1996–97 USHL season
| 1996–97 USHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | United States Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 1996 – March 1997 Post-season March 19 – April 22, 1997 |
| Number of games | 54 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Regular season | |
| Anderson Cup | Green Bay Gamblers |
| Clark Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Lincoln Stars |
| Runners-up | Green Bay Gamblers |
The 1996–97 USHL season was the 18th season of the United States Hockey League as an all-junior league. The regular season began in September 1996 and concluded in March 1997. The Green Bay Gamblers won the Anderson Cup as regular season champions. The Lincoln Stars also defeated the Green Bay Gamblers 4 games to 0 for the Clark Cup.
Member changes
- The previous season, the Fargo-Moorhead Bears failed to pay their league dues after the regular season and were immediately suspended from play. Afterwards, the team folded and the Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks joined as an expansion team in their place.[1][2]
- The Lincoln Stars also joined the league as an expansion franchise.
Regular season
Final standings[3]
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched league title
North Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Green Bay Gamblers | 54 | 41 | 11 | 2 | 84 | 260 | 187 |
| x – Rochester Mustangs | 54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 | 217 | 193 |
| x – North Iowa Huskies | 54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 | 210 | 190 |
| x – Twin City Vulcans | 54 | 25 | 26 | 3 | 53 | 190 | 211 |
| x – Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks | 54 | 24 | 28 | 2 | 50 | 160 | 154 |
| Thunder Bay Flyers | 54 | 19 | 33 | 2 | 40 | 186 | 251 |
South Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Omaha Lancers | 54 | 40 | 12 | 2 | 82 | 252 | 152 |
| x – Lincoln Stars | 54 | 40 | 13 | 1 | 81 | 244 | 168 |
| x – Des Moines Buccaneers | 54 | 37 | 13 | 4 | 78 | 245 | 168 |
| Dubuque Fighting Saints | 54 | 17 | 34 | 3 | 37 | 157 | 211 |
| Waterloo Black Hawks | 54 | 16 | 34 | 4 | 36 | 182 | 273 |
| Sioux City Musketeers | 54 | 9 | 43 | 2 | 20 | 162 | 307 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games.[4]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Lephart | Omaha Lancers | 54 | 40 | 50 | 90 | 76 |
| Jeff Turner | Rochester Mustangs | 54 | 32 | 56 | 88 | 42 |
| Kevin Granato | Green Bay Gamblers | 54 | 41 | 41 | 82 | 72 |
| Kevin Swider | Omaha Lancers | 52 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 16 |
| Scott Matzka | Omaha Lancers | 53 | 38 | 40 | 78 | 112 |
| Andrew Tortorella | Omaha Lancers | 49 | 22 | 56 | 78 | 113 |
| Derek Robertson | Des Moines Buccaneers | 54 | 31 | 43 | 73 | 26 |
| Chad Stauffacher | Green Bay Gamblers | 51 | 35 | 36 | 71 | 316 |
| Jeff Panzer | Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks | 49 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 52 |
| Jason Cupp | Green Bay Gamblers | 54 | 17 | 50 | 67 | 47 |
Leading goaltenders
Minimum 1000 minutes played.
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | OTL | SO | GA | SV | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karl Goehring | Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks | 32 | 1909 | 13 | 18 | 1 | 4 | 79 | 954 | .924 | 2.48 |
| Jayme Platt | Des Moines Buccaneers | 22 | 1224 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 51 | 628 | .925 | 2.50 |
| Dean Weasler | Rochester Mustangs | 37 | 2159 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 99 | 962 | .907 | 2.75 |
| Graham Melanson | Omaha Lancers | 29 | 1565 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 74 | 600 | .890 | 2.84 |
| Jason Braun | Lincoln Stars | 40 | 2249 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 109 | 955 | .898 | 2.91 |
Clark Cup playoffs
The regular season division champions received the top two seeds.
Teams were reseeded after the quarterfinal round.
| Quarterfinal (Best-of-7) | Semifinal (Best-of-7) | Championship (Best-of-7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 0 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Iowa Huskies | 7 | 2 | 5* | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Omaha Lancers | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Twin City Vulcans | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3* | 4 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Green Bay Gamblers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Lincoln Stars | 5 | 4 | 7 | 3 | - | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Lincoln Stars | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Rochester Mustangs | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Omaha Lancers | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Lincoln Stars | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6* | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Des Moines Buccaneers | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | North Iowa Huskies | 7 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 | - | - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Awards
References
- ^ Leitner, Jim (May 8, 1996). "USHL gets 'new' franchise". Dubuque, Iowa. The Telegraph-Herald. p. 3B. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ Leitner, Jim (September 29, 1996). "Nothing short of ice capades". Dubuque, Iowa. The Telegraph-Herald. p. 1B. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ "USHL Standings". Ushl2011.stats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
- ^ "USHL - 1996-1997". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 17, 2025.
- ^ "2024-25 USHL Media Guide". USHL. Retrieved June 18, 2025.