| 1996-97 Huntsville Channel Cats | |
|---|---|
| East Division Champions | |
| Division | 1st East |
| League | 3rd CHL |
| 1996-97 record | 39-24-3 |
| Goals for | 311 |
| Goals against | 297 |
| Coach | Larry Floyd |
| Arena | Von Braun Center, Huntsville Alabama |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Tony Frenette (41) [8th (tied) place League] |
| Assists | Alex Kholomeyev (58) [9th (tied) place League] |
| Points | Alex Kholomeyev (95) [7th (tied) place League] |
| Penalties in minutes | Jonathan Dubois (307) [9th place League] |
| Wins | Troy Seibel (28) |
| Goals against average | Derek Puppa (.872) |
The 1996-97 Huntsville Channel Cats season was the 1st season in the Central Hockey League (CHL). The season began on Wednesday, October 16, 1996, with a home game in Huntsville against the Nashville Nighthawks.
Regular season[]
Season standings[]
| Central Hockey League (CHL) East |
GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville Channel Cats | 66 | 39 | 24 | 3 | 311 | 297 | 81 |
| Macon Whoopee | 66 | 38 | 24 | 4 | 276 | 237 | 80 |
| Memphis Riverkings | 66 | 35 | 27 | 4 | 278 | 260 | 74 |
| Columbus Cottonmouths | 66 | 32 | 28 | 6 | 292 | 291 | 70 |
| Nashville Nighthawks | 66 | 12 | 52 | 2 | 219 | 359 | 26 |
| West | GP | W | L | OTL | GF | GA | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City Blazers | 66 | 48 | 12 | 6 | 307 | 200 | 102 |
| Fort Worth Fire | 66 | 45 | 16 | 5 | 279 | 210 | 95 |
| Tulsa Oilers | 66 | 30 | 32 | 4 | 286 | 284 | 64 |
| Wichita Thunder | 66 | 25 | 31 | 10 | 279 | 324 | 60 |
| San Antonio Iguanas | 66 | 26 | 36 | 4 | 261 | 326 | 56 |
Game log[]
October[]
Record:3-5-0 ; Home:2-1-0 ; Road:1-4-0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 1 | October 16 | Nashville | 4-5 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 2 | October 18 | Huntsville | 6-1 | Columbus | W | Seibel |
| 3 | October 19 | Macon | 4-7 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 4 | October 22 | Huntsville | 5-8 | Macon | L | Seibel |
| 5 | October 24 | Columbus | 5-3 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 6 | October 25 | Huntsville | 2-5 | Tulsa | L | Seibel |
| 7 | October 29 | Huntsville | 1-5 | San Antonio | L | Seibel |
| 8 | October 31 | Huntsville | 4-6 | Columbus | L | Seibel |
November[]
Record:5-5-2 ; Home:2-4-2 ; Road:3-1-0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 9 | November 1 | Nashville | 3-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 10 | November 2 | Memphis | 2-3 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 11 | November 8 | Macon | 6-1 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 12 | November 9 | Macon | 4-3 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 13 | November 13 | Huntsville | 3-2 | Macon | W | Seibel |
| 14 | November 14 | Memphis | 7-2 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 15 | November 15 | Huntsville | 7-3 | Memphis | W | Seibel |
| 16 | November 21 | Memphis | 4-3 | Huntsville | OTL | Puppa |
| 17 | November 22 | Huntsville | 8-2 | Nashville | W | Seibel |
| 18 | November 27 | Columbus | 6-5 | Huntsville | OTL | Puppa |
| 19 | November 28 | Nashville | 4-3 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 20 | November 29 | Huntsville | 1-7 | Macon | L | Seibel |
December[]
Record:7-5-1 ; Home:5-1-0 ; Road:2-4-1
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 21 | December 3 | Huntsville | 6-7 | Memphis | OTL | Puppa |
| 22 | December 4 | Huntsville | 4-5 | Columbus | L | Seibel |
| 23 | December 6 | Huntsville | 5-10 | Nashville | L | Puppa |
| 24 | December 7 | Nashville | 1-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 25 | December 13 | Huntsville | 5-4 | Wichita | W | Seibel |
| 26 | December 14 | Huntsville | 5-4 | Oklahoma City | W | Puppa |
| 27 | December 15 | Huntsville | 3-8 | Fort Worth | L | Seibel |
| 28 | December 19 | Huntsville | 6-8 | Nashville | L | Puppa |
| 29 | December 20 | Columbus | 3-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 30 | December 21 | Memphis | 2-5 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 31 | December 26 | Memphis | 4-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 32 | December 27 | Macon | 4-3 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 33 | December 31 | Nashville | 2-3 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
Janurary[]
Record:9-4-0 ; Home:3-1-0 ; Road:6-3-0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 34 | January 2 | Huntsville | 2-1 | Nashville | W | Seibel |
| 35 | January 3 | Huntsville | 1-11 | Columbus | L | Seibel |
| 36 | January 9 | Nashville | 2-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 37 | January 10 | Huntsville | 6-1 | Columbus | W | Puppa |
