The 1989–90 ECHL

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

was the

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

season of the ECHL. The league brought back all five teams from the inaugural season and added three more franchises in

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, and

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Before the season began, the

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. T ...

changed their name to the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds. The eight teams played sixty games in the schedule, unchanged from the total games played in the inaugural

1988–89 ECHL season The 1988–89 ECHL season was the inaugural season of the East Coast Hockey League. The leagues first season consisted of five teams in Erie, Pennsylvania, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Knoxville, Tennessee, Vinton, Virginia and Winston-Salem, North Car ...

. The Winston-Salem Thunderbirds finished first overall in the regular season. The Greensboro Monarchs won their first

Riley Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

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''

Riley Cup playoffs

Bracket

1st Round

2nd Round

Riley Cup Finals

ECHL awards

All-Star Teams

First All-Star Team

Forward: Bill McDougalli,

Erie Panthers The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the ECHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panther ...

Forward: Trent Kaese,

Winston-Salem Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. T ...

Forward: Len Soccio, Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Defense:

Dave Doucette Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Defense: Bill Whitfield,

Virginia Lancers The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people. Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987) The Virginia Lancers w ...

Defense: Andre Brassard,

Nashville Knights Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Goaltender:

Alain Raymond Alain Raymond (born June 24, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals, giving up two goals in the two periods that he played. He played most of h ...

Hampton Roads Admirals The Hampton Roads Admirals were a professional ice hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). They played in Norfolk, Virginia at the Norfolk Scope Arena from 1989 until 2000, when the owners purchased an expansion American Hockey Le ...

Head Coach:

Dave Allison David Bryan Allison (born April 14, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and coach. He played three games with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1983–84 season and was head coach of ...

, Virginia Lancers

Second All-Star Team

Forward: Joe Ferras, Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Forward: Glen Engevik, Nashville Knights
Forward:

Trevor Jobe Trevor Jobe (born May 14, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He last played for the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the Southern Professional Hockey League in 2005. He is known for being a well-traveled, high scoring forward ...

, Hampton Roads Admirals
Forward: Brian Martin, Hampton Roads Admirals
Defense: Scott Drevich, Virginia Lancers
Goaltender: Craig Barnett, Erie Panthers
Head Coach: Ron Hansis, Erie Panthers ''Note: The East Coast Hockey League did not hold an official All-Star game until the 1992–93 season. All-Star Teams were announced at the conclusion of the season.''