The 1997-98 West Coast Hockey League season was the third season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Nine teams participated in the regular season, and the San Diego Gulls were the league champions. In addition to league play, WCHL teams played regular season games against the Russian Superleague team CKA-Amur (now Amur Khabarovsk).
Four new teams joined the WCHL as of the 1997–98 season, nearly doubling the league's size: the Tacoma Sabercats, Idaho Steelheads, Phoenix Mustangs and Tucson Gila Monsters. From this expansion, as of 2014 only the Idaho Steelheads remain operational as an ECHL team.
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma Sabercats | 64 | 42 | 19 | 3 | 300 | 214 | 87 |
| Anchorage Aces | 64 | 36 | 20 | 8 | 308 | 261 | 80 |
| Idaho Steelheads | 64 | 27 | 30 | 7 | 253 | 275 | 61 |
| Reno Rage | 64 | 23 | 39 | 2 | 219 | 297 | 48 |
| South Division | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Gulls | 64 | 53 | 10 | 1 | 347 | 198 | 107 |
| Phoenix Mustangs | 64 | 36 | 25 | 3 | 267 | 235 | 75 |
| Fresno Fighting Falcons | 64 | 33 | 29 | 2 | 273 | 262 | 68 |
| Bakersfield Fog | 64 | 22 | 37 | 5 | 226 | 330 | 49 |
| Tucson Gila Monsters | 64 | 16 | 43 | 5 | 213 | 334 | 37 |
| Taylor Cup-Quarterfinals | Taylor Cup-Semifinals | Taylor Cup-Final | ||||||||||||
| S1 | San Diego Gulls | 3 | ||||||||||||
| S4 | Bakersfield Fog | 1 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | San Diego Gulls | 4 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | Phoenix Mustangs | 0 | ||||||||||||
| S2 | Phoenix Mustangs | 3 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Fresno Fighting Falcons | 2 | ||||||||||||
| S1 | San Diego Gulls | 4 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Tacoma Sabercats | 1 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Tacoma Sabercats | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Reno Rage | 0 | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Tacoma Sabercats | 4 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Anchorage Aces | 0 | ||||||||||||
| N2 | Anchorage Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Idaho Steelheads | 1 | ||||||||||||
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season.
The Fresno Falcons are a travel inline hockey team and were a minor league hockey team. The ice hockey Falcons were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey League and the West Coast Hockey League. In their final years, they were members of the ECHL. In 2024, a new iteration of the Falcons would be formed as a travel inline hockey team, They are located in Fresno, California.
The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championship following the 2013–14 ECHL season.
The 2003–04 ECHL season was the 16th season of the ECHL. This was the first season that the league would be known as only the ECHL instead of East Coast Hockey League after the absorption of the former West Coast Hockey League teams. The Brabham Cup regular season champions were the San Diego Gulls and the Kelly Cup playoff champions were the Idaho Steelheads.
The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 1994 to 2011. Teams played approximately 50 games in the regular season schedule, mimicking what players would experience at the collegiate level. As of January 2022, there are no active teams in the league following the creation of the Can-Am Junior Hockey League by former WSHL teams.
David Richard Langevin is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 216 games for the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association (WHA) as well as 513 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings between 1977 and 1987. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
The Dubuque Fighting Saints were a Tier I junior ice hockey team that played in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 1980 to 2001. The team moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to become the Tulsa Crude in 2001 citing low attendance and rising costs. A new team would use the same name when Dubuque was granted an expansion franchise in the USHL in 2010.
The Phoenix Mustangs were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL). The Mustangs played at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum on the grounds of the Arizona State Fair, from the 1997–98 season through the 2000–01 season. The Mustangs came into existence after the demise of the International Hockey League's Phoenix Roadrunners who lost funding from a local Indian community and ceased operations after the 1996–97 season. Their arrival rekindled a decades long rivalry between Phoenix and San Diego based teams in several minor leagues.
The San Diego Gulls were a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California, that competed in the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) and later in the ECHL. The team, the third to use the Gulls nickname, was founded in 1995 immediately upon the departure of the IHL team of the same name. The Gulls played at the San Diego Sports Arena.
The Tacoma Sabercats were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tacoma, Washington. The team began play in the West Coast Hockey League as of the 1997–98 season.
John Olver is a Canadian ice hockey player and coach known for his league championship teams in the West Coast Hockey League and ECHL.
The Reno Renegades were a short-lived American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Reno, Nevada. The team was a founding member of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL).
The Idaho Jr. Steelheads, also called the Idaho IceCats, were a junior ice hockey team based in McCall, Idaho. The team played in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) and home games were held at Manchester Ice & Event Centre in McCall. The team previously played some home games at Idaho Ice World and CenturyLink Arena in Boise, the latter being the home of the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. The team had been one of the most successful in the WSHL, winning five Thorne Cup championships over six seasons and appeared in seven straight between 2010 and 2017.
The 1996-97 West Coast Hockey League season was the second season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Six teams participated in the regular season, and the San Diego Gulls were the league champions.
The 1998–99 West Coast Hockey League season was the fourth season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Nine teams began the regular season, although the Tucson Gila Monsters folded after 21 games. Tucson's unexpected mid-season exit created schedule irregularities, causing some teams to play 70 regular season games while others played 71.
The 1999-00 West Coast Hockey League season was the fifth season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Eight teams participated in the regular season, and the Phoenix Mustangs were the league champions.
The 2000–01 West Coast Hockey League season was the sixth season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Nine teams participated in the regular season, and the San Diego Gulls were the league champions.
The 2001-02 West Coast Hockey League season was the seventh season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Eight teams participated in the regular season, and the Fresno Falcons were the league champions.
Idaho has seen scant interest from ice hockey in the United States. In spite of small investments, the state has seen a decent amount of engagement from residents.