| 38 | January 11 | Macon | 2-3 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 39 | January 15 | Huntsville | 5-3 | Memphis | W | Puppa |
| 40 | January 17 | Huntsville | 5-4 | Macon | W | Seibel |
| 41 | January 18 | Huntsville | 4-0 | Nashville | W | Puppa |
| 42 | January 19 | Wichita | 6-7 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 43 | January 24 | Huntsville | 2-7 | Macon | L | Puppa |
| 44 | January 25 | Huntsville | 3-4 | Memphis | L | Seibel |
| 45 | January 29 | Fort Worth | 7-5 | Huntsville | L | Puppa |
| 46 | January 31 | Huntsville | 5-4 | Columbus | W | Puppa |
February[]
Record:10-2-0 ; Home:8-0-0 ; Road:2-2-0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 47 | February 1 | Columbus | 7-11 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 48 | February 6 | San Antonio | 4-5 | Huntsville | W | Puppa |
| 49 | February 8 | Memphis | 4-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 50 | February 9 | Huntsville | 4-5 | Memphis | L | Puppa |
| 51 | February 11 | Huntsville | 4-11 | Columbus | L | Puppa |
| 52 | February 12 | Nashville | 3-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 53 | February 14 | Huntsville | 8-6 | Memphis | W | Seibel |
| 54 | February 15 | Macon | 2-4 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 55 | February 18 | Tulsa | 6-7 | Huntsville | W | Puppa |
| 56 | February 19 | Huntsville | 4-2 | Macon | W | Seibel |
| 57 | February 21 | Columbus | 2-8 | Huntsville | W | Puppa |
| 58 | February 22 | Oklahoma City | 2-3 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
March[]
Record:5-3-0 ; Home:3-1-0 ; Road:2-2-0
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L/OTL | Decision |
| 59 | March 1 | Huntsville | 5-4 | Nashville | W | Seibel |
| 60 | March 2 | Huntsville | 7-3 | Nashville | W | Seibel |
| 61 | March 7 | Columbus | 5-8 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 62 | March 8 | Macon | 5-7 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 63 | March 11 | Memphis | 4-6 | Huntsville | W | Seibel |
| 64 | March 14 | Huntsville | 4-6 | Macon | L | Seibel |
| 65 | March 15 | Columbus | 6-5 | Huntsville | L | Seibel |
| 66 | March 16 | Huntsville | 4-8 | Memphis | L | Seibel |
Playoffs[]
Quarter Finals[]
The Huntsville Channel Cats ended the 1997-98 season in 1st place in the Eastern Division which placed them against the eastern 4th place team the Columbus Cottonmouths. Huntsville defeated Columbus 3 games to 0 in the first round.
Huntsville Channel Cats vs. Columbus Cottonmouths[]
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L | Decision |
| 1 | March 19 | Columbus | 3-5 | Huntsville | W | |
| 2 | March 21 | Huntsville | 8-3 | Columbus | W | |
| 3 | March 22 | Columbus | 1-4 | Huntsville | W |
Simi Finals[]
The Huntsville Channel Cats faced the Memphis Riverkings in the Simi Final round. The Riverkings defeated Macon 3 games to 2 in the quarter final round. Memphis also defeats the Channel cats in the Simi finals 4 games to 2.
Huntsville Channel Cats vs. Memphis Riverkings[]
| # | Date | Visitor | Score | Home | W/L | Decision |
| 1 | April 1 | Memphis | 5-4 | Huntsville | OTL | |
| 2 | April 4 | Huntsville | 4-6 | Memphis | L | |
| 3 | April 5 | Memphis | 5-7 | Huntsville | W | |
| 4 | April 9 | Huntsville | 5-3 | Memphis | W | |
| 5 | April 11 | Memphis | 4-2 | Huntsville | L | |
| 6 | April 12 | Huntsville | 3-4 | Memphis | L |
1997 CHL Playoffs
Roster[]
| # | Player Name | Transitions | Position | Games Played |
| 27 | Donald MacPherson | Defence | 54 | |
| Gatis Tseplis | To San Antonio | Defence | 10 | |
| 5 | Igor Bonderev | Defence | 60 | |
| 23 | John Gibson | Defence | 66 | |
| 4 | Marc Vachon | Defence | 57 | |
| Sam Fields | From Wichita | Defence | 6 | |
| 39 | Todd Dougherty | Defence | 44 | |
| 17 | Tom Moulton | Defence | 66 | |
| 8 | Alex Kholomeyev | Forward | 57 | |
| 7 | Chris George | From Columbus | Forward | 54 |
| 9 | Chris Kostopoulos | To Columbus | Forward | 22 |
| 18 | Dan Carter | Forward | 5 | |
| Greg Murray | To Nashville | Forward | 17 | |
| Jamie Salera | Forward | 24 | ||
| Jeff Frankel | To Nashville | Forward | 17 | |
| 43 | Jonathan Dubois | Forward | 62 | |
| 18 | Max Middendorf | Forward | 42 | |
| 33 | Mike Degurse | Forward | 62 | |
| 16 | Mike Gamble | Forward | 11 | |
| Paul Berrington | Forward | 3 | ||
| 21 | Phil Daigle | Forward | 55 | |
| 15 | Shawn Randall | Forward | 48 | |
| 10 | Tony Frenette | Forward | 47 | |
| 16 | Wade Tulk | From Nashville | Forward | 8 |
| 1 | Derek Puppa | Goalie | 25 | |
| Greg Lovell | Goalie | 2 | ||
| 35 | Troy Seibel | Goalie | 49 |