The ECHL just finished their Kelly Cup Playoffs on Saturday. The 2023-24 ECHL season saw twenty eight teams participate in seventy two games for the leagues thirty sixth season. Next season will see the addition of the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Bloomington Bison. Going into the season there was five affiliation changes. The Atlanta Gladiators, Cincinnati Cyclones, Jacksonville Icemen, Kalamazoo Wings, and Norfolk Admirals all changed their NHL and AHL affiliations. The 2024 ECHL All Star Game was held in January in Savannah. The Newfoundland Growlers folded in the lead up to the playoffs. That left the North division in a weird spot.
The Kansas City Mavericks won the Brabham Cup for having the best regular season record in the ECHL. This was their third regular season championship. The Adirondack Thunder won the Eastern Conferences North Division regular season title. The Greenville Swamp Rabbits won the Eastern Conferences South Division regular season title. The Toledo Walleye won the Western Conferences Central Division regular season title. The Kansas City Mavericks won the Western Conferences Mountain Division regular season title. The Norfolk Admirals, the Trois-Rivières Lions, the Maine Mariners, the Jacksonville Icemen, the Florida Everblades, the Orlando Solar Bears, the Indy Fuel, the Wheeling Nailers, and the Kalamzoo Wings also advanced to the playoffs. The Worcester Railers, the Reading Royals, the South Carolina Singrays, the Savannah Ghost Pirates, the Atlanta Gladiators, the Fort Wayne Komets, the Cincinnati Cyclones, the Iowa Heartlanders, the Utah Grizzlies, the Raoud City Rush and the Wichita Thunder did not qualify for the playoffs. The Newfoundland Growlers were the only team to not finish the season.
Sixteen teams qualified for the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs. the top four teams from each division. With the Newfoundland Growlers ceasing operations, the Eastern Conferences North Division decided who made the playoffs based on points percentage instead of overall points. All four rounds of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs were best of seven series. Ten of the sixteen teams from the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs qualified for the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Florida Everblades were defending champions coming into the playoffs. The first round was the Division Semifinals. The Adirondack Thunder beat the Maine Mariners 4-3. The Norfolk Admirals beat the Trois-Rivèrers Lions 4-2. The Orlando Solar Bears beat the Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4-2. The Florida Everblades beat the Jacksonville Icemen 4-3. The Toledo Walleye swept the Kalamazoo Wings 4-0. The Wheeling Nailers beat the Indy Fuel 4-1. The Kansas City Mavericks swept the Tulsa Oilers 4-0. The Idaho Steelheads beat the Allen Americans 4-1.
The Adirondack Thunder beat the Norfolk Admirals in the North Division Finals. The Adirondack Thunder are the North Division Champions. The Florida Everblades beat the Orlando Solar Bears 4-1 in the South Division Finals. The Florida Everblades are the South Division Champions. The Toledo Walleye beat the Wheeling Nailers 4-0 in the Central Division Finals. The Toledo Walleye are the Central Division Champions. The Kansas City Mavericks beat the Idaho Steelheads in the Mountain Division Finals. The Kansas City Mavericks are the Mountain Division Champions.
The Adirondack Thunder took on the Florida Everblades in the ECHL’s Western Conference Finals. The Florida Everblades won the series 4-2. The Florida Everblades are the ECHL Eastern Conference Champions. The Florida Everblades won the E.A. “Bud” Gingher Memorial Trophy.
The Toledo Walleye took on the Kansas City Mavericks in the ECHL’s Western Conference Finals. The Kansas City Mavericks won that series 4-2. The Kansas City Mavericks are the ECHL Western Conference Champions. The Kansas City Mavericks won the the Bruce Taylor Trophy.
The Kansas City Mavericks took on the Florida Everblades in the Kelly Cup Finals. The Everblades won game one 8-1. The Mavericks won game two 5-1. The Everblades won game three 6-3 and game four 4-1. Game five went into overtime. The Florida Everblades scored in overtime to win the Kelly Cup. The Florida Everblades won the the Kelly Cup finals 4-1. It is their fourth ECHL Championship. They are also the first team to win three Kelly Cups in a row.
Zac Electrifly 
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