|
| Both the Varsity and Jr. Varsity tournaments are now limited to three days in length. |
| The Chicago Showcase planning committee implements pool play, in which teams are assigned to one of three pools based on the previous year's results. |
| Jed Ortmeyer, Omaha Jr. Lancers, plays his senior and final season in the IHSHL. He went on to star for the USHL Omaha Lancers from 1997-99 before going on to a standout collegiate career at the University of Michigan from 1999 through 2003. Jed then forged a career in the National Hockey League when he joined the New York Rangers in 2003-04. He played parts of nine seasons in the NHL for Nashville, San Jose and Minnesota in addition to the Rangers, appearing in a total of 345 games. |
 The Omaha Gladiators hosted the Varsity Year-End Tournament marking the first time the Varsity event is held outside the state of Iowa. |
VARSITY REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPION
Omaha Jr. Lancers (24W-1L-1T)
VARSITY TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
March 7-9, 1997 - Hitchcock Ice Arena - Omaha, Nebraska
Championship Game: Mason City Mohawks 3, Omaha Jr. Lancers 2
Mohawks win ice title PDF
Mason City Globe-Gazette - Monday, March 10, 1997
VARSITY TOURNAMENT MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Isaac Sorenson - Mason City Mohawks
VARSITY COACH-OF-THE-YEAR
John Lloyd - Mason City Mohawks
VARSITY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Waterloo Warriors
| VARSITY TOURNAMENT RESULTS March 7-9, 1997 - Hitchcock Park Ice Arena - Omaha, Nebraska |
|
| Play-In Games | E4 Waterloo 7, W5 St. Joseph 1 W4 Kansas City 5, E5 Ames 3 |
| Quarterfinal Games | W2 Omaha Gladiators 2, W3 Sioux City 4 E2 Dubuque 3, E3 Mason City 4, OT E4 Waterloo 0, E1 Des Moines 2 W1 Omaha Jr. Lancers 11, W4 Kansas City 6 |
| Consolation Semifinal Games | Waterloo 1, Dubuque 8 Omaha Gladiators 1, Kansas City 3 |
| Championship Semifinal Games | Des Moines 1, Mason City 5 Sioux City 5, Omaha Jr. Lancers 8 |
| Ninth-Place Game | St. Joseph 3, Ames 4 |
| Seventh-Place Game | Waterloo 1, Omaha Gladiators 2, OT |
| Fifth-Place Game | Dubuque 8, Kansas City 4 |
| Third-Place Game | Des Moines 4, Sioux City 2 |
| Championship Game | Mason City 3, Omaha Jr. Lancers 2 |
| VARSITY REGULAR-SEASON STANDINGS - Final | |||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Pn | PM |
| EAST DIVISION | |||||||||
| 1-Des Moines | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 109 | 52 | 141 | 349 |
| 2-Dubuque | 26 | 17 | 8 | 1 | 35 | 111 | 72 | 171 | 561 |
| 3-Mason City | 26 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 24 | 105 | 90 | 159 | 402 |
| 4-Waterloo | 26 | 11 | 14 | 1 | 23 | 89 | 94 | 123 | 289 |
| 5-Ames | 26 | 4 | 22 | 0 | 8 | 45 | 118 | 188 | 484 |
| WEST DIVISION | |||||||||
| 1-Omaha Jr. Lancers | 26 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 147 | 30 | 224 | 560 |
| 2-Omaha Gladiators | 26 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 34 | 94 | 69 | 170 | 473 |
| 3-Sioux City | 26 | 15 | 11 | 0 | 30 | 107 | 85 | 203 | 501 |
| 4-Kansas City | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 73 | 97 | 146 | 332 |
| 5-St. Joseph | 26 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 213 | 232 | 578 |
| VARSITY TOP-10 SCORERS | ||||||||||
| RK | Player, Team | GP | Go | Ast | Pts | SH | PP | Pn | PM | DQ |
| 1 | Jed Ortmeyer, Om Jr. Lancers | 26 | 34 | 30 | 64 | 1 | 13 | 16 | 32 | 0 |
| 2 | Tom Ogee, Om Jr. Lancers | 24 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 36 | 1 |
| 3 | Petr Kumpan, Waterloo | 25 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 0 |
| 4 | Jason Anderegg, Mason City | 25 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 22 | 0 |
| 5 | Brett Duncan, Om Gladiators | 26 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
| 6 | Jeff Smith, Dubuque | 25 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 1 | 6 | 41 | 122 | 1 |
| Jeremiah Johnson, Om Jr. Lancers | 19 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 40 | 0 | |
| 8 | Zane Kantaris, Mason City | 23 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 25 | 88 | 2 |
| 9 | Jimmy Krueger, Des Moines | 26 | 23 | 15 | 38 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 0 |
| 10 | Nick Saldi, Om Jr. Lancers | 25 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 |
| VARSITY SILVER-GLOVE GOALTENDERS | ||||||||||||
| RK | Player, Team | GP | W | L | T | SOG | Svs | GA | SH | PP | SO | Pct |
| 1 | Brett Roth, Om Jr. Lancers | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 260 | 245 | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0.942 |
