2001–02 NAHL season
| 2001–02 NAHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | Regular season September 2001 – March 2002 Post-season April 12 – April 27, 2002 |
| Number of games | 56 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| Regular season | |
| Season champions | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors |
| Top scorer | Brandon Kaleniecki (Cleveland Jr. Barons) |
| Robertson Cup Playoffs | |
| Finals champions | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors |
| Runners-up | Pittsburgh Forge |
The 2001–02 NAHL season was the 18th season of the North American Hockey League. The season ran from September 2001 to April 2002 with a 56-game schedule for each team. The Detroit Compuware Ambassadors won the regular season championship and went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Forge 2 games to 0 for the Robertson Cup.
Member changes
- The Pittsburgh Forge joined the NAHL as an expansion franchise.
- The St. Louis Sting relocated and became the Springfield Spirit.
Regular season
The standings at the end of the regular season were as follows:[1]
Note: x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched regular season title
Standings
East Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xyz – Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 56 | 42 | 9 | 5 | 89 | 233 | 138 |
| x – Pittsburgh Forge | 56 | 37 | 15 | 4 | 78 | 199 | 147 |
| x – Cleveland Jr. Barons | 56 | 35 | 18 | 3 | 73 | 223 | 196 |
| x – Soo Indians | 56 | 34 | 18 | 4 | 72 | 214 | 170 |
| Capital Centre Pride | 56 | 24 | 28 | 4 | 52 | 190 | 208 |
| USNTDP | 56 | 19 | 30 | 7 | 45 | 159 | 201 |
West Division
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xy – Texas Tornado | 56 | 40 | 13 | 3 | 83 | 208 | 135 |
| x – Danville Wings | 56 | 26 | 22 | 8 | 60 | 168 | 162 |
| x – Springfield Spirit | 56 | 23 | 29 | 4 | 50 | 182 | 222 |
| x – Chicago Freeze | 56 | 16 | 36 | 4 | 36 | 153 | 231 |
| Springfield Jr. Blues | 56 | 12 | 38 | 6 | 30 | 147 | 266 |
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of all regular season games. [2]
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Kaleniecki | Cleveland Jr. Barons | 54 | 52 | 37 | 89 | 34 |
| Dan Knapp | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 53 | 26 | 62 | 88 | 96 |
| Mike Falk | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 55 | 44 | 31 | 75 | 64 |
| Rocco Molinaro | Cleveland Jr. Barons | 56 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 41 |
| Tommy Goebel | Cleveland Jr. Barons | 55 | 23 | 48 | 71 | 96 |
| Greg Rallo | Springfield Jr. Blues | 52 | 40 | 29 | 69 | 102 |
| Matt Rutkowski | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 52 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 87 |
| Tony Zancanaro | Springfield Spirit | 56 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 76 |
| Geoff Smith | Texas Tornado | 56 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 28 |
| Justin Cross | Soo Indians | 56 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 40 |
Robertson Cup playoffs
| Division Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinal (Best-of-3) | Championship (Best-of-3) | ||||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 7 | 2 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Soo Indians | 6 | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 3 | 4 | 5* | ||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Springfield Spirit | 4* | 1 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Danville Wings | 1 | 1 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Springfield Spirit | 3 | 5 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Detroit Compuware Ambassadors | 4 | 4* | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Pittsburgh Forge | 0 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Texas Tornado | 4 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Chicago Freeze | 1 | 4* | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Texas Tornado | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Pittsburgh Forge | 3 | 1 | 3* | ||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Pittsburgh Forge | 3* | 7 | - | ||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Cleveland Jr. Barons | 2 | 3 | - | ||||||||||||||||
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
References
- ^ "NAHL Standings". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "NAHL Stats". North American Hockey League. Retrieved May 26, 2025.