1995 RHI season

1995 RHI season
League	Roller Hockey International
Sport	Inline hockey
Duration	June, 1995 – September, 1995
Regular season
Best Overall Record	Anaheim Bullfrogs
Season MVP	Guy Rouleau (Montreal)
Top scorer	Doug Lawrence (Oklahoma)
Playoffs
Eastern champions	Montreal Roadrunners
Eastern runners-up	St. Louis Vipers
Western champions	San Jose Rhinos
Western runners-up	Anaheim Bullfrogs
Playoffs MVP	Jon Gustafson (San Jose)
Murphy Cup
Murphy Cup champions	San Jose Rhinos
Runners-up	Montreal Roadrunners
RHI seasons
← 1994	1996 →

The 1995 RHI season was the 3rd season of Roller Hockey International. It began in June 1995, with the regular season ending in August. The Murphy Cup playoffs ended in September, with the San Jose Rhinos defeating the Montreal Roadrunners to win their first Murphy Cup in overtime of game three. The St. Louis Vipers hosted the 2nd RHI All-Star Game at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri on July 15, 1995.

Contents 1 League business 1.1 Franchise changes 1.1.1 Arena changes 1.1.2 New uniforms 1.1.3 Contraction 1.1.4 Relocation 1.1.5 Expansion 1.2 Realignment 1.3 Season schedule 2 Regular season 2.1 Divisional standings 2.1.1 Eastern Conference 2.1.2 Western Conference 2.2 Conference standings 2.2.1 Tiebreaking procedures 2.3 Statistical leaders 2.3.1 Scoring leaders 2.3.2 Leading goaltenders 3 Playoffs 3.1 Playoff seeds 3.1.1 Eastern Conference 3.1.2 Western Conference 3.2 Playoff bracket 4 RHI awards 5 See also

League business

Franchise changes

Arena changes

The Chicago Cheetahs moved into the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois and the St. Louis Vipers moved into the newly opened Kiel Center in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

New uniforms

The Chicago Cheetahs and Los Angeles Blades debuted new uniforms, while the New Jersey Rockin Rollers debuted a slightly altered uniform.

Contraction

The Calgary Rad'z, Florida Hammerheads, Las Vegas Flash (formerly Utah Rollerbees), and Portland Rage all folded after two seasons in the league. The Pittsburgh Phantoms and Tampa Bay Tritons each folded after only one season in the league. Also, the Minnesota Arctic Blast franchise left the league after the 1994 season.

Relocation

The Atlanta Fire Ants relocated to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to become the Oklahoma Coyotes, the Edmonton Sled Dogs relocated to Orlando, Florida to become the Orlando Rollergators, and the New England Stingers relocated to Ottawa, Ontario to become the Ottawa Loggers.

Expansion

The league added two new franchises, including the Detroit Motor City Mustangs and Minnesota Blue Ox.

Realignment

With the smaller RHI and the relocation of three franchises, for this season the league kept the same divisions as the 1994 season, with a few changes. In the Atlantic Division, the Florida Hammerheads and Tampa Bay Tritons folded, and the Buffalo Stampede were moved to the Central Division. The three existing franchises, (the Montreal Roadrunners, New Jersey Rockin Rollers, and Philadelphia Bulldogs) were joined by the Ottawa Loggers, formerly the New England Stingers, from the Central Division, and the Orlando Rollergators, formerly the Edmonton Sled Dogs, from the Northwest Division, to bring the total to five teams.

In the Central Division, the Minnesota Arctic Blast and Pittsburgh Phantoms franchises folded. The Oklahoma Coyotes, formerly the Atlanta Fire Ants, and Ottawa Loggers, formerly the New England Stingers, were moved to other divisions. The two remaining teams, the St. Louis Vipers and Chicago Cheetahs, were joined by the Buffalo Stampede and two expansion franchises, the Detroit Motor City Mustangs and Minnesota Blue Ox for a total of five teams.

In the Northwest Division, the Calgary Rad'z and Portland Rage folded. The Phoenix Cobras and Orlando Rollegators, formerly the Edmonton Sled Dogs, were moved to the Pacific Division and Atlantic Division respectively. The Sacramento River Rats and Vancouver Voodoo were joined by the Oakland Skates and San Jose Rhinos from the Pacific, to bring the total number of teams to four, making it the smallest division in RHI.

In the Pacific Division, the Las Vegas Flash, formerly the Utah Rollerbees folded after one season. The Oakland Skates and San Jose Rhinos were moved to the Northwest. The Oklahoma Coyotes and Phoenix Cobras were added from other divisions to the three existing members, the Anaheim Bullfrogs, Los Angeles Blades, and Oakland Skates to bring the division to five teams.

