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.

Benson & Hedges Cup

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

Group B

Group C

Group D

Quarter-finals

Ayr Scottish Eagles vs Manchester Storm Basingstoke Bison vs Bracknell Bees Cardiff Devils vs Nottingham Panthers Sheffield Steelers vs Newcastle Cobras

Semi-finals

Nottingham Panthers vs Sheffield Steelers Basingstoke Bison vs Ayr Scottish Eagles

Final

The final took place at Sheffield Arena between Ayr Scottish Eagles and Nottingham Panthers.

League

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

Playoffs

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

Group B

Semi-finals

The finals weekend took place at NYNEX Arena in Manchester. Winner A vs Runner-Up B Winner B vs Runner-Up A

Final

Winner A vs Winner B

Awards

All Star team

Scoring leaders