It took 71 games to determine the eight-team playoff field for the ECHL Western Conference, with playoff seeding taking until the final night of the season to finalize. Today, we take a look at the Western Conference quarterfinal match-ups as the teams prepare to do battle for the Kelly Cup.
The seeding:
The Missouri Mavericks jumped ahead in the conference race early in the season and never looked back, posting 52-wins and finishing the regular season with 109 points to claim the top spot. The Fort Wayne Komets 40-wins was enough to clinch second place, as they brought home the Midwest Division title. The Colorado Eagles overcame a slow start to the season to claim the West Division and the third spot.
The defending Kelly Cup champion Allen Americans, who with 41 wins and 89 points would have won either the Midwest or West Division, finished 20-points behind Central Division champ Missouri and head into the post-season in the fourth position. West Division rivals Idaho and Utah are fifth and sixth seeds, respectively, while Cincinnati and Quad City will represent the Midwest Division as the seventh and eighth seeds.
The format:
All playoff series will be a best-of-seven format, with the higher-seeded team holding home ice advantage. With the best record in the ECHL in the 2015-16 regular season, Missouri would hold home ice advantage throughout the Kelly Cup Finals should they survive through the tournament.
The winner of the quarterfinal series featuring number 1 versus number 8 will play the winner of the series featuring number 4 versus number 5 in the semi-final round, while the winner of number 3 versus number 6 will play the winner of number 2 versus number 7. The two semi final winners will face-off for the Western Conference Final, with the winner of that series taking on the winner of the Eastern Conference Final for the Kelly Cup.
The match-ups:
#1 Missouri Mavericks (52-15-5) vs. #8 Quad City Mallards (37-29-6)
2015-16 Head-to-head: Missouri 5-0-0-0, Quad City 0-4-1-0
Home: Missouri 4-0-0-0, Quad City 0-0-1-0
Road: Missouri 1-0-0-0, Quad City 0-4-0-0
Previous meetings this season:
Quad City 2 @ Missouri 5 (Mar 30 2016) Final
Quad City 2 @ Missouri 4 (Dec 20 2015) Final
Quad City 1 @ Missouri 4 (Nov 25 2015) Final
Missouri 4 @ Quad City 3 (Nov 4 2015) Final OT
Quad City 2 @ Missouri 5 (Oct 27 2015) Final
These two former CHL and Central Division foes know each other well, having played 20 times since joining the ECHL. The Mavericks dominated the series this season, claiming wins in all five meetings, with only one game being decided by fewer than two goals.
Missouri will be backstopped by Josh Robinson and Parker Milner. Robinson led the league this season with a save percentage of 0.931 and goals against average of 1.88. Milner, who played the 2014-15 season with Quad City, posted a 2.17 goals against average and 0.925 save percentage in the regular season. Offensively, the Mavericks had three 20-plus goal scorers in the regular season, and they will lean on Tyler Barnes, Darian Dziurzynski and Andrew Courtney to provide offense.
Olivier Archambault (52 points) and Matt Neal (51 points) will pace the Mallards offensively, while Brody Hoffman (19-17-1-0) and P.J. Musico (13-6-2-0) will tend to the net.
Series Schedule:
Game 1 – Saturday, April 16 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Missouri
Game 2 – Sunday, April 17 at 4:05 p.m. CT at Missouri
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. CT at Quad City
Game 4 – Friday, April 22 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Quad City
Game 5 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Quad City (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Missouri (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Missouri (If Necessary)
#4 Allen Americans (41-24-7) vs. #5 Idaho Steelheads (38-24-10)
2015-16 Head-to-head: Allen 2-1-1-0, Idaho 2-1-0-1
Home: Allen 1-0-1-0, Idaho 1-0-0-1
Road: Allen 1-1-0-0, Idaho 1-1-0-0
Previous meetings this season:
Allen 3 @ Idaho 2 (Dec 19 2015) Final SO
Allen 3 @ Idaho 6 (Dec 18 2015) Final
Idaho 3 @ Allen 2 (Dec 13 2015) Final OT
Idaho 0 @ Allen 4 (Dec 9 2015) Final
This is one of the more intriguing quarterfinal pairings. Idaho led the West Division for a large portion of the season, only to be overtaken for the title on the final day of the season. On the other side of the bracket sits the defending Kelly Cup Champion Americans, who quietly managed to reel off 41 win while being overshadowed by Central Division rival Missouri who took the league by storm. These two teams played four times this season, finishing the series dead even at two wins each.
Chad Costello (24 G, 79 A – 103) led the league in scoring for the second-straight season, while netminders Riley Gill and Joel Rumpel combined for 34 of Allen’s wins while holding identical save percentages of 0.907. Philippe Desrosiers and Branden Komm, who combined for 25 wins on the season, will man the net for Idaho. 20-plus goal scorers Rob Linsmayer, Jefferson Dahl and Emil Molin will led Idaho’s offensive efforts in a series that could easily go the full seven games.