Season schedule

RHI again increased its regular season schedule from 22 to 24 games per team. In the new schedule, each Eastern Conference team will played their divisional rivals four times for a total of 16 games, and played four other conference teams two times for a total of 8 games, bringing the total number of games to 24.

In the Western Conference, each team played their divisional rivals four times, and played all other conference teams two times. Because the Northwest Division only had four teams, each team played one of their divisional rivals 2 extra times for a total of 6 games, instead of 4.

Regular season

Divisional standings

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
z–Montreal Roadrunners	24	15	6	3	175	133	33
x–Ottawa Loggers	24	14	9	1	181	155	29
x–New Jersey Rockin Rollers	24	13	11	0	172	167	26
x–Philadelphia Bulldogs	24	12	10	2	179	165	26
e–Orlando Rollergators	23	7	16	0	135	184	14

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
y–St. Louis Vipers	24	13	7	2	166	157	28
x–Minnesota Blue Ox	24	13	11	0	175	209	26
x–Detroit Motor City Mustangs	24	11	9	4	177	181	26
x–Chicago Cheetahs	24	10	12	2	194	194	22
e–Buffalo Stampede	23	10	13	0	169	178	20

Western Conference

Northwest Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
y–Vancouver Voodoo	24	13	10	1	203	185	27
x–Sacramento River Rats	24	12	9	3	185	174	27
x–San Jose Rhinos	24	13	11	0	174	174	26
x–Oakland Skates	24	10	10	4	157	173	24

Pacific Division	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
b–Anaheim Bullfrogs	24	19	4	1	219	157	39
x–Phoenix Cobras	24	13	11	0	158	161	26
x–San Diego Barracudas	24	12	11	1	167	172	25
x–Los Angeles Blades	24	9	10	5	147	164	23
e–Oklahoma Coyotes	24	7	17	0	159	209	14

Note: x – clinched playoff spot, y – clinched division title, z – clinched regular season conference title, b – clinched best overall record, e – eliminated from playoff contention

Conference standings

Eastern Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
z–Montreal Roadrunners	24	15	6	3	175	133	33
y–St. Louis Vipers	24	13	7	2	166	157	28
x–Ottawa Loggers	24	14	9	1	181	155	29
x–Minnesota Blue Ox	24	13	11	0	175	209	26
x–New Jersey Rockin Rollers	24	13	11	0	172	167	26
x–Philadelphia Bulldogs	24	12	10	2	179	165	26
x–Detroit Motor City Mustangs	24	11	9	4	177	181	26
x–Chicago Cheetahs	24	10	12	2	194	194	22
e–Buffalo Stampede	23	10	13	0	169	178	20
e–Orlando Rollergators	23	7	16	0	135	184	14

Western Conference	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	PTS
b–Anaheim Bullfrogs	24	19	4	1	219	157	39
y–Vancouver Voodoo	24	13	10	1	203	185	27
x–Sacramento River Rats	24	12	9	3	185	174	27
x–San Jose Rhinos	24	13	11	0	174	174	26
x–Phoenix Cobras	24	13	11	0	158	161	26
x–San Diego Barracudas	24	12	11	1	167	172	25
x–Oakland Skates	24	10	10	4	157	173	24
x–Los Angeles Blades	24	9	10	5	147	164	23
e–Oklahoma Coyotes	24	7	17	0	159	209	14

Note: x – clinched playoff spot, y – clinched division title, z – clinched regular season conference title, b – clinched best overall record, e – eliminated from playoff contention

Tiebreaking procedures

If two or more clubs are tied in points during the regular season, the ranking of the clubs is determined in the following order:

1. The fewer number of games played.
2. The greater number of games won.
3. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any "odd" games, shall be used to determine the standing.
4. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.
5. The fewer number of goals against.

Statistical leaders

Scoring leaders

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Doug Lawrence	Oklahoma Coyotes	24	23	68	91	–12	54
Guy Rouleau	Montreal Roadrunners	24	37	46	83	+23	25
Tony Szabo	Detroit Motor City Mustangs	24	50	32	82	+14	18
Victor Gervais	Anaheim Bullfrogs	21	23	55	78	+26	62
Daniel Shank	Anaheim Bullfrogs	19	24	48	72	+19	74
Harry York	Chicago Cheetahs	24	24	47	71	–1	25
Mike Martens	Chicago Cheetahs	24	30	40	70	0	25
Mark Woolf	San Jose Rhinos	24	29	40	69	–13	36
Chris Palmer	Ottawa Loggers	22	35	33	68	+12	24
John Vecchiarelli	Buffalo Stampede	23	31	37	68	–2	83

