Idaho Wins Bruce Taylor Trophy as Western Conference Champions
May 27, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
SHREWSBURY, N.J. - The Idaho Steelheads captured the Bruce Taylor Trophy as ECHL Western Conference champions on Saturday with a 5-1 win over the Toledo Walleye in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Idaho wins the series 4 games to 1, and advances to the 2023 Kelly Cup Finals, where it will meet the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals between Florida and Newfoundland. That series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 set for Sunday in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
After Toledo took a 1-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest, Idaho went on to score five unanswered goals, including a pair of tallies from Owen Headrick. Adam Scheel stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to record the win in goal.
Ty Pelton-Byce scored a series-high four goals for Idaho while Headrick posted a team-leading eight points (2g-6a). Gordie Green led Toledo with three goals, and was tied for the team lead in points with four along with Seth Barton and Brandon Hawkins.
This is the fourth time in team history that the Steelheads have advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals. Idaho claimed ECHL championships in 2004 against Florida and 2007 against Dayton, while falling to Cincinnati in 2010. The Steelheads won the Brabham Cup as ECHL regular-season champions, and are seeking to become the first team since Alaska in 2014 to win both the regular-season and playoff titles.
The trophy is named in recognition of Bruce Taylor, who was the founding father of the West Coast Hockey League. In the early 1990s, Taylor purchased teams in Fresno, Reno and Bakersfield and in 1995 joined them with teams in Anchorage, Fairbanks and San Diego to form the West Coast Hockey League. The Taylor Cup was presented to the playoff champion in the WCHL from the league's inaugural season in 1995-96 until the league ceased operations following the 2002-03 season. Taylor's ownership in hockey began in 1983 with the purchase of the Burnaby Bluehawks of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League and continued with the purchase of the Richmond Sockeyes in the BCJHL and the New Westminster Royals in the BCJHL.
Bruce Taylor Trophy Champions
2023 Idaho Steelheads
2022 Toledo Walleye
2021 Fort Wayne Komets
2020 Trophy not awarded due to COVID-19
2019 Toledo Walleye
2018 Colorado Eagles
2017 Colorado Eagles
2016 Allen Americans
2015 Allen Americans
2014 Alaska Aces
2013 Stockton Thunder
2012 Las Vegas Wranglers
2011 Alaska Aces
2010 Idaho Steelheads
2009 Alaska Aces
2008 Las Vegas Wranglers
2007 Idaho Steelheads
2006 Alaska Aces
2005 Trenton Titans
2004 Idaho Steelheads
2003 Columbia Inferno
2002 Greenville Grrrowl
2001 South Carolina Stingrays
2000 Louisiana IceGators
1999 Mississippi Sea Wolves
1998 Pensacola Ice Pilots
ECHL Stories from May 27, 2023
- Idaho Wins Bruce Taylor Trophy as Western Conference Champions - ECHL
- Memorable Walleye Season Comes to an End in Game Five of Western Conference Finals - Toledo Walleye
- Steelheads Advance to Kelly Cup Finals Defeating Walleye in Five Games - Idaho Steelheads
- ECHL Transactions - May 27 - ECHL
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