1988–89 ECHL season

The 1988–89 ECHL season was the inaugural season of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The league's first season consisted of five teams in Erie, Pennsylvania, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Knoxville, Tennessee, Vinton, Virginia and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The five teams played 60 games each in the schedule. The Erie Panthers finished first overall in the regular season. The Carolina Thunderbirds won the first Riley Cup championship.

Regular season

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot

bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30%" \| East Coast Hockey League ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| GP ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| W ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| L ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| OTL ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="5%" \| Pts ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%" \| GF ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="7.5%" \| GA
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
bgcolor="#bbffbb" \|align=left\| Erie Panthers	60	37	20	3	77	327	256
bgcolor="#bbffbb" \|align=left\| Johnstown Chiefs	60	32	22	6	70	295	251
bgcolor="#bbffbb" \|align=left\| Knoxville Cherokees	60	32	27	1	65	266	286
bgcolor="#bbffbb" \|align=left\| Carolina Thunderbirds	60	27	32	1	55	266	329
align=left\| Virginia Lancers	60	22	30	8	52	266	298

Riley Cup playoffs

{{4TeamBracket | RD1=Riley Cup Semifinals

| RD2=Riley Cup Finals

| RD1-seed1= 1

| RD1-seed2= 4

| RD1-team1= Erie

| RD1-team2= Carolina

| RD1-score1= 0

| RD1-score2= 4

| RD1-seed3=3

| RD1-seed4=2

| RD1-team3=Knoxville

| RD1-team4=Johnstown

| RD1-score3=0

| RD1-score4=4

| RD2-seed1= 4

| RD2-seed2= 2

| RD2-team1=Carolina

| RD2-team2=Johnstown

| RD2-score1=4

| RD2-score2=3

}}

=1989 Riley Cup Finals=

==Johnstown Chiefs vs. Carolina Thunderbirds==

{{NHLPlayoffs

|team1= Carolina Thunderbirds

|team2= Johnstown Chiefs

|stadium1= Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum

|stadium2= Cambria County War Memorial Arena

|date1= April 1

|home1= 2

|score1= 8 – 1

|won1= 2

|date2= April 2

|home2= 2

|score2= 6 – 1

|won2= 2

|date3= April 5

|home3= 1

|score3= 7 – 4

|won3= 1

|date4= April 8

|home4= 2

|score4= 3 – 5

|won4= 1

|date5= April 9

|home5= 1

|score5= 7 – 1

|won5= 1

|date6= April 10

|home6= 1

|score6= 4 – 7

|won6= 2

|date7= April 12

|home7= 2

|score7= 4 – 7

|won7=1

|series= Carolina wins series 4 – 3}}

ECHL awards

cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1" \| Jack Riley Cup:	Carolina Thunderbirds
Henry Brabham Cup:	Erie Panthers
John Brophy Award:	Ron Hansis (Erie)
ECHL Most Valuable Player:	Daryl Harpe (Erie)
Riley Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player:	Nick Vitucci (Carolina)
ECHL Rookie of the Year:	Tom Sasso (Johnstown)
Defenseman of the Year:	Kelly Szauter (Erie)
Leading Scorer:	Daryl Harpe (Erie)

References

External links

[http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/echl19891990.html HockeyDB.com]

Category:ECHL seasons