The 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL began in April 2018 following the conclusion of the 2017–18 ECHL regular season. The Kelly Cup was won by the Colorado Eagles, in their last season in the ECHL before joining the American Hockey League, in seven games over the regular season champions, the Florida Everblades.
Playoff format At the end of the regular season the top four teams in each division qualifies for the 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four based on highest point total earned in the season. Then the first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format.
Playoff seeds After the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The Florida Everblades were the first team to qualify during the regular season on February 28. The Everblades were the Eastern Conference regular season champions and clinched the Brabham Cup with the best record in the ECHL on April 5. The Toledo Walleye earned the top seed in the Western Conference.
Final seeds
Eastern Conference North Division Adirondack Thunder – Division champions, 89 pts Manchester Monarchs – 88 pts Reading Royals – 87 pts Worcester Railers – 82 pts
South Division Florida Everblades – Brabham Cup winners, division champions, 112 pts South Carolina Stingrays – 104 pts Orlando Solar Bears – 75 pts Atlanta Gladiators – 69 pts
Western Conference Central Division Toledo Walleye – Division champions, 105 pts Fort Wayne Komets – 98 pts Cincinnati Cyclones – 81 pts Indy Fuel – 78 pts
Mountain Division Colorado Eagles – Division champions, 102 pts Idaho Steelheads – 96 pts Allen Americans – 78 pts Wichita Thunder – 76 pts
Playoff bracket
Division semifinals
North Division (1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (4) Worcester Railers
(2) Manchester Monarchs vs. (3) Reading Royals
South Division (1) Florida Everblades vs. (4) Atlanta Gladiators
(2) South Carolina Stingrays vs. (3) Orlando Solar Bears
Central Division
(1) Toledo Walleye vs. (4) Indy Fuel
(2) Fort Wayne Komets vs. (3) Cincinnati Cyclones
Mountain Division
(1) Colorado Eagles vs. (4) Wichita Thunder
(2) Idaho Steelheads vs. (3) Allen Americans
Division finals
North Division
(N1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (N2) Manchester Monarchs
South Division (S1) Florida Everblades vs. (S3) Orlando Solar Bears
Central Division
(C1) Toledo Walleye vs. (C2) Fort Wayne Komets
Mountain Division (M1) Colorado Eagles vs. (M2) Idaho Steelheads
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
(S1) Florida Everblades vs. (N1) Adirondack Thunder
Western Conference
(M1) Colorado Eagles vs. (C2) Fort Wayne Komets
Kelly Cup finals
(S1) Florida Everblades vs. (M1) Colorado Eagles
Statistical leaders
Skaters These are the top ten skaters based on points. Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIMMichael Joly Colorado Eagles 24 13 16 29 +11 16Michael Kirkpatrick Florida Everblades 18 11 11 22 +5 12Mitchell Heard Florida Everblades 20 9 13 22 +4 39John McCarron Florida Everblades 21 10 10 20 +3 62Gabriel Desjardins Fort Wayne Komets 18 9 11 20 +13 12Matt Register Colorado Eagles 24 3 17 20 +4 16J.C. Beaudin Colorado Eagles 22 10 8 18 +0 6Ryan Schmelzer Adirondack Thunder 17 9 8 17 +9 24Shawn Szydlowski Fort Wayne Komets 17 4 13 17 +0 16Garrett Thompson Fort Wayne Komets 18 7 9 16 +5 16 GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Goaltending
This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 240 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded. Player Team GP W L OTL SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI Mackenzie Blackwood Adirondack Thunder 5 3 1 0 112 4 1.00 0.964 1 240Parker Milner South Carolina Stingrays 4 0 2 2 95 7 1.54 0.926 0 273Cal Heeter Orlando Solar Bears 8 4 3 0 255 14 1.90 0.945 1 443 Philippe Desrosiers Idaho Steelheads 10 4 3 2 290 19 2.00 0.934 0 571John Muse Reading Royals 4 0 1 3 200 11 2.02 0.945 0 328Drew Fielding Adirondack Thunder 10 5 5 0 360 25 2.35 0.931 1 639 GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)
See also 2017–18 ECHL season List of ECHL seasons
References
External links ECHL website