1998–99 ISL season
The 1998–99 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the third season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL). Having reached a sponsorship deal with Sekonda, the league was now formally known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague.
Basingstoke Bison left the league and joined the British National League. The London Knights were formed and joined the ISL playing out of London Arena. The Newcastle franchise also changed their name from the Newcastle Cobras to the Newcastle Riverkings.
Losing the [aily Express sponsorship, the Express Cup was renamed the Challenge Cup. The competition was also integrated into the league fixtures with the first round of games between teams (home and away) counting towards the Challenge Cup table and the league table. The league season was therefore increased to forty-two rounds.
Challenge Cup
All eight teams in the league competed in the newly renamed Challenge Cup. The first round was the first home and away meeting of each team in the league with the points counting towards both the Challenge Cup table and the league table. 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.
First round
| Challenge Cup | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Storm | 14 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 28 | 23 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 14 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 50 | 36 | 20 |
| Cardiff Devils | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 41 | 33 | 18 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 14 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 55 | 46 | 16 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 14 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 40 | 43 | 15 |
| Bracknell Bees | 14 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 39 | 52 | 13 |
| Newcastle Riverkings | 14 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 36 | 43 | 12 |
| London Knights | 14 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 39 | 66 | 7 |
Semi finals
1st place (Manchester) vs 4th place (Sheffield)
- Sheffield Steelers 5–0 Manchester Storm
- Manchester Storm 1–3 Sheffield Steelers (Sheffield win 8–1 on aggregate)
2nd place (Nottingham) vs 3rd place (Cardiff)
- Cardiff Devils 2–3 Nottingham Panthers
- Nottingham Panthers 3–3 Cardiff Devils (after overtime, Nottingham win 6–5 on aggregate)
Final
Winner A vs Winner B
League
Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the playoffs.
| Superleague | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Storm | 42 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 155 | 86 | 65 |
| Cardiff Devils | 42 | 27 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 144 | 102 | 59 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 42 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 140 | 134 | 53 |
| Bracknell Bees | 42 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 144 | 149 | 44 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 42 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 136 | 140 | 42 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 42 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 135 | 141 | 40 |
| Newcastle Riverkings | 42 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 117 | 150 | 32 |
| London Knights | 42 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 114 | 183 | 27 |
Playoffs
All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Bracknell, London, Manchester and Sheffield while Group B consisted of Ayr, Cardiff, Newcastle and Nottingham. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the finals weekend. The third place playoff was dropped for this season.
Group A
| Group A | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester Storm | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 10 |
| Bracknell Bees | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 19 | 10 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 23 | 4 |
| London Knights | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 30 | 1 |
Group B
| Group B | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottingham Panthers | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 16 | 10 |
| Cardiff Devils | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 16 | 7 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 20 | 5 |
| Newcastle Riverkings | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 4 |
Semi Finals
Winner A vs Runner-Up B
- Manchester Storm 0-4 Cardiff Devils
Winner B vs Runner-Up A
- Nottingham Panthers 4–3 Bracknell Bees
Final
Winner A vs Winner B
- Cardiff Devils 2-1 Nottingham Panthers
References
- Ice Hockey Journalists UK
- The Internet Hockey Database
- Malcolm Preen's Ice Hockey Results and Tables
| Preceded by 1997–98 ISL season |
ISL seasons | Succeeded by 1999–2000 ISL season |
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