1997–98 ISL season
The 1997–98 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the second season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL). There were no changes in the teams taking part during the season – Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers. The league season was reduced to twenty-eight rounds in the hope of organising a European tournament. However, this failed to materialise so the league arranged a new cup competition to meet the shortfall in fixtures. With the sponsorship of the "Daily Express" newspaper the Express Cup was launched. Ayr Scottish  Eagles won a of all available trophies. Benson & Hedges Cup. The Benson & Hedges Cup consisted of the teams from the ISL and the top teams from the British National League. In the 1997–98 season, twelve teams in total were split into two regional groups playing each team in their group once at home and once away. The top four 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. Quarter finals. Quarter final A: Winner A (Manchester) vs 4th place B (Bracknell) Quarter final B: 3rd place A (Ayr) vs 2nd place B (Nottingham) Quarter final C: 2nd place A (Newcastle) vs 3rd place B (Basingstoke) Quarter final D: 4th place A (Sheffield) vs Winner B (Cardiff) Semi finals. Winner QF A (Manchester) vs Winner QF B (Ayr) Winner QF C (Newcastle) vs Winner QF D (Cardiff) Final. The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Cardiff Devils. Express Cup. All eight teams in the league competed  in the new competition for the Express Cup. The first round was a round-robin league with each team playing their opponents once at home and once away. The top four teams progressed to the semi finals. The semi finals were home and away games with the winner on aggregate progressing to the one off final game. Semi finals. 1st place (Ayr) vs 4th place (Sheffield) 2nd place (Sheffield) vs 3rd place (Bracknell) Final. Winner A vs Winner B League. Each team played two home games and two away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered  into the playoffs. Playoffs. All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Ayr, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield while Group B consisted of Basingstoke, Bracknell, Cardiff and Manchester. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the semi finals, which was a home and away series with the winners on games progressing to the final and the losers progressing to the third place playoff. Semi Finals. Winner B vs Runner-Up A Winner A vs Runner-Up B Third place playoff. Loser A vs Loser B Final. Winner A vs Winner B  Scoring leaders. The scoring leaders are taken from all league and Express Cup games.