1999–2000 ECHL season
1999–2000 ECHL season
The 1999–2000 ECHL season was the 12th season of the ECHL. Before the start of the season, the Miami Matadors and Columbus Chill suspended operations, the Chesapeake Icebreakers, who originally suspended operations, moved to Jackson, Mississippi. The league also welcomed expansion franchises in North Little Rock, Arkansas and Trenton, New Jersey, as well as welcoming back a franchise in the former market of Greensboro, North Carolina. The New Orleans Brass moved into the New New Orleans Arena. The league also created a new individual award, the Plus Performer Award, to be awarded to the player who leads the league in plus-minus rating at the end of the regular season.[1] The Florida Everblades finished first overall in the regular season, winning the Brabham Cup and the Peoria Rivermen won their first Kelly Cup, defeating the Louisiana IceGators four games to two.
Regular season
Final standings
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Loses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot; Blue shade = Clinched division; (z) = Clinched home-ice advantage
Northern Conference
| Northeast Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roanoke Express | 70 | 44 | 20 | 6 | 94 | 221 | 181 |
| Richmond Renegades | 70 | 44 | 21 | 5 | 93 | 258 | 205 |
| Hampton Roads Admirals | 70 | 44 | 22 | 4 | 92 | 241 | 198 |
| Trenton Titans | 70 | 37 | 29 | 4 | 78 | 233 | 199 |
| Charlotte Checkers | 70 | 25 | 38 | 7 | 57 | 186 | 254 |
| Greensboro Generals | 70 | 20 | 43 | 7 | 47 | 229 | 337 |
| Northwest Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peoria Rivermen | 70 | 45 | 20 | 5 | 95 | 273 | 216 |
| Huntington Blizzard | 70 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 80 | 230 | 238 |
| Johnstown Chiefs | 70 | 33 | 28 | 9 | 75 | 235 | 234 |
| Dayton Bombers | 70 | 32 | 28 | 10 | 74 | 230 | 226 |
| Wheeling Nailers | 70 | 25 | 40 | 5 | 55 | 202 | 246 |
| Toledo Storm | 70 | 22 | 41 | 7 | 51 | 214 | 306 |
Southern Conference
| Southeast Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida Everblades | 70 | 53 | 15 | 2 | 108 | 277 | 181 |
| Pee Dee Pride | 70 | 47 | 18 | 5 | 99 | 233 | 175 |
| Greenville Grrrowl | 70 | 46 | 18 | 6 | 98 | 277 | 198 |
| South Carolina Stingrays | 70 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 80 | 253 | 242 |
| Augusta Lynx | 70 | 34 | 31 | 5 | 73 | 243 | 248 |
| Tallahassee Tiger Sharks | 70 | 31 | 33 | 6 | 68 | 256 | 261 |
| Jacksonville Lizard Kings | 70 | 27 | 34 | 9 | 63 | 246 | 291 |
| Southwest Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana IceGators | 70 | 43 | 18 | 9 | 95 | 281 | 241 |
| Mobile Mysticks | 70 | 40 | 28 | 2 | 82 | 275 | 230 |
| New Orleans Brass | 70 | 36 | 27 | 7 | 79 | 230 | 219 |
| Mississippi Sea Wolves | 70 | 35 | 27 | 8 | 78 | 241 | 221 |
| Pensacola Ice Pilots | 70 | 35 | 29 | 6 | 76 | 215 | 216 |
| Baton Rouge Kingfish | 70 | 33 | 32 | 5 | 71 | 253 | 277 |
| Jackson Bandits | 70 | 32 | 32 | 6 | 70 | 201 | 227 |
| Birmingham Bulls | 70 | 29 | 37 | 4 | 62 | 255 | 297 |
| Arkansas RiverBlades | 70 | 18 | 49 | 3 | 39 | 192 | 316 |
Kelly Cup playoffs
Northern Conference
Bracket
| Conference Quarterfinals (Best of 5) | Conference Semifinals (Best of 5) | Conference Finals (Best of 7) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Peoria | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Dayton | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Peoria | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Johnstown | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Roanoke | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Johnstown | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Peoria | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Trenton | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Richmond | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Trenton | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Trenton | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Hampton Roads | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Hampton Roads | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Huntington | 2 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern Conference
Bracket
| Conference Wild Card (Best of 3) | Conference Quarterfinals (Best of 5) | Conference Semifinals (Best of 5) | Conference Finals (Best of 7) | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Florida | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Augusta | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | New Orleans | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Augusta | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Augusta | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Greenville | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Greenville | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Mobile | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Greenville | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Louisiana | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Pee Dee | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | South Carolina | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | South Carolina | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | Baton Rouge | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | South Carolina | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Louisiana | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Louisiana | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Mississippi | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Pensacola | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
Wild Card
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kelly Cup finals
| Kelly Cup finals | ||||
| N.1 | Peoria | 4 | ||
| S.2 | Louisiana | 2 | ||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ECHL awards
| Patrick J. Kelly Cup: | Peoria Rivermen |
| Henry Brabham Cup: | Florida Everblades |
| Northern Conference Champion: | Peoria Rivermen |
| Southern Conference Champion: | Louisiana IceGators |
| John Brophy Award: | Bob Ferguson (Florida) |
| ECHL Most Valuable Player: | Andrew Williamson (Toledo) |
| Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: | J. F. Boutin and Jason Christie (Peoria) |
| ECHL Goaltender of the Year: | Jan Lasak (Hampton Roads) |
| ECHL Rookie of the Year: | Jan Lasak (Hampton Roads) |
| Defenseman of the Year: | Tom Nemeth (Dayton) |
| Leading Scorer: | John Spoltore (Louisiana) |
| Plus Performer Award: | Andy MacIntyre (Florida) |
| Sportsmanship Award: | Jamie Ling (Dayton) |