1990–91 ECHL season
The 1990–91 ECHL season was the third season of the ECHL. In 1990, the league welcomed three new franchises: Cincinnati Cyclones, Louisville Icehawks, and Richmond Renegades. The Virginia Lancers franchise was renamed the Roanoke Valley Rebels. The eleven teams played 64 games in the schedule. The Knoxville Cherokees finished first overall in the regular season. The Hampton Roads Admirals won their first Riley Cup championship.
Contents
League realignment
With the league expanded to eleven teams, the league was realigned to include two separate divisions, East and West.
East Division
West Division
- Cincinnati Cyclones
- Greensboro Monarchs
- Knoxville Cherokees
- Louisville Icehawks
- Nashville Knights
- Winston-Salem Thunderbirds
Regular season
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Green shade = Clinched playoff spot, Blue shade = Clinched division
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Roads Admirals | 64 | 38 | 20 | 6 | 82 | 300 | 248 |
| Johnstown Chiefs | 64 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 67 | 324 | 287 |
| Erie Panthers | 64 | 31 | 30 | 3 | 65 | 302 | 302 |
| Richmond Renegades | 64 | 29 | 29 | 6 | 64 | 300 | 307 |
| Roanoke Valley Rebels | 64 | 26 | 31 | 7 | 59 | 218 | 295 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville Cherokees | 64 | 46 | 13 | 5 | 97 | 377 | 230 |
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 64 | 37 | 24 | 3 | 77 | 285 | 281 |
| Greensboro Monarchs | 64 | 34 | 27 | 3 | 71 | 275 | 268 |
| Louisville Icehawks | 64 | 31 | 29 | 4 | 66 | 251 | 309 |
| Nashville Knights | 64 | 29 | 31 | 4 | 62 | 307 | 317 |
| Winston-Salem Thunderbirds | 64 | 20 | 41 | 3 | 43 | 228 | 323 |
Riley Cup playoffs
| Divisional Semifinals March 14–20 |
Division Finals March 22–29 |
Riley Cup Finals April 3–11 |
||||||||||||
| E.1 | Hampton Roads | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E.4 | Richmond | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E.1 | Hampton Roads | 4 | ||||||||||||
| E.2 | Johnstown | 1 | ||||||||||||
| E.2 | Johnstown | 3 | ||||||||||||
| E.3 | Erie | 2 | ||||||||||||
| E.1 | Hampton Roads | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W.3 | Greensboro | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W.2 | Cincinnati | 1 | ||||||||||||
| W.3 | Greensboro | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W.3 | Greensboro | 4 | ||||||||||||
| W.4 | Louisville | 0 | ||||||||||||
| W.4 | Louisville | 3 | ||||||||||||
| W.1 | Knoxville | 0 | ||||||||||||
- E is short for East Division
- W is short for West Division
ECHL awards
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
| Jack Riley Cup: | Hampton Roads Admirals |
| Henry Brabham Cup: | Knoxville Cherokees |
| John Brophy Award: | Don Jackson (Knoxville) |
| ECHL Most Valuable Player: | Stan Drulia (Knoxville) |
| Riley Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: | Dave Flanagan / Dave Gagnon (Hampton Roads) |
| ECHL Rookie of the Year: | Dan Gauthier (Knoxville) |
| Defenseman of the Year: | Brett McDonald (Nashville) |
| Top Goaltender: | Dean Anderson (Knoxville) |
| Leading Scorer: | Stan Drulia (Knoxville) |
All-Star Teams
First Team
| Goalie: | Dean Anderson, Knoxville Cherokees |
| Defenseman: | Jeff Lindsay, Knoxville Cherokees |
| Defenseman: | Brett MacDonald, Nashville Knights |
| Left Wing: | Brian Martin, Hampton Roads Admirals |
| Center: | Dan Gauthier, Knoxville Cherokees |
| Right Wing: | Stan Drulia, Knoxville Cherokees |
