2022 Kelly Cup playoffs explained

Kelly Cup playoffs
Year:2022
Dates:April 20 – June 11
Num Teams:16
Winners:Florida Everblades
Second:Toledo Walleye
Stat Leader Title:Scoring leader(s)
Stat Leader Player:Brandon Hawkins (Toledo)
Stat Leader Value:33 points
Award Title:MVP
Prev Season:2021
Next Season:2023

The 2022 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL hockey league began on April 20, 2022, following the conclusion of the 2021–22 ECHL regular season and ended on June 11 with the Florida Everblades winning their second Kelly Cup over the Toledo Walleye in five games.

Playoff format

The league announced its playoff format on January 21, 2022. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams in each division qualify for the 2022 Kelly Cup playoffs and are seeded one through four based on the highest points percentage earned in the season. Then the first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and the second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pit the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format.[1]

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Toledo Walleye were the first team to qualify during the regular season on March 26,[2] with the Reading Royals qualifying shortly after on March 29.[3] Due to the imbalanced scheduling during the pandemic, teams were seeded by points percentage.

Final seeds and points percentages:[4]

Eastern Conference

North Division

South Division

Western Conference

Central Division

Mountain Division

Playoff bracket

Division semifinals

North Division

(2) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (3) Trois-Rivières Lions

South Division

(2) Atlanta Gladiators vs. (3) Jacksonville Icemen

Central Division

(2) Fort Wayne Komets vs. (3) Wheeling Nailers

Mountain Division

(2) Rapid City Rush vs. (3) Allen Americans

Division finals

North Division

(1) Reading Royals vs. (2) Newfoundland Growlers

South Division

(1) Florida Everblades vs. (3) Jacksonville Icemen

Central Division

(1) Toledo Walleye vs. (3) Wheeling Nailers

Mountain Division

(1) Utah Grizzlies vs. (2) Rapid City Rush

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(N2) Newfoundland Growlers vs. (S1) Florida Everblades

Western Conference

(C1) Toledo Walleye vs. (M1) Utah Grizzlies

Kelly Cup finals

(C1) Toledo Walleye vs. (S1) Florida Everblades

Statistical leaders

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.[5]

PlayerTeamGPGAPts+/–PIM
21 15 18 33 +12 22
18 19 11 30 +5 44
Utah Grizzlies 18 5 25 30 +2 18
Toledo Walleye 21 10 18 28 +4 6
19 16 9 25 +7 4
Newfoundland Growlers 18 5 20 25 +3 12
Utah Grizzlies 18 6 13 19 +1 6
19 9 9 18 +3 6
Newfoundland Growlers 13 4 14 18 −1 0
Newfoundland Growlers 19 4 14 18 +8 14
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Goaltending

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage, with at least 300 minutes played. The table is sorted by GAA, and the criteria for inclusion are bolded.[6]

PlayerTeamGPWLOTLSAGAGAASV%SOTOI
18 15 2 1 522 36 1.90 0.931 4 1,134
7 3 3 1 208 18 2.46 0.913 0 438
21 13 5 3 626 54 2.48 0.914 1 1,305
5 2 2 1 194 14 2.59 0.928 1 324
Trent Miner13 7 6 0 439 35 2.80 0.920 0 749
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ECHL Announces Qualification Rules, Format For 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs . ECHL . January 21, 2022.
  2. Web site: Walleye Clinch Playoff Berth With 4-2 Victory Over Americans . . March 27, 2022.
  3. Web site: Reading Royals Clinch Berth in 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs . . March 29, 2022.
  4. Web site: ECHL Standings - Division . April 20, 2022 . ECHL.
  5. Web site: Skater Statistics . ECHL . June 6, 2022.
  6. Web site: Goaltender Statistics . ECHL . June 6, 2022.