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1997–98 WHL season

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The 1997–98 WHL season was the 32nd season for the Western Hockey League (WHL). Eighteen teams completed a 72-game season. The Portland Winter Hawks won the President's Cup before going on to win the 1998 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; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties ; GA = Goals against; SO = Total shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Player Team GP Min 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

1998 WHL Playoffs

  • 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
First Round Division Semi-Finals Division Finals WHL Championship
            
C1 Calgary 4
E4 Saskatoon 2
C1 Calgary 4
E2 Swift Current 3
E2 Swift Current 4
C3 Red Deer 1
C1 Calgary 1
E3 Brandon 4
E1 Regina 4
E5 Moose Jaw 0
E1 Regina 1
E3 Brandon 4
E3 Brandon 4
C2 Lethbridge 0
E3 Brandon 0
W1 Portland 4
W1 Portland 4
W6 Seattle 1
W1 Portland bye
 
W1 Portland 4
W2 Spokane 3
W2 Spokane 4
W5 Kelowna 3
W2 Spokane 3
W3 Prince George 1
W3 Prince George 4
W4 Kamloops 3

Conference quarterfinals

Eastern Conference

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
Brandon vs. Lethbridge
Date Away Home
March 18 Lethbridge 3 5 Brandon
March 20 Lethbridge 3 6 Brandon
March 22 Brandon 7 3 Lethbridge
March 23 Brandon 4 1 Lethbridge
Brandon wins series 4–0
Calgary vs. Saskatoon
Date Away Home
March 17 Calgary 3 0 Saskatoon
March 19 Saskatoon 4 1 Calgary
March 22 Saskatoon 1 3 Calgary
March 24 Calgary 1 6 Saskatoon
March 25 Saskatoon 2 3 Calgary
March 27 Calgary 3 2 Saskatoon
Calgary wins series 4–2
Swift Current vs. Red Deer
Date Away Home
March 19 Red Deer 0 3 Swift Current
March 20 Red Deer 3 4 Swift Current OT
March 22 Swift Current 3 4 Red Deer
March 23 Swift Current 3 2 Red Deer
March 29 Red Deer 2 5 Swift Current
Swift Current wins series 4–1

Western Conference

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
Prince George vs. Kamloops
Date Away Home
March 20 Kamloops 2 1 Prince George
March 21 Kamloops 0 6 Prince George
March 24 Prince George 3 5 Kamloops
March 25 Prince George 1 2 Kamloops
March 27 Kamloops 1 4 Prince George
March 29 Prince George 4 3 Kamloops
March 31 Kamloops 1 2 Prince George
Prince George wins series 4–3
Portland vs. Seattle
Date Away Home
March 20 Seattle 3 7 Portland
March 21 Portland 1 3 Seattle
March 22 Seattle 1 5 Portland
March 26 Portland 5 2 Seattle
March 27 Seattle 2 3 Portland
Portland wins series 4–1

Conference semifinals

Eastern Conference
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
Regina vs. Brandon
Date Away Home
March 30 Brandon 4 2 Regina
March 31 Brandon 2 5 Regina
April 2 Regina 1 6 Brandon
April 4 Regina 3 5 Brandon
April 6 Brandon 7 3 Regina
Brandon wins series 4–1
Western Conference
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 3–1
Portland earns bye

Conference finals

Eastern Conference Western Conference
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
Portland vs. Spokane
Date Away Home
April 11 Spokane 6 3 Portland
April 13 Spokane 0 2 Portland
April 15 Portland 4 1 Spokane
April 16 Portland 3 5 Spokane
April 18 Spokane 2 9 Portland
April 21 Portland 2 5 Spokane
April 22 Spokane 2 3 Portland
Portland wins series 4–3

WHL Championship

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

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

See also

References

Preceded by WHL seasons Succeeded by
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