| 1996–97 ISL season | |
| League: | Ice Hockey Superleague |
| Sport: | Ice hockey |
| Season: | 1996–97 |
| Season Champ Name: | Benson & Hedges Cup |
| Season Champs: | Nottingham Panthers |
| League Champ Name: | League champions |
| League Champs: | Cardiff Devils |
| Conf1: | Playoff |
| Prevseason Link: | 1995–96 BHL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 1995–96 |
| Nextseason Link: | 1997–98 ISL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1997–98 |
The 1996 - 97 Ice Hockey Superleague season was the inaugural season of the Ice Hockey Superleague (ISL).
The league was formed by the owners of the Ayr Scottish Eagles, Basingstoke Bison, Bracknell Bees, Cardiff Devils, Manchester Storm, Newcastle Cobras, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers. Ayr was the only new team with the rest of the teams having left the British Hockey League.
The Benson & Hedges Cup consists of the teams from the ISL and the top teams from the British Hockey League. Sixteen teams in total were split into four regional groups playing each team in their group at home and away. The top two teams of each group then progressed to the quarter finals where the teams were paired off and the winning team on aggregate (after playing home and away) progressed to the semi finals. Again the winning team on aggregate progressed to the one-off final game held at Sheffield Arena.
| Group A | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 14 | 11 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 16 | 9 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 50 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 48 | 2 |
| Group B | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 24 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 30 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 35 | 1 |
| Group C | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 13 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 23 | 9 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 35 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 56 | 0 |
| Group D | GP | W | T | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 31 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 63 | 0 |
Ayr Scottish Eagles vs Manchester Storm
Basingstoke Bison vs Bracknell Bees
Cardiff Devils vs Nottingham Panthers
Sheffield Steelers vs Newcastle Cobras
Nottingham Panthers vs Sheffield Steelers
Basingstoke Bison vs Ayr Scottish Eagles
The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Nottingham Panthers.
Each team played three home games and three away games against each of their opponents. All eight teams were entered into the playoffs.
| Superleague | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 30 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 208 | 130 | 64 | ||
| 42 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 168 | 127 | 60 | ||
| 42 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 171 | 157 | 48 | ||
| 42 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 160 | 147 | 45 | ||
| 42 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 18 | 158 | 172 | 41 | ||
| 42 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 169 | 202 | 33 | ||
| 42 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 142 | 191 | 32 | ||
| 42 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 152 | 202 | 28 |
All eight teams in the league took part in the playoffs. Group A consisted of Ayr, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle while Group B consisted of Basingstoke, Bracknell, Nottingham and Sheffield. The top two teams from each playoff group qualified for the playoff weekend at NYNEX Arena.
| Group A | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 14 | 12 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 6 | ||
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 23 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 2 |
| Group B | GP | W | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 16 | 11 | ||
| 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 15 | 10 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 26 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16 | 23 | 2 |
The finals weekend took place at NYNEX Arena in Manchester.
Winner A vs Runner-Up B
Winner B vs Runner-Up A
Winner A vs Winner B
| Pos | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Lyle | Cardiff Devils | ||
| Kip Noble | Cardiff Devils | ||
| Garth Premak | Nottingham Panthers | ||
| Nottingham Panthers | |||
| Ivan Matulik | Cardiff Devils | ||
| Vezio Sacratini | Cardiff Devils | ||
| Justin Farkas | Nottingham Panthers |