The 1997–98 WHL season was the 32nd season of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The season featured eighteen teams and a 72-game season. The Portland Winter Hawks won both the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as regular season champions and the President's Cup as playoff champions before going on to win the 1998 Memorial Cup, which was hosted by the Spokane Chiefs.
Regular season
Final standings
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Serhiy 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% GAABrent BeleckiPortland Winter Hawks51 3052 35 10 5 131 2 .918 2.58Terry FriesenSwift Current Broncos44 2640 26 10 7 124 1 .907 2.82Scott MyersPrince George Cougars48 2823 29 13 4 139 2 .900 2.95Alexandre FomitchevCalgary Hitmen60 3383 32 23 1 168 1 .898 2.98Ryan HoopleLethbridge/Regina58 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
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. The match was refereed by future National Hockey League official Mike Hasenfratz.
WHL awards Player of the Year - Four Broncos Memorial Trophy: Sergei Varlamov, Swift Current BroncosScholastic Player of the Year - Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman Trophy: Kyle Rossiter, Spokane ChiefsTop Scorer - Bob Clarke Trophy: Sergei Varlamov, Swift Current BroncosMost Sportsmanlike Player - Brad Hornung Trophy: Cory Cyrenne, Brandon Wheat KingsTop Defenseman - Bill Hunter Trophy: Michal Rozsival, Swift Current BroncosRookie of the Year - Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy: Marian Hossa, Portland Winter HawksTop Goaltender - Del Wilson Trophy: Brent Belecki, Portland Winter HawksCoach of the Year - Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy: Dean Clark, Calgary HitmenExecutive of the Year - Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy: Ken Hodge, Portland Winter HawksRegular season champions - Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy: Portland Winter HawksTop Official - Allen Paradice Memorial Trophy: Brad MeierMarketing/Public Relations Award - St. Clair Group Trophy: Dane MacKinnon, Prince George CougarsWHL Humanitarian of the Year: Jesse Wallin, Red Deer RebelsWHL Plus-Minus Award: Andrew Ference, Portland Winter HawksWHL Playoff Most Valuable Player: Brent Belecki, Portland Winter Hawks
All-Star teams Eastern Conference First Team Second Team Goal Terry Friesen Swift Current Broncos Evan Lindsay Prince Albert RaidersDefense Michal Rozsíval Swift Current Broncos Johnathan Aitken Brandon Wheat Kings Burke Henry Brandon Wheat Kings Brad Stuart Regina PatsForward Sergei Varlamov Swift Current Broncos Josh Holden Regina Pats Shane Willis Lethbridge Hurricanes Ronald Petrovicky Regina Pats Cory Cyrenne Brandon Wheat Kings Mark Smith Lethbridge HurricanesWestern Conference First Team Second Team Goal Brent Belecki Portland Winter Hawks Randy Petruk Kamloops BlazersDefense Joel Kwiatkowski Prince George Cougars Eric Brewer Prince George Cougars Andrew Ference Portland Winter Hawks Cory Sarich Seattle ThunderbirdsForward Quinn Hancock Prince George Cougars Jason Deleurme Kelowna Rockets Marián Hossa Portland Winter Hawks Greg Leeb Spokane Chiefs Mark Parrish Seattle Thunderbirds Brett McLean Kelowna Rockets - - Todd Robinson Portland Winter Hawks - - Trent Whitfield Spokane Chiefs
See also 1998 Memorial Cup 1998 NHL entry draft 1997 in sports 1998 in sports
References
whl.ca 2005–06 WHL Guide