| 2 | Mike Newell, Om Jr. Lancers | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 198 | 186 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0.939 |
| 3 | Nick Fasano, Des Moines | 23 | 15 | 7 | 1 | 489 | 443 | 46 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 0.906 |
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JUNIOR VARSITY REGULAR-SEASON CHAMPION
Des Moines Capitals (19W-2L-5T)
JUNIOR VARSITY TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
February 28-March 2, 1997 - Cyclone Area Community Center - Ames, Iowa
Championship Game: Ames Little Cyclones 5, Mason City Mohawks 0
JUNIOR VARSITY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Ames Littly Cyclones
| JR. VARSITY TOURNAMENT RESULTS February 28-March 2, 1997 - Cyclone Area Community Center - Ames, Iowa |
|
| Play-In Games | E3 Waterloo 2, W5 St. Joseph 0 E4 Mason City 7, E5 Dubuque 0 |
| Quarterfinal Games | W3 Kansas City 2, W4 Omaha Jr. Lancers 1 W2 Omaha Gladiators 2, E2 Ames 3 W1 Sioux City 3, E3 Waterloo 1 E1 Des Moines 2, E4 Mason City 6 |
| Consolation Semifinal Games | Waterloo 1, Omaha Gladiators 0 Des Moines 1, Omaha Jr. Lancers 4 |
| Championship Semifinal Games | Sioux City 2, Ames 4 Kansas City 1, Mason City 2, 4OT |
| Ninth-Place Game | Dubuque 2, St. Joseph 5 |
| Seventh-Place Game | Omaha Gladiators 4, Des Moines 5 |
| Fifth-Place Game | Waterloo 0, Omaha Jr. Lancers 4 |
| Third-Place Game | Sioux City 7, Kansas City 3 |
| Championship Game | Ames 5, Mason City 0 |
| JR. VARSITY REGULAR-SEASON STANDINGS - Final | |||||||||
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | GF | GA | Pn | PM |
| EAST DIVISION | |||||||||
| E1-Des Moines | 26 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 43 | 94 | 37 | 140 | 329 |
| E2-Ames | 26 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 25 | 61 | 84 | 108 | 240 |
| E3-Waterloo | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 25 | 59 | 57 | 119 | 308 |
| E4-Mason City | 26 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 58 | 86 | 167 | 431 |
| E5-Dubuque | 26 | 6 | 18 | 2 | 14 | 68 | 113 | 145 | 405 |
| WEST DIVISION | |||||||||
| W1-Sioux City | 26 | 16 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 127 | 68 | 210 | 589 |
| W2-Omaha Gladiators | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 34 | 88 | 66 | 123 | 328 |
| W3-Kansas City | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 33 | 97 | 61 | 142 | 324 |
| W4-Omaha Jr. Lancers | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 92 | 70 | 112 | 283 |
| W5-St. Joseph | 26 | 1 | 24 | 1 | 3 | 35 | 137 | 211 | 519 |
| JR. VARSITY TOP-10 SCORERS | ||||||||||
| RK | Player, Team | GP | Go | Ast | Pts | SH | PP | Pn | PM | DQ |
| T1 | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Om Jr. Lancers | 26 | 28 | 18 | 46 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 28 | 0 |
| T1 | Greg Gill, Sioux City | 25 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 1 |
| 3 | Matt Tonjum, Sioux City | 25 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 51 | 1 |
| 4 | Mark Shoreman, Kansas City | 26 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
| 5 | Adam Collette, Om Gladiators | 25 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 0 |
| 6 | Brent Sanders, Sioux City | 23 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 76 | 1 |
| 7 | Matt Ramsey, Des Moines | 26 | 19 | 9 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| T8 | Joe Lenz, Dubuque | 26 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 30 | 0 |
| T8 | Dan Greenwood, Kansas City | 26 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| T8 | Mike Kempkes, Om Jr. Lancers | 14 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 24 | 0 |
| JR. VARSITY SILVER-GLOVE GOALTENDERS | ||||||||||||
| RK | Player, Team | GP | W | L | T | SOG | Svs | GA | SH | PP | SO | Pct |
| 1 | Chris Kammerer, Om Jr. Lancers | 13 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 253 | 231 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0.913 |
| 2 | Sean Allison, Des Moines | 18 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 321 | 290 | 31 | 1 | 11 | 3 | 0.903 |
| 3 | Nick Niedert, Waterloo | 12 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 194 | 174 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0.897 |
IOWA HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY LEAGUE 1996-1997 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President: Dick Keith - Sioux City
Secretary/Treasurer: Wayne Fick - Dubuque
Vice President: Darwin Sprong - Ames
Vice President: Terry Flynn - Des Moines
Vice President-Scheduler: Jerry Bahnsen - Mason City
Commissioner: Greg Cigrand - Dubuque
Referee-in-Chief: Keith Hendrickson - Omaha
Statistician: Doug Newhoff - Waterloo