2011 Kelly Cup playoffs

Playoff format

In the Eastern Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference, based on points. The division winners will be seeded first, second and third and will play the eighth-place finisher, the seventh-place finisher and the sixth-place finisher, respectively, while the fourth-place finisher and the fifth-place finisher will meet. The conference semifinals will have the winner of the first-place and eighth-place matchup will meet the winner of the fourth-place and fifth-place game while the winner of the second-place and seventh-place game will face the winner of the third-place and sixth-place matchup.

In the Western Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference, based on points. The division winner with the best record in the conference will receive a bye in the first round. The other division winner will be seeded second and meet the team that finishes seventh in the conference in the first round. The other first round matchups will be the third-place finisher in the conference against the sixth-place finisher in the conference and the fourth-place finisher in the conference against the fifth-place finisher in the conference. The conference semifinals will have the first-place finisher meeting the winner of the fourth-place and fifth-place matchup and the winner of the second-place finisher and seventh-place finisher against the winner of the third-place finisher against the sixth-place finisher.

The first round in each Conference will be a best of five series with each subsequent round being a best of seven series.

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, 15 teams qualified for the playoffs. The Alaska Aces were the Western Conference regular season champions and the Brabham Cup winners with the best record at 97 points. The Greenville Road Warriors earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference and finished the season with 96 points.

Eastern Conference

1. Greenville Road Warriors - South Division and Eastern Conference champions, 96 points.
2. Reading Royals - Atlantic Division champions, 93 points.
3. Kalamazoo Wings - North Division champions, 88 points.
4. Wheeling Nailers - 81 points.
5. South Carolina Stingrays - 80 points.
6. Florida Everblades - 79 points.
7. Cincinnati Cyclones - 76 points.
8. Elmira Jackals - 74 points.

Western Conference

1. Alaska Aces - Western Conference and Mountain Division champions, Brabham Cup winner, 97 points.
2. Bakersfield Condors - Pacific Division champions, 86 points.
3. Stockton Thunder - 86 points.
4. Las Vegas Wranglers - 81 points.
5. Idaho Steelheads - 77 points.
6. Utah Grizzlies - 73 points.
7. Victoria Salmon Kings - 68 points.

Playoff bracket

Conference Quarterfinals

:Note: Home team is listed first.

Eastern Conference

(1) Greenville Road Warriors vs. (8) Elmira Jackals

|1-1-1=6:58 – pp – Jimmy Kilpatrick (1) 14:04 – pp – Brandon Wong (1) |1-1-2=No scoring |1-2-1=9:27 – Brendan Connolly (1) 19:04 – pp – Mark Voakes (1) |1-2-2=Justin Donati (1) - 2:53 |1-3-1=19:44 – en – Marc-Olivier Vallerand (1) |1-3-2=Josh Brittain (1) – 5:40 |goalie1-1=Nicola Riopel 30 saves / 32 shots |goalie1-2=Marco Cousineau 23 saves / 27 shots |2-1-1=12:05 – pp – Brendan Connolly (2) 13:41 – Sam Klassen (1) |2-1-2=Eric Lampe (1) – 5:08 |2-2-1=No scoring |2-2-2=Justin Donati (2) – 18:41 |2-3-1=18:25 – Mark Voakes (2) |2-3-2=A.J. Perry (1) – 11:02 Yannick Tifu (1) – pp – 13:21 Eric Lampe (2) – en – 18:43 Dale Mahovsky (1) – en – 19:44 |goalie2-1=Nicola Riopel 25 saves / 29 shots |goalie2-2=Jared DeMichiel 9 saves / 11 shots Marco Cousineau 23 saves / 24 shots |3-1-1=Chris McKelvie (1) – 10:28 |3-1-2=No scoring |3-2-1=No scoring |3-2-2=No scoring |3-3-1=Sam Klassen (2) – en – 19:34 |3-3-2=No scoring |goalie3-1=Chris Beckford-Tseu 18 saves / 18 shots |goalie3-2=Marco Cousineau 28 saves / 29 shots |4-1-1=No scoring |4-1-2=9:29 – Yannick Tifu (2) |4-2-1=Andrew Rowe (1) - 0:58 |4-2-2=No scoring |4-3-1=No scoring |4-3-2=No scoring |4-4-1=Sean Berkstresser (1) – 6:22 |4-4-2=No scoring |goalie4-1=Chris Beckford-Tseu 26 saves / 27 shots |goalie4-2=Marco Cousineau 47 saves / 49 shots

(2) Reading Royals vs. (7) Cincinnati Cyclones

(3) Kalamazoo Wings vs. (6) Florida Everblades

|1-1-1=No scoring |1-1-2=No scoring |1-2-1=No scoring |1-2-2=Ross Carlson (1) – 8:48 Matt Beca (1) – pp – 15:30 |1-3-1=6:12 – pp – Trent Daavettila (1) |1-3-2=No scoring |goalie1-1=Ryan Nie 20 saves / 22 shots |goalie1-2=Bobby Goepfert 31 saves / 32 shots

(4) Wheeling Nailers vs. (5) South Carolina Stingrays

Western Conference

(2) Bakersfield Condors vs. (7) Victoria Salmon Kings

(3) Stockton Thunder vs. (6) Utah Grizzlies

(4) Las Vegas Wranglers vs. (5) Idaho Steelheads

|1-1-1=No scoring |1-1-2=No scoring |1-2-1=No scoring |1-2-2=No scoring |1-3-1=No scoring |1-3-2=No scoring |1-4-1=17:44 – Ryan Huddy (1) |1-4-2=No scoring |goalie1-1=Michael Ouzas 29 saves / 29 shots |goalie1-2=Jerry Kuhn 48 saves / 49 shots

Conference Semifinals

:Note: Home team is listed first.

Eastern Conference

(1) Greenville Road Warriors vs. (4) Wheeling Nailers

(2) Reading Royals vs. (3) Kalamazoo Wings

Western Conference

(1) Alaska Aces vs. (5) Idaho Steelheads

(6) Utah Grizzlies vs. (7) Victoria Salmon Kings

Conference Finals

Eastern Conference

(3) Kalamazoo Wings vs. (4) Wheeling Nailers

Western Conference

(1) Alaska Aces vs. (7) Victoria Salmon Kings

Kelly Cup Finals

(1) Alaska Aces vs. (3) Kalamazoo Wings

Statistical leaders

Skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; Yellow shade = team still in playoffs

:All statistics as of: 18:47, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

NOTE: Please replace the date shown with ~~~~~ (five tildes) after updating these figures

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Goaltending

These are the top five goaltenders based on both goals against average and save percentage with at least one game played (Note: list is sorted by goals against average).

GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); Yellow shade = team still in playoffs

:All statistics as of: 18:47, 23 May 2011 (UTC)

NOTE: Please replace the date shown with ~~~~~ (five tildes) after updating these figures

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References

References

1. Press release (April 4, 2011). [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=4177322 "2011 Kelly Cup Playoffs - Conference Quarterfinal Preview"]. [[ECHL]]. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
2. Press release. (October 12, 2009). "2010 ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs format". ECHL.
3. "ECHL board keeps playoff format, adopts NHL rules. - Where the Reign reigns".
4. Press release. (April 3, 2011). "Alaska wins Brabham Cup". ECHL.