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It's down to four ECHL teams in fight for Kelly Cup

April 27, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


(Princeton, NJ - Tuesday, April 27) The ECHL began 2003-04 with 31 teams in 17 states and across five times zones. Following a record 1,116 regular season games, 17 teams in 14 states and five times zones advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The postseason field has now been narrowed to four, with the Conference Finals beginning tonight. The Conference Finals are a best-of-five series with the winners advancing to meet in the Kelly Cup Finals, a best-of-seven series scheduled for May 10-23.

In the Eastern Conference Finals it will be Southern Division Champion Florida hosting Northern Division Champion Reading in Games 1 and 2 on Wednesday and Friday with Game 3 scheduled on Sunday at Reading. In the Western Conference Finals it will be Central Division Champion Gwinnett hosting Pacific Division Champion Idaho in Games 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday at Idaho.

Estero, Florida and Reading, Pennsylvania are 1,206 miles from each other while Duluth, Georgia and Boise, Idaho are 2,201 miles from each other.

This is the first time in history that Florida and Reading have met. Reading was 5-3-0 against teams from the Southern Division in 2003-04 while Florida did not play a Northern Division opponent in 2003-04. Florida and Reading had common opponents in Augusta, Bakersfield, Charlotte, Florence, Greensboro, Las Vegas, Roanoke and South Carolina during the regular season. Against the common opponents, Florida was 22-8-5 (5-1-0 vs. Augusta, 0-1-0 vs. Bakersfield, 3-0-1 vs. Charlotte, 6-0-2 vs. Florence, 3-1-0 vs. Greensboro, 1-0-0 vs. Las Vegas, 2-2-0 vs. Roanoke and 2-3-1 vs. South Carolina) and Reading was 10-4-0 (2-1-0 vs. Augusta, 1-0-0 vs. Bakersfield, 1-0-0 vs. Charlotte, 0-1-0 vs. Florence, 1-1-0 vs. Greensboro, 2-0-0 vs. Las Vegas, 3-0-0 vs. Roanoke, 0-1-0 vs. South Carolina).

This is the first time ever that Gwinnett and Idaho have met. Gwinnett was 1-0-0 against teams from the Pacific Division in 2003-04. Idaho did not play a Central Division opponent in 2003-04. Gwinnett and Idaho had common opponents in Alaska and South Carolina during the regular season. Against the common opponents, Gwinnett was 3-3-1 (1-0-0 vs. Alaska and 2-3-1 vs. South Carolina) while Idaho was 5-6-1 (5-4-1 vs. Alaska and 0-2-0 vs. South Carolina).

Finishing tied for 13th overall with 84 points and a 37-25-10 record, Florida has not missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of its first six seasons and is 16-14 all-time in the postseason. The Everblades have never advanced past the second round and have been eliminated in the first round each of the past five seasons. Seeded third in the Southern Division, the Everblades upset No. 2 Seed Roanoke in four games in the Division Semifinals and swept No. 4 seed South Carolina in three games in the Division Finals.

Finishing fifth in the Northern Division and tied for 13th overall with 84 points and a 37-25-10 record, Reading is making the first postseason appearance in its three-year history. Seeded fifth in the Northern Division, the Royals upset No. 4 Seed Johnstown on the road in the Wild Card Game to advance. In the Division Semifinals, Reading beat Wheeling in five games, including two wins at Wheeling which had a 28-5-3 home record and finished atop the Eastern Conference with 106 points and a 51-17-4 record. In the Division Finals, the Royals upset No. 3 Seed Peoria in four games.

In its first season in the ECHL, Idaho finished tied for 11th overall with 89 points and a 40-23-9 record. Seeded third in the Pacific Division, the Steelheads upset No. 2 Seed Las Vegas in five games in the Division Semifinals, winning three games in a row including a 3-0 win in Game 5 at Las Vegas. Following a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1, the Steelheads beat No. 4 Seed Alaska in four games in the Division Finals, winning three games in a row including back-to-back wins at Alaska to clinch the series.

Gwinnett, which played seven seasons in Mobile, Alabama from 1995-2002, has qualified for the postseason in its first season in Georgia. The Gladiators finished 10th overall with 92 points and a 42-22-8 record. Seeded third in the Central Division, the Gladiators upset No. 2 Seed Mississippi in five games in the Division Semifinals, winning Games 1 and 5 in overtime at Mississippi by identical 2-1 scores. The Gladiators upset No. 1 Seed Louisiana in four games in the Division Finals, winning three games in a row including a 6-5 double overtime win in Game 4 at Gwinnett to clinch the series.

Conference Finals Schedule

Tuesday, April 27
Idaho at Gwinnett 7:35 p.m. ET

Wednesday, April 28
Reading at Florida 7:30 p.m. ET
Idaho at Gwinnett 7:35 p.m. ET

Friday, April 30 Reading at Florida 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, May 1
Gwinnett at Idaho 7:05 p.m. MT

Sunday, May 2
Florida at Reading 1:05 p.m. ET

Wednesday, May 5
*Florida at Reading 7:05 p.m. ET
*Gwinnett at Idaho 7:05 p.m. MT

Monday, May 10
*Reading at Florida 7:30 p.m. ET

* - If Necessary

If necessary, Game 5 in the Western Conference Finals would be played at Gwinnett with the date and time to be determined at a later date.

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