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ECHL Kansas City Mavericks

Kelly Cup Tour Kicks off Tomorrow at Mavericks Home Game

March 10, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kansas City Mavericks News Release


INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI - The Missouri Mavericks home game on Friday, Mar. 11 is the first stop of the 2016 Kelly Cup Tour! Fans in attendance to the game will be have the opportunity to see the coveted championship trophy in-person on the arena concourse during the game at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. This is the first visit the Kelly Cup will make to Independence, MO.

The Mavericks have already clinched a spot in the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs-- earning their first trip to the ECHL post-season in franchise history. The Mavs sit atop the league with 95 points and are currently the only team to have claimed a playoff berth heading into Friday night's contest.

Tickets for the Missouri Mavericks home game on Friday against the Tulsa Oilers are available online at Ticketmaster.com and in-person at the arena box office. Click here to buy tickets.

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Every team begins the season with the goal of winning the Patrick J. Kelly Cup, presented annually to the Postseason Champion of the ECHL and won in 2015 by the Allen Americans.

The tour will travel to six ECHL cities, making appearances at games, schools, sponsors, radio and television stations and other community events. The Kelly Cup will travel 3,272 miles during the tour, including 988 miles from Greenville, South Carolina to Manchester, New Hampshire where the tour concludes during the final weekend of the 2015-16 regular season.

"The 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs provided an unprecedented level of excitement with eight of the 15 series going a full seven games, including both Conference Finals and the Kelly Cup Finals," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. "This year, we expect nothing less."

After its stop in Missouri for games on Friday and Saturday, the Kelly Cup Tour will visit Cincinnati on March 17-18, Toledo on March 26, Worcester on April for its Fan Fest on April 3, Greenville on April 8 and Manchester during the week of April 11.

The Kelly Cup Tour offers ECHL fans the opportunity to view the coveted Patrick J. Kelly Cup, which has been awarded to the ECHL postseason champion since 1996-97. The ECHL retired its playoff championship trophy, the Jack Riley Cup, in 1996 and replaced it with the Kelly Cup, first awarded to the playoff champion in 1997. Standing 28 inches tall and weighing 37 pounds, the Kelly Cup features the names of players, coaches and support staff from each of the 26 ECHL champions. Accompanying the Kelly Cup will be a special display that highlights the intensity and excitement of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The Kelly Cup is named in recognition of Patrick J. Kelly, who is one of the founding fathers of the ECHL. Kelly served as Commissioner of the ECHL for the first eight seasons before being named Commissioner Emeritus in 1996, a title which he continues to hold. Kelly celebrates his 63rd season in hockey in 2015-16, having begun his career with the St. Catherine Teepees of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 1952. He played professionally for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, the Troy Bruins of the International Hockey League, and the Greensboro Generals of the Eastern Hockey League. Kelly coached in the Eastern Hockey League from 1965-73 and was head coach and general manager of Charlotte in the Southern Hockey League from 1973-76. He coached the Colorado Rockies in the NHL in 1977-78 and is the only coach to lead the Rockies to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Following coaching stops in the American Hockey League, he went to Peoria in the International Hockey League where he led the Rivermen to the Turner Cup in his first season in 1984-85.

Scott Burt, Jared Bednar, Louis Mass and Patrick Wellar are the only individuals to have their name engraved on the Kelly Cup three times. Burt won championships with Idaho in 2004 and 2007 and Alaska in 2011; Bednar won as a player with South Carolina in 1997 and 2001, and was the head coach of the Stingrays for their win in 2009; Mass won as a player with Alaska in 2006 and as the Aces' assistant coach in 2011 and 2014 while Wellar won titles with Alaska in 2006, South Carolina in 2009 and Reading in 2013. There are 22 other individuals who have their name engraved on the Kelly Cup twice.

Thirty-five players whose name appears on the Kelly Cup have played in the National Hockey League: Sebastien Charpentier (Hampton Roads, 1998); Chris Schmidt and Travis Scott (Mississippi, 1999); Cody Rudkowsky and Cam Severson (Peoria, 2000); Zdenek Blatny, Tyrone Garner, Simon Gamache and Luke Sellars (Greenville, 2002); Kevin Colley and Matt Yeats (Atlantic City, 2003); Dan Ellis, Zenon Konopka, Warren Peters (Idaho, 2004); Chris Beckford-Tseu, Barrett Heisten, Doug Lynch, Chris Minard and Matt Underhill (Alaska, 2006); Jay Beagle, B.J. Crombeen, Greg Rallo and Francis Wathier (Idaho, 2007); David Desharnais, Cedrick Desjardins and Ryan Russell (Cincinnati, 2008); Travis Morin and James Reimer (South Carolina, 2009); Mark Van Guilder (Cincinnati, 2010); Gerald Coleman (Alaska, 2011 and 2014) and Brian Swanson (Alaska, 2011); Kevin Quick and Justin Shugg (Florida, 2012); Stanislav Galiev (Reading, 2013) and John Ramage (Alaska, 2014). In addition, Bruce Boudreau, who coached Mississippi to the 1999 Kelly Cup championship, is the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks and Davis Payne, who coached Alaska to the 2006 title, is an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings.

2016 Kelly Cup Tour

March 11-12 Silverstein Eye Centers Arena Independence, Mo.

March 17-18 U.S. Bank Arena Cincinnati, Ohio

March 26 Huntington Center Toledo, Ohio

April 2 DCU Center Worcester, Mass.

April 8 Bon Secours Wellness Arena Greenville, S.C.

Week of April 11 Verizon Wireless Arena Manchester, N.H.

The Mavericks play their next home game on Friday, Mar. 11 against the Tulsa Oilers at 7:05p.m. The game will be broadcast live on KSMO-TV as part of the Mavericks "Friday Night Ice" series-presented by Tickets For Less.

Friday night is Military Appreciation Night at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mavs will be wearing special military-themed jerseys which will be auctioned-off directly after the game in sections 101 and 102, with proceeds benefitting Folds of Honor.

All military personnel (active and non-active) are entitled to a $5 discount on any ticket in the arena (excluding loge and suite level), for the Mavericks game on Friday, Mar. 11. Must present military ID to redeem, available at the arena box office only, limit 5 tickets per ID.

Tickets for all Missouri Mavericks home games are available online at TicketMaster.com and in-person at the arena box office.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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