2000–01 ISL season
The 2000–01 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the fifth season of the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).
Belfast Giants, a new team formed in Northern Ireland, were granted a franchise, although they did not take part in the Benson & Hedges Cup. The Newcastle franchise was sold to Harry Harkimo, co-owner of Jokerit who play in the Finnish SM-liiga, and their name was changed to the Newcastle Jesters (Jokerit being Finnish for Jester).
This season, the league awarded three points for a win, two points for an overtime win and one point for an overtime loss in all competitions except the Benson & Hedges Cup. Any game still tied after overtime was decided by a penalty shootout.
The Sheffield Steelers won a Grand Slam of all available competitions. However, the win was marred by the club being found guilty by the league for breaking the £450,000 wage cap[1] and going into liquidation at the end of the season.[2]
Challenge Cup
All nine teams in the league competed in the 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.
Sheffield Steelers won the competition for the third time in a row.
First round
| Challenge Cup | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast Giants | 16 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 58 | 49 | 31 |
| London Knights | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 52 | 39 | 30 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 63 | 51 | 28 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 16 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 45 | 39 | 28 |
| Bracknell Bees | 16 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 64 | 50 | 26 |
| Manchester Storm | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 59 | 71 | 23 |
| Newcastle Jesters | 16 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 48 | 49 | 21 |
| Cardiff Devils | 16 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 45 | 51 | 20 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 33 | 68 | 9 |
Semi finals
1st place (Belfast) vs 4th place (Sheffield)
- Belfast Giants 2–1 Sheffield Steelers
- Sheffield Steelers 7–0 Belfast Giants (Sheffield win 8–2 on aggregate)
3rd place (Ayr) vs 2nd place (London)
- Ayr Scottish Eagles 5–5 London Knights
- London Knights 2–3 Ayr Scottish Eagles (Ayr win 8–7 on aggregate)
Final
Winner semi final 1 vs Winner semi final 2
League
Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. The top eight teams in the league were entered into the playoffs.
| Superleague | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheffield Steelers | 48 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 162 | 115 | 104 |
| Cardiff Devils | 48 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 16 | 167 | 130 | 85 |
| Bracknell Bees | 48 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 173 | 161 | 75 |
| London Knights | 48 | 18 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 143 | 130 | 74 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 48 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 161 | 158 | 72 |
| Belfast Giants | 48 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 158 | 159 | 72 |
| Manchester Storm | 48 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 148 | 186 | 60 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 48 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 23 | 126 | 167 | 53 |
| Newcastle Jesters | 48 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 126 | 158 | 53 |
Playoffs
The top eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Belfast, London, Nottingham and Sheffield while Group B consisted of Ayr, Bracknell, Cardiff and Manchester. 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 | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Knights | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 12 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 12 |
| Belfast Giants | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 9 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 3 |
Group B
| Group B | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracknell Bees | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 17 | 11 |
| Ayr Scottish Eagles | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 19 | 9 |
| Cardiff Devils | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 24 | 9 |
| Manchester Storm | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 26 | 7 |
Semi Finals
Winner Group A vs 2nd place Group B
Winner Group B vs 2nd place Group A
Final
Winner semi final 1 vs Winner semi final 2
- London Knights 1-2 Sheffield Steelers
References
- Ice Hockey Journalists UK
- The Internet Hockey Database
- Malcolm Preen's Ice Hockey Results and Tables
Footnotes
- ↑ "Steelers facing title axe". BBC Sports. 2001-05-09. http://news.bbc.co.uk/port1/low/other_sports/1321890.stm. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
- ↑ "Uncertain future for Steelers", 27 April 2001. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
| Preceded by 1999–2000 ISL season |
ISL seasons | Succeeded by 2001–02 ISL season |
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