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The 2025 Kelly Cup Division Finals get underway starting Friday.
Some teams, like the three-time defending champion Florida Everblades, have plenty of experience in post-season play. Others, like the Tahoe Knight Monsters, are in uncharted territory.
Here’s a breakdown of all four Division Finals matchups, with the winners advancing to the Conference Finals.
North Division Finals
#1 Trois-Rivières Lions vs. #3 Norfolk Admirals
Game 1 – Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 2 – Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 3 – Thursday, May 8 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk
Game 4 – Friday, May 9 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk
Game 5 – Sunday, May 11 at 5:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)
If this matchup looks familiar, that’s because the Lions and Admirals are meeting in the post-season for the second consecutive year. The Admirals prevailed 4 games to 2 in the 2024 North Division Semifinals.
Trois-rivieres has reached the second round for the first time in team history after sweeping the Reading Royals in the North Division Semifinals.
Xavier Cormier is tied for the playoff lead with seven assists, and shares the team lead in scoring with Alex Beaucage (4-3-7).
The Lions will be without Luke Cavallin, who was recalled by the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League earlier this week. Cavallin won all four first-round games against the Royals, allowing two goals or less in each of his appearances.
The Admirals got here by eliminating the Wheeling Nailers 4 games to 1. This is Norfolk’s second straight appearance in the Division Finals.
Brady Fleurent (1-7-8) and Grant Hebert (1-7-8) both posted eight points in the series against the Nailers. Thomas Milic was outstanding in net, going 3-1 with two shutouts, a 1.25 goals-against average and a save percentage of .961.
The road team enjoyed success during the regular-season series, with the Lions going 5-4-1 overall and 4-2-0 at Norfolk. The Admirals went 5-5-0 overall and 3-1-0 at Trois-Rivières.
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Morgan Adams-Moisan and Anthony Beauregard led Trois-Rivières with five goals against the Admirals, while Tommy Cormier (2-5-7) and Justin Ducharme (1-6-7) recorded a team-leading seven points.
Fleurent and Filip Fornåå Svensson both scored four goals for Norfolk, with Fleurent’s seven points leading the way in the season series.
Fun Fact: Lions head coach Ron Choules is 6-4 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs while his counterpart, Jeff Carr, is 10-6 in post-season play.
South Division Finals
#2 Florida Everblades vs. #4 Orlando Solar Bears
Game 1 – Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 2 – Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida
Game 3 – Tuesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando
Game 4 – Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando
Game 5 – Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)
The defending Kelly Cup Champion Everblades and Solar Bears are meeting in the playoffs for the sixth time in the last 10 postseasons. The Everblades have taken each of the five prior matchups, including 4 games to 1 in last year’s South Division Finals.
Florida became the first team in ECHL post-season history to sweep a best-of-seven series with four overtime victories in its opening-round win over Jacksonville. Kyle Betts (2-2-4), Logan Lambin (1-3-4) and Oliver Chau (four assists) paced the Everblades with four points apiece in the series.
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Cam Johnson went 4-0 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a save percentage of .953.
Orlando took down the Brabham Cup champion South Carolina Stingrays in seven games in the South Division Semifinals. They became just the fourth team in ECHL post-season history to win Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road.
Aaron Luchuk leads all players in the playoffs with five goals and is tied for fourth with eight points. Jon Gillies played every minute in goal for the Solar Bears in the opening round, allowing two goals or less in each of Orlando’s four wins, punctuated by a 2-0 shutout in Game 7.
Florida went 8-2-3 against the Solar Bears during the regular season. The Everblades were led in the season series by Carson Gicewicz (2-5-7) and Colin Theisen (1-6-7) with seven points each. Johnson went 7-0-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average.
Luchuk led the way for Orlando against the Everblades with five goals and 10 points.
Fun Fact: Cam Johnson enters the second round with 51 career wins in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, which is just two behind Riley Gill for the ECHL all-time career post-season record.
Central Division Finals
#1 Toledo Walleye vs. #2 Fort Wayne Komets
Game 1 – Friday, May 2 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 2 – Saturday, May 3 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 3 – Monday, May 5 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 4 – Wednesday, May 7 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 5 – Thursday, May 8 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Saturday, May 10 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Monday, May 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
The Walleye and Komets are meeting in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, although they have tangled on four previous occasions.
Toledo has won three of the four previous matchups, including the last series, 4 games to 2, in the 2019 Central Division Semifinals.
The Walleye got here by dispatching the Indy Fuel in four games in the opening round.
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ECHL Most Valuable Player Brandon Hawkins, who led the league in scoring during the regular season, has carried his production through to the playoffs. Hawkins leads all skaters after one round with 10 points (4-6-10).
Jan Bednar and Carter Gylander shared the crease against the Fuel, with each picking up a pair of victories.
Fort Wayne rallied from a 3 games to 2 deficit to defeat Iowa in the Central Division Semifinals, reaching the second round for the first time since winning the Kelly Cup in 2021.
Alex Aleardi (4-5-9) and Jack Dugan (3-6-9) are tied for second in the playoffs with nine points.
Nathaniel Day picked up the wins in goal in the final two games of the series against the Heartlanders, stopping 50 of the 52 shots he faced in Games 6 and 7.
In the regular season, the Walleye went 5-3-0 against Fort Wayne, with the Komets going 3-4-1.
Hawkins led Toledo in the season series with five goals and 12 points, while Dugan led the Komets with four goals and shared the team lead in points with Kyle Mayhew (2-6-8) with eight points each.
Fun Fact: Toledo has won 26 consecutive games in the first two rounds of the playoffs dating back to 2022.
Mountain Division Finals
#1 Kansas City Mavericks vs. #3 Tahoe Knight Monsters
Game 1 – Sunday, May 4 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City
Game 2 – Monday, May 5 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City
Game 3 – Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. PT at Tahoe
Game 4 – Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. PT at Tahoe
Game 5 – Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. PT at Tahoe (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, May 13 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 14 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)
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If you love offense, this series could have plenty of it on display. Two of the three highest-scoring teams in the ECHL during the regular season meet in the Mountain Division Finals.
The Mavericks were second in the league with 3.56 goals per game while Tahoe ranked third with 3.54 goals per game.
The Mavericks are back in the Division Finals for the second season in a row after advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals last season.
Kansas City defeated the Tulsa Oilers in six games in the opening round, paced by Cade Borchardt’s four goals and David Cotton’s seven points (2-5-7).
Jack LaFontaine recorded a pair of shutouts in the series against the Oilers, posting a 1.45 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in his six appearances.
The Knight Monsters eliminated Wichita in a four-game sweep in its first-ever playoff series. Jett Jones scored four goals against the Thunder, while Logan Nelson led the team with eight points (3-5-8).
Jesper Vikman played all four games in goal for the Knight Monsters in the opening round, posting a 1.95 goals-against average and a save percentage of .937.
Kansas City went 4-1-1 in the regular season against the Knight Monsters while Tahoe was 2-3-1 against Kansas City. Borchardt (2-3-5), Justin MacPherson (1-4-5) and Marcus Crawford (0-5-5) led the Mavericks against Tahoe with five points each. Max Andreev scored a team-leading three goals.
Nelson’s seven points (1-6-7) led the Knight Monsters against Kansas City in the regular-season series.
Fun Fact: Even though this is his first appearance in the post-season coaching the Knight Monsters, Alex Loh led the 2019 Adirondack Thunder to the playoffs as their bench boss.
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