NHL ATTENDANCE HITS RECORD FIGURE FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

          The NHL's regular season finished Sunday with a record
     league-wide attendance figure for the second year in a row. 
     The attendance for the 1,066 games played totaled 17,640,529
     in '96-97, for an average of 16,548 per game.  This
     represents an increase of 3.5% over '95-96, when the league
     topped the 17 million mark for the first time in its
     history.  The Avalanche and Panthers reported sellouts for
     all 41 of their home games; the Oilers posted the largest
     increase from last season, up more than 3,700 fans per game;
     and the Coyotes played to 96% capacity in their first season
     (NHL).  See tomorrow's DAILY for full attendance numbers.