1997–98 WHL season

The 1997–98 WHL season was the 32nd season of the Western Hockey League. Eighteen teams completed a 72 game season. The Portland Winter Hawks won the President's Cup before going on to win the Memorial Cup.
==Regular season==
===Final standings===
East Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
x Regina Pats 	72	46	21	5 	97 	334	250
x Swift Current Broncos	72	44	19	9 	97 	276	220
x Brandon Wheat Kings 	72	45	21	6 	96 	322	235
x Saskatoon Blades 	72	25	39	8 	58 	263	327
x Moose Jaw Warriors 	72	23	39	10	56 	235	281
Prince Albert Raiders 	72	20	47	5 	45 	222	288
Central Division 	GP	W 	L 	T 	Pts	GF 	GA
x Calgary Hitmen 	72	40	28	4 	84 	265	232
x Lethbridge Hurricanes	72	32	29	11	75 	261	237
x Red Deer Rebels 	72	27	40	5 	59 	281	323
Edmonton Ice 	72	17	49	6 	40 	242	328
Medicine Hat Tigers 	72	16	50	6 	38 	188	340
West Division 	GP	W 	L 	T	Pts	GF 	GA
x Portland Winter Hawks	72	53	14	5	111	342	203
x Spokane Chiefs 	72	45	23	4	94 	288	235
x Prince George Cougars	72	43	24	5	91 	311	236
x Kamloops Blazers 	72	37	32	3	77 	234	253
x Kelowna Rockets 	72	33	35	4	70 	313	290
x Seattle Thunderbirds 	72	31	35	6	68 	286	278
Tri-City Americans 	72	17	49	6	40 	264	371
===Scoring leaders===
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Sergei 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; TOI = Total ice time; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Player 	Team 	GP	TOI 	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
==WHL Playoffs==
===Conference quarterfinals===
*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
====Eastern Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Regina vs. Moose Jaw 	Regina vs. Moose Jaw 	Regina vs. Moose Jaw 	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	Regina wins series 4–0	Regina wins series 4–0	Regina wins series 4–0	
====Western Conference====
{| class="wikitable" 	Spokane vs. Kelowna 	Spokane vs. Kelowna 	Spokane vs. Kelowna 	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	Spokane wins series 4–3	Spokane wins series 4–3	Spokane wins series 4–3	
===Conference semifinals===
Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Calgary vs. Swift Current	Calgary vs. Swift Current	Calgary vs. Swift Current	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	Calgary wins series 4–3 	Calgary wins series 4–3 	Calgary wins series 4–3 	
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Spokane vs. Prince George	Spokane vs. Prince George	Spokane vs. Prince George	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 4–1	Spokane wins series 4–1 	Spokane wins series 4–1 	Spokane wins series 4–1 	
===Conference finals===
Eastern Conference 	Western Conference 	 	 	
{| class="wikitable" 	Calgary vs. Brandon 	Calgary vs. Brandon 	Calgary vs. Brandon 	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	Brandon wins series 4–1	Brandon wins series 4–1	Brandon wins series 4–1	
===WHL Championship===
{| cellspacing="10"
|-
| valign="top" |
Portland vs. Brandon 	Portland vs. Brandon 	Portland vs. Brandon 	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	Portland wins series 4–0	Portland wins series 4–0	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.
==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
Humanitarian of the Year - Jesse Wallin, Red Deer Rebels
WHL Plus-Minus Award: Andrew Ference, Portland Winter Hawks
Playoff Most Valuable Player - airBC Trophy: Brent Belecki, Portland Winter Hawks
==All-Star Teams==
{| BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" width="100%"
|- bgcolor="#EEEEEE " align="center" 
97-98BraWK.jpg|Brandon Wheat Kings
==References==
*whl.ca
* 2005–06 WHL Guide
Category:Western Hockey League seasons
WHL