Not much new to report, but with so many days off between Allen beating Idaho 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs and the beginning of the Division Finals against Kansas City next Saturday (May 9), I thought I would recap some old info and share some random information. Here goes:
- Here is the schedule for the series with Kansas City:
- It was announced two days ago that the Mavericks will play games six and seven, if necessary, in their community rink with no spectators allowed. Most of you know the Kansas City arena is a twin of the Allen facility, so the community rinks hold around 300 in the limited bleachers. This is the Mavericks' statement to fans.
"Please know that this situation has been as difficult for the organization as it is for our supporters. However, adhering to strict occupancy limitations at the alternate venue (community rink), there is no fair or equitable way to accommodate the demand of our loyal fan base, so no fans will be allowed at the games. We recognize the disappointment and frustration this may cause and sincerely regret that we are unable to provide access to all who wish to attend.”
Seems to me they could find a fair way to let a few hundred season ticket holders attend using a drawing or some other criteria, but opted to have no fans attend. Welcome to ECHL playoff hockey scheduling. FYI, had Tahoe won the series against Kansas City, Allen would have had some scheduling problems in the Division Finals. However, Allen was exploring options such as NYTEX and Comerica Center, as I am told by their leadership that playing without their home fans was "never a solution we were going to accept."
- Four of the eight teams that will advance to the Division Finals have already been determined, and the higher seeds advanced:
- #1 Florida defeated #4 Savannah 4-0
- #1 Kansas City defeated #4 Tahoe 4-0
- #1 Wheeling defeated #4 Reading 4-1
- #2 Allen defeated #3 Tahoe 4-1
- In the four series yet to be decided, the higher seeds are leading:
- #1 Fort Wayne leads #4 Indy 3-1
- #2 Toledo leads #3 Bloomington 3-2
- #2 South Carolina leads #3 Atlanta 3-2
- #2 Maine leads #3 Adirondack 3-2
I looked back at the last 10 Kelly Cup playoffs, and there has never been a time when there wasn't at least one upset in the first round of the playoffs. In 2025, and 2024 there were three upsets each season. It sure looks favorable for all of the higher seeds to advance.
- Wheeling gave up 4 goals in 5 games against Reading for a 0.80 goals per game average.
- Kansas City scored 17 goals (4.25 average) and allowed five goals (1.25 average) in its sweep of Tahoe for a goal differential of +12.
- Florida took only 20 penalty minutes in its sweep of Savannah, by far the lowest PIMS in the first round. The other team that swept (Kansas City) took 76 penalty minutes. Florida is the only playoff team with a 100% penalty kill percentage.
- Fort Wayne had the #2 penalty kill percentage in the regular season (24.7%) and is #1 in the playoffs (31.6%).
- Taylor Gauthier, Wheeling, leads all goalies with a 0.74 GAA and .979 save percentage. There have been six shutouts in the playoffs thus far, Gauthier has three of them.
- Danny Katic has the only playoff hat trick thus far and is the points leader with 10 (5G, 5A).
- Lucas Sowder, (KC), and Jade Miller (IDH) lead with a shooting percentage of 75% (3 goals on 4 shots).
- Connor Moore, South Carolina, leads all defensemen, averaging an assist per game (5 games, 5 assists).
- Charlie Combs, South Carolina, brother of former Allen player Jack Combs, leads the playoffs in goals (6) and has a goal in all 5 games played.
- Sam Sedley is tied for the point lead among defensemen with 5 (1G, 4A). His lone goal was a short-handed goal (an empty-net goal).
- Cam Johnson, ECHL Goalie of the Year, played in all four games in Florida's sweep of Savannah with a GAA of 1.00 and a .963 save percentage.
- -3: First period (3 goals scored, 6 allowed)
- +2: Second period (7 goals scored, 5 allowed)
- +6: Third period: (9 goals scored, 3 allowed)