Leading goaltenders

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	OTL	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Corrado Micalef	Montreal Roadrunners	13	565	7	3	1	61	0	.837	5.17
Francois Gravel	Montreal Roadrunners	12	516	8	2	2	57	0	.858	5.29
Mark Bernard	Philadelphia Bulldogs	11	482	6	3	0	57	0	.853	5.67
Sylvain Rodrigue	Ottawa Loggers	17	712	10	6	1	90	0	.838	6.06
Hugo Hamelin	Phoenix Cobras	14	629	7	6	0	80	0	.846	6.10
Sean Gauthier	Los Angeles Blades	22	1022	8	9	5	133	0	.839	6.24
Chris Gordon	Anaheim Bullfrogs	11	527	10	1	0	69	0	.826	6.28
Matt DelGuidice	New Jersey Rockin Rollers Ottawa Loggers	19	826	8	7	0	111	0	.809	6.45
Mark Cavallin	Oakland Skates	17	743	8	4	3	101	0	.856	6.51
Chris Rogles	St. Louis Vipers	17	735	10	5	1	100	0	.837	6.53

Playoffs

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, the standard of 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Anaheim Bullfrogs were the Western Conference regular season champions and had the best overall record with 39 points. The Montreal Roadrunners had the best record in the Eastern Conference with 33 points. Division champions maintain their relative ranking during the entire playoffs while the remaining teams got reseeded below them after each round.

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Roadrunners – Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions, 33 points
2. St. Louis Vipers – Central Division champions, 28 points
3. Ottawa Loggers – 29 points
4. Minnesota Blue Ox – 26 points (13 wins, 4 points head-to-head)
5. New Jersey Rockin Rollers – 26 points (13 wins, 0 points head-to-head)
6. Philadelphia Bulldogs – 26 points (12 wins)
7. Detroit Motor City Mustangs – 26 points (11 wins)
8. Chicago Cheetahs – 22 points

Western Conference

1. Anaheim Bullfrogs – Pacific Division and Western Conference regular season champions; Best Overall Record winners, 39 points
2. Vancouver Voodoo – Northwest Division champions, 27 points
3. Sacramento River Rats – 27 points
4. San Jose Rhinos – 26 points (+11 goal differential)
5. Phoenix Cobras – 26 points (even goal differential)
6. San Diego Barracudas – 25 points
7. Oakland Skates – 24 points
8. Los Angeles Blades – 23 points

Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home floor advantage. In the Murphy Cup Finals, home floor is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-three series follows a 1–2 format: the lower-seeded team will play at home for game 1, and the higher-seeded team will be at home for game 2, and if necessary, the 12–minute period game 3.

	Conference Quarterfinals					Conference Semifinals					Conference Finals					Murphy Cup Finals
	1	Montreal Roadrunners	2
	8	Chicago Cheetahs	0
						1	Montreal Roadrunners	2
						6	Philadelphia Bulldogs	1
	2	St. Louis Vipers	2
	7	Detroit Motor City Mustangs	0
											1	Montreal Roadrunners	2
	Eastern Conference
										2	St. Louis Vipers	1
	3	Ottawa Loggers	0
	6	Philadelphia Bulldogs	2
						2	St. Louis Vipers	2
						5	New Jersey Rockin Rollers	1
	4	Minnesota Blue Ox	0
	5	New Jersey Rockin Rollers	2
																E1	Montreal Roadrunners	1
															W4	San Jose Rhinos	2
	1	Anaheim Bullfrogs	2
	8	Los Angeles Blades	1
						1	Anaheim Bullfrogs	2
						6	San Diego Barracudas	0
	2	Vancouver Voodoo	2
	7	Oakland Skates	0
											1	Anaheim Bullfrogs	1
	Western Conference
										4	San Jose Rhinos	2
	3	Sacramento River Rats	1
	6	San Diego Barracudas	2
						2	Vancouver Voodoo	0
						4	San Jose Rhinos	2
	4	San Jose Rhinos	2
	5	Phoenix Cobras	0

RHI awards

1995 RHI awards

Award	Recipient(s)
Murphy Cup	San Jose Rhinos
Eastern Conference Champions	Montreal Roadrunners
Western Conference Champions	San Jose Rhinos
Coach of the Year	Perry Turnbull (St. Louis Vipers)
Defenseman of the Year	Chris Valicevic (New Jersey Rockin Rollers)
Executive of the Year
Goalie of the Year	Sylvain Rodrigue (Ottawa Loggers)
Leading Scorer	Doug Lawrence (Oklahoma Coyotes)
Most Valuable Player	Guy Rouleau (Montreal Roadrunners)
Playoff MVP	Jon Gustafson (San Jose Rhinos)

See also

• Season structure of RHI
• 1995 Murphy Cup playoffs
• 1995 RHI Draft
• 1994 RHI season
• 1995 RHI transactions
• 2nd Roller Hockey International All-Star Game
• Roller Hockey International All-Star Game
• 1995 in sports