The 1998–99 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the third season of the

Ice Hockey Superleague The British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL, also known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague from 1998 to 1999 for sponsorship reasons) was a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2003. Devised in 1995, it replaced ...

(ISL). Having reached a sponsorship deal with

Sekonda Sekonda is a British wristwatch manufacturer. Established in 1966, Sekonda watches were originally produced in the Soviet Union, at the First Moscow Watch Factory in Moscow and the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Leningrad. Many Soviet-era Sekonda ...

, the league was now formally known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague.

Basingstoke Bison The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the NIHL National League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League. History ...

left the league and joined the British National League. The

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

were formed and joined the ISL playing out of

London Arena The London Arena (also known as London Docklands Arena) was an indoor arena and exhibition centre in Millwall, close to Cubitt Town area of Poplar, on the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England which was inaugurated in 1989 and demolished for h ...

. The

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

franchise also changed their name from the Newcastle Cobras to the Newcastle Riverkings. Losing the

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

sponsorship, the Express Cup was renamed the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

. 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.

Benson & Hedges Cup

The

Benson & Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Englan ...

consisted of the teams from the ISL and the top teams from the British National League. In the 1998–99 season, sixteen teams in total were split into four groups (two ISL and two BNL) playing each team in their group once at home and once away. All sixteen teams then progressed to a challenge round of a home and away game with the winners on aggregate progressing. The quarter finals and semi finals were also home and away aggregate rounds with the final being a one off game held at

Sheffield Arena Sheffield Arena, known for sponsorship purposes as Utilita Arena Sheffield, is a multi-purpose arena located in Sheffield, England. It is situated near Meadowhall and lies between Sheffield city centre and Rotherham town centre. Opened in 1991 ...

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Finals

Note: The first home team is shown first

Challenge Cup

All eight teams in the league competed in the newly renamed

. 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

Semi-finals

1st place (Manchester) vs 4th place (Sheffield) *

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

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 The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team play at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff are the reigning EIHL play-off champions, winning their third title in a row after beating ...

2–3

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

*Nottingham Panthers 3–3 Cardiff Devils (after overtime, Nottingham win 6–5 on aggregate)

Final

Winner A vs Winner B *

4–0

League

Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

Playoffs

All eight teams in the league took part in the

. 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 B

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

Awards

* Coach of the Year Trophy –

Kurt Kleinendorst Kurt Kleinendorst (born December 31, 1960) is an American professional ice hockey coach. Since January 2022, he is head coach of the Iserlohn Roosters from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Kleinendorst played four seasons at Providence College a ...

, Manchester Storm * Player of the Year Trophy –

Frank Pietrangelo Frank Pietrangelo (born December 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Pietrangelo started his National Hockey League career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988, winning the Stanley C ...

, Manchester Storm *

Ice Hockey Annual Trophy The Ice Hockey Annual Trophy is an ice hockey trophy in the United Kingdom which is awarded to the British player who has scored the most points during the season in league competition only. The award is named after the ''Ice Hockey Annual'', an an ...

–

Tony Hand Anthony Hand MBE (born 15 August 1967) is a Scottish former ice hockey player and coach. He was the first British player to be drafted by an NHL team when he was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in 1986. Nicknamed ''Two point Tony'', he holds sever ...

* British Netminder of the Year – Stevie Lyle,

Alan Weeks Trophy The Alan Weeks Trophy is awarded to the Best British Defenceman in the British Ice Hockey Leagues as voted by Ice Hockey Journalists UK. The award is named after Alan Weeks who was a BBC Commentator for 45 years and Chairman of the Brighton Tiger ...

– Stephen Cooper, Newcastle Riverkings

All Star teams

Scoring leaders

The scoring leaders are taken from all league games. *Most

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

: 56

Paul Adey Paul Adey (born August 28, 1963) is a former ice hockey player and coach. Adey enjoyed a notable playing career in British ice hockey, playing 11 seasons for the Nottingham Panthers between 1988 and 1999 and 29 games for the Sheffield Steelers du ...

(

) *Most

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

: 29 Greg Hadden (Nottingham Panthers) *Most assists: 35 Paul Adey (Nottingham Panthers) *Most PIMs: 152 Paxton Schulte (

Bracknell Bees The Bees Ice Hockey Club are an ice hockey team from Slough, Berkshire, UK. They compete in the National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) National League, the second tier of English Ice Hockey. History Early years The Bracknell Bees were formed in ...

)

References

Ice Hockey Journalists UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:1998-99 ISL season Ice Hockey Superleague seasons 1

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...