Falcons
Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: 	Jamie Heward - Philadelphia Phantoms
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial AwardBest Goaltender: 	Scott Langkow - Springfield Falcons
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average:	Jean-Sebastien Giguere & Tyler Moss - Saint John Flames
Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: 	Bill Stewart - Saint John Flames
Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: 	Craig Charron - Rochester Americans
Yanick Dupre Memorial AwardCommunity Service Award: 	John Jakopin - Beast of New Haven
Jack A. Butterfield TrophyMVP of the playoffs: 	Mike Maneluk - Philadelphia Phantoms
===Other awards===
James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost outstanding executive: 	Frank Miceli, Philadelphia Phantoms
Thomas Ebright Memorial AwardCareer contributions: 	Jack Butterfield
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage:	Brendan McCarthy, St. John's & Bill Ballou, Worcester, (newspaper)Lance McAllister, Cincinnati, (radio)Rich Coppola, Hartford / New Haven, (television)
Ken McKenzie AwardOutstanding marketing executive: 	Chris Palin, Rochester Americans
==Team Photos==
97-98 AlbRR.jpg|Albany River Rats
97-98BeaNH.jpg|Beast of New Haven
97-98CinMD.jpg|Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
97-98PhiPha.jpg|Philadelphia Phantoms
==Game Ads==
97-98AHLAlbanyGameAd.jpg|Albany
97-98AHLAdirondackGameAd.jpg|Glens Falls
==See also==
*List of AHL seasons
==References==
*AHL official site
*AHL Hall of Fame
*HockeyDB
Category:American Hockey League seasons
Category:1998 in hockey