Preview of Division Finals - 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs

Sports stats



ECHL ECHL

Preview of Division Finals - 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs

April 30, 2025 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


North Division Finals

#1 Trois-Rivières Lions vs. #3 Norfolk Admirals

Trois-Rivières and Norfolk meet in the postseason for the second consecutive season after the Admirals prevailed 4 games to 2 in the 2024 North Division Semifinals.

The Lions have reached the second round for the first time in team history after sweeping Reading in the North Division Semifinals. Xavier Cormier is tied for the playoff lead with seven assists, and shares the team lead in scoring with Alex Beaucage (4g-3a). Luke Cavallin, who was recalled by Laval of the American Hockey League earlier this week, won all four games in the opening round, allowing two goals or less in each of his appearances.

Norfolk eliminated Wheeling 4 games to 1 to advance to the Division Finals for the second straight season. Brady Fleurent (1g-7a) and Grant Hebert (1g-7a) both posted eight points in the series against the Nailers with Thomas Milic going 3-1 with two shutouts, a 1.25 goals-against average and a save percentage of .961.

In the regular-season series, the road team enjoyed success with the Lions going 5-4-1 overall and 4-2-0 at Norfolk while the Admirals went 5-5-0 overall and 3-1-0 at Trois-Rivières. Morgan Adams-Moisan and Anthony Beauregard led Trois-Rivières with five goals while Tommy Cormier (2g-5a) and Justin Ducharme (1g-6a) recording a team-leading seven points. Fleurent and Filip Fornåå Svensson both scored four goals for the Admirals with Fleurent's seven points leading the way in the season series.

Game 1 - Friday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières

Game 2 - Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières

Game 3 - Thursday, May 8 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk

Game 4 - Friday, May 9 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk

Game 5 - Sunday, May 11 at 5:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk (If Necessary)

Game 6 - Tuesday, May 13 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)

Game 7 - Wednesday, May 14 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)

South Division Finals

#2 Florida Everblades vs. #4 Orlando Solar Bears

Sunshine State rivals Florida and Orlando meet in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the sixth time in the last 10 postseasons, with the three-time defending Kelly Cup champion Everblades prevailing in each of the five prior matchups, including 4 games to 1 in last year's South Division Finals.

Florida became the first team in ECHL postseason history to sweep a best-of-seven series with four overtime wins in its opening-round win over Jacksonville. Kyle Betts (2g-2a), Logan Lambin (1g-3a) and Oliver Chau (0g-4a) paced the Everblades with four points in the series with Cam Johnson going 4-0 with a 1.53 goals-against average and a save percentage of .953. Johnson enters the second round with 51 career wins in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, which is just two behind Riley Gill for the ECHL all-time career postseason record.

Orlando took down Brabham Cup champion South Carolina in seven games in the South Division Semifinals, becoming just the fourth team in ECHL postseason history to win Games 6 and 7 of a series on the road. Aaron Luchuk leads all players in the playoffs with five goals and is tied for fourth with eight points. Jon Gillies played every minute in goal for the Solar Bears in the opening round, allowing two goals or less in each of Orlando's four wins, punctuated by a 2-0 shutout win in Game 7.

In the regular-season meetings, Florida went 8-2-3 against the Solar Bears with Orlando posting a 5-6-2 record against the Everblades. Florida was led in the season series by Carson Gicewicz (2g-5a) and Colin Theisen (1g-6a) with seven points each and Johnson going 7-0-1 with a 1.83 goals-against average. Luchuk led the way for Orlando against the Everblades with five goals and 10 points.

Game 1 - Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida

Game 2 - Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m. ET at Florida

Game 3 - Tuesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando

Game 4 - Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando

Game 5 - Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. ET at Orlando (If Necessary)

Game 6 - Monday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)

Game 7 - Tuesday, May 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Florida (If Necessary)

Central Division Finals

#1 Toledo Walleye vs. #2 Fort Wayne Komets

Toledo and Fort Wayne meet in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the fifth time, but the first since 2019. The Walleye have won three of the four previous matchups, including the last series, 4 games to 2, in the 2019 Central Division Semifinals.

Toledo defeated Indy in four games in the opening round, and has won 26 consecutive games in the first two rounds of the playoffs dating back to 2022. ECHL Most Valuable Player Brandon Hawkins, who led the league in scoring during the regular season, has carried his production through to the playoffs as he leads all players after one round with 10 points (4g-6a). Jan Bednar and Carter Gylander shared the crease against the Fuel, with both picking up a pair of victories.

Fort Wayne rallied from a 3 games to 2 deficit to defeat Iowa in the Central Division Semifinals and reach the second round for the first time since winning the Kelly Cup in 2021. Alex Aleardi (4g-5a) and Jack Dugan (3g-6a) are tied for second in the playoffs with nine points. Nathaniel Day picked up the wins in goal in the final two games of the series, stopping 50 of the 52 shots he faced in Games 6 and 7.

The Walleye went 5-3-0 against Fort Wayne in the regular season with the Komets going 3-4-1. Hawkins led Toledo in the season series with five goas and 12 points wile Dugan led the Komets with four goals and shared the team lead in points with Kyle Mayhew (2g-6a) with eight points each.

Game 1 - Friday, May 2 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo

Game 2 - Saturday, May 3 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo

Game 3 - Monday, May 5 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne

Game 4 - Wednesday, May 7 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne

Game 5 - Thursday, May 8 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)

Game 6 - Saturday, May 10 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)

Game 7 - Monday, May 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)

Mountain Division Finals

#1 Kansas City Mavericks vs. #3 Tahoe Knight Monsters

Two of the three highest-scoring teams in the ECHL during the regular season meet in the Mountain Division Finals. Kansas City was second in the league with 3.56 goals per game while Tahoe ranked third with 3.54 goals per game.

The Mavericks are back in the Division Finals for the second season in a row after advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals last season. Kansas City defeated Tulsa in six games in the opening round, paced by Cade Borchardt's four goals and David Cotton's seven points (2g-5a). Jack LaFontaine recorded a pair of shutouts in the series against the Oilers, posting a 1.45 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in his six appearances.

Tahoe eliminated Wichita 4 games to 0 in its first-ever playoff series. Jett Jones scored four goals in the series against the Thunder while Logan Nelson led the team with eight points (3g-5a). Jesper Vikman played all four games in goal for the Knight Monsters in the opening round posting a 1.95 goals-against average and a save percentage of .937.

Kansas City went 4-1-1 in the regular season against the Knight Monsters while Tahoe was 2-3-1 against Kansas City. Borchardt (2g-3a), Justin MacPherson (1g-4a) and Marcus Crawford (0g-5a) led the Mavericks against Tahoe with five points each while Max Andreev scored a team-leading three goals. Nelson's seven points (1g-6a) led the Knight Monsters against Kansas City in the regular-season series.

Game 1 - Sunday, May 4 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City

Game 2 - Monday, May 5 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City

Game 3 - Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. PT at Tahoe

Game 4 - Friday, May 9 at 7 p.m. PT at Tahoe

Game 5 - Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. PT at Tahoe (If Necessary)

Game 6 - Tuesday, May 13 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)

Game 7 - Wednesday, May 14 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Kansas City (If Necessary)

Check out the ECHL Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from April 30, 2025


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central