The 2024 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL hockey league began on April 17, 2024, following the conclusion of the 2023–24 ECHL regular season and ended on June 8, with the Florida Everblades winning their third consecutive and fourth overall Kelly Cup championship over the Kansas City Mavericks in five games, becoming the first team in ECHL history to three-peat.
Playoff format Due to the Newfoundland Growlers ceasing operations on April 2, 2024, without playing their final six games (against the Norfolk Admirals and Trois-Rivières Lions), the North Division utilized points percentage to determine its final standings, as well as potential home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference or Kelly Cup Finals; the remaining three divisions utilized a traditional points system. The top four teams in the South, Central, and Mountain divisions qualified for the playoffs based on highest point total earned in the season.
Despite tying in points percentage, the Maine Mariners qualified over the Worcester Railers due to holding the tiebreaker of a higher regulation win percentage. The Kansas City Mavericks, who won the Brabham Cup as regular season champions, were the first to clinch a playoff spot with a 7–4 win over Tulsa.
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. The Kansas City Mavericks, as Brabham Cup winners, are scheduled to have home ice advantage for all the rounds they advance in.
Ten out of the 16 teams in this year's playoffs were participants in the previous Kelly Cup playoffs.
Playoff seeds After the regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs.
Final seeds and points:
Eastern Conference North Division Adirondack Thunder – Division champions, .674 points percentage, 97 points Norfolk Admirals – .645 points percentage, 89 points Trois-Rivières Lions – .507 points percentage, 70 points Maine Mariners – .500 points percentage, 72 points
South Division Greenville Swamp Rabbits – Division champions, 93 pts Jacksonville Icemen – 91 pts Florida Everblades – 89 pts Orlando Solar Bears – 86 pts
Western Conference Central Division Toledo Walleye – Division champions, 105 pts Indy Fuel – 86 pts Wheeling Nailers – 81 pts Kalamazoo Wings – 80 pts
Mountain Division Kansas City Mavericks – Brabham Cup winners, Division champions, 114 pts Idaho Steelheads – 100 pts Allen Americans – 70 pts Tulsa Oilers – 69 pts
Playoff bracket Source:
Division semifinals Note: All times listed are in EDT (UTC−4). North Division (1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (4) Maine Mariners
(2) Norfolk Admirals vs. (3) Trois-Rivières Lions
South Division (1) Greenville Swamp Rabbits vs. (4) Orlando Solar Bears
(2) Jacksonville Icemen vs. (3) Florida Everblades
Central Division (1) Toledo Walleye vs. (4) Kalamazoo Wings
(2) Indy Fuel vs. (3) Wheeling Nailers Wheeling played games three and four at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling and game five at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry, Pennsylvania.
Mountain Division (1) Kansas City Mavericks vs. (4) Tulsa Oilers
(2) Idaho Steelheads vs. (3) Allen Americans
Division finals Note: All times listed are in EDT (UTC−4). North Division (1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (2) Norfolk Admirals
South Division (3) Florida Everblades vs. (4) Orlando Solar Bears
Central Division (1) Toledo Walleye vs. (3) Wheeling Nailers
Mountain Division (1) Kansas City Mavericks vs. (2) Idaho Steelheads
Conference finals Note: All times listed are in EDT (UTC−4). Eastern Conference (N1) Adirondack Thunder vs. (S3) Florida Everblades
Western Conference (C1) Toledo Walleye vs. (M1) Kansas City Mavericks
Kelly Cup finals
(S3) Florida Everblades vs. (M1) Kansas City Mavericks
Statistical leaders
Skaters These are the top ten skaters based on points Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM Bobo Carpenter Florida Everblades 23 12 11 23 +13 6 Oliver Chau Florida Everblades 23 9 14 23 +21 4 Jeremy McKenna Kansas City Mavericks 20 10 11 21 −3 18 Riley Sawchuk Toledo Walleye 14 10 8 18 −2 8 Josh Ho-Sang Florida Everblades 22 1 17 18 +7 16 David Cotton Kansas City Mavericks 19 9 7 16 −2 8 Tristan Ashbrook Adirondack Thunder 19 8 8 16 +5 8 Brandon Hawkins Toledo Walleye 14 7 9 16 +5 6 Patrick Curry Kansas City Mavericks 20 7 9 16 −2 18 Ty Pelton-Byce Idaho Steelheads 10 5 11 16 +2 6 GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
Goaltending
This is a combined of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 120 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 Brad Arvanitis Maine Mariners 6 3 3 0 164 10 1.69 0.939 0 355 Isaac Poulter Adirondack Thunder 15 7 8 0 444 27 1.86 0.939 4 871 Cam Johnson Florida Everblades 23 16 6 1 645 44 1.88 0.932 3 1401 Matt Vernon Jacksonville Icemen 7 3 3 1 209 15 2.10 0.928 2 427 Jack LaFontaine Kansas City Mavericks 12 7 3 1 418 26 2.22 0.938 0 702 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)
References