Game 1 – Thursday, April 14 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen
Game 2 – Saturday, April 16 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 20 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho
Game 4 – Friday, April 22 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho
Game 5 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:10 p.m. MT at Idaho (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:05 p.m. CT at Allen (If Necessary)
#2 Fort Wayne Komets (40-23-9) vs. #7 Cincinnati Cyclones (36-27-9)
2015-16 Head-to-head: Fort Wayne 5-5-0-0, Cincinnati 5-4-1-0
Home: Fort Wayne 1-2-0-0, Cincinnati 3-3-1-0
Road: Fort Wayne 4-3-0-0, Cincinnati 2-1-0-0
Previous meetings this season:
Fort Wayne 5 @ Cincinnati 3 (Mar 29 2016) Final
Fort Wayne 5 @ Cincinnati 6 (Feb 12 2016) Final
Cincinnati 1 @ Fort Wayne 4 (Jan 29 2016) Final
Fort Wayne 4 @ Cincinnati 6 (Jan 23 2016) Final
Fort Wayne 5 @ Cincinnati 1 (Jan 22 2016) Final
Fort Wayne 4 @ Cincinnati 1 (Jan 13 2016) Final
Cincinnati 5 @ Fort Wayne 1 (Nov 26 2015) Final
Fort Wayne 3 @ Cincinnati 2 (Nov 25 2015) Final OT
Fort Wayne 1 @ Cincinnati 3 (Nov 11 2015) Final
Cincinnati 5 @ Fort Wayne 1 (Oct 31 2015) Final
The Komets and Cyclones played 10 times this season, with each side claiming five wins and Fort Wayne pulling away to claim the Midwest Division title by eight points. Shawn Szydlowski and Jamie Schaafsma lead the Komets with 25 goals, while 28-game winner Pat Nagle will protect the Fort Wayne net. League goal scoring leader Jack Downing (32 G), Tommy Mele (27 G) and Zach Budish (24 G) will look to solve Nagle, while Andy Iles (19-14-2-2) and Brandon Whitney (9-8-1-0) will get the nod in net for the Cyclones. Cincinnati has placed goaltender Brad Thiessen on the playoff eligible list. Thiessen is 12-4-4-0 since being recalled from Cincinnati by the Lake Erie Monsters on December 9.
Game 1 – Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 2 – Saturday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 20 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati
Game 4 – Friday, April 22 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati
Game 5 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)
#3 Colorado Eagles (41-27-4) vs. #6 Utah Grizzlies (39-27-6)
2015-16 Head-to-head: Colorado 3-5-2-0, Utah 7-3-0-0
Home: Colorado 2-1-2-0, Utah 4-1-0-0
Road: Colorado 1-4-0-0, Utah 3-2-0-0
Previous meetings this season:
Utah 2 @ Colorado 1 (Mar 19 2016) Final OT
Utah 3 @ Colorado 4 (Mar 18 2016) Final
Colorado 1 @ Utah 5 (Mar 12 2016) Final
Colorado 6 @ Utah 2 (Mar 11 2016) Final
Utah 3 @ Colorado 6 (Jan 27 2016) Final
Colorado 3 @ Utah 6 (Dec 19 2015) Final
Colorado 0 @ Utah 4 (Dec 18 2015) Final
Colorado 2 @ Utah 4 (Nov 11 2015) Final
Utah 5 @ Colorado 2 (Oct 17 2015) Final
Utah 4 @ Colorado 3 (Oct 16 2015) Final OT
Utah dominated the series this season, claiming seven wins in ten meetings. Colorado, however, is on a roll after a rocky first half of the season. The Eagles went 25-10-1-1 to close the season and claim the West Division title on the final day of the regular season. Not to be outdone, Utah earned points in 11 of their final 16 games. The Grizzlies’ 39 wins are their most in 11 seasons.
The Eagles are led offensively by Trent Daavettila’s 80 points (25 G, 55 A), while Jesse Mychan added 32 goals and Kyle Ostrow chipped in 35 assists. Utah will look to 60-plus point producers Charles Sarault (19 G, 43 A – 62) and Alex Krushelnyski (25 G, 35 A – 60) along with 29-goal scorer Barry Almeida for offensive production.
Between the pipes Colorado will rely on Kris Lazaruk (13-6-2-1) and Clarke Saunders (14-5-0-0) while Utah will depend primarily on Ryan Faragher (24-13-2-2) who posted a 6-3-0 record and 2.77 goals against average against Colorado.
Game 1 – Thursday, April 14 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Colorado
Game 2 – Sunday, April 17 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Colorado
Game 3 – Thursday, April 21 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Utah
Game 4 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Utah
Game 5 – Sunday, April 24 at 4:05 p.m. MT at Utah (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Tuesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Colorado (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:05 p.m. MT at Colorado (If Necessary)
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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