Yahoo Sports Kelly Cup Rematches Highlight Opening Night In The ECHL
Opening Weekend of the ECHL’s 37th season has finally arrived. After an off-season that saw lots of player movement, two expansion teams and new coaching faces behind the bench, it’s time to get down to the business of playing hockey.
The league continues to set new marks in attendance each season, boasting an average of 4,944 fans per game in 2023-24, the highest average in 26 years. Three of the five Kelly Cup Finals contests between the Florida Everblades and Kansas City Mavericks featured standing-room only crowds.
Such fan interest has allowed the ECHL to expand across the country. This season, new franchises take the ice in Bloomington and Lake Tahoe. The league now has 29 teams in 22 states and one Canadian province, with a 30th franchise to begin play in Greensboro, North Carolina next season.
Opening Weekend features eight games on Friday, 11 on Saturday and four on Sunday. Friday’s matchups include two involving teams who faced each other in last season’s Kelly Cup Playoffs: the Adirondack Thunder at Norfolk Admirals and the Orlando Solar Bears at Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Here’s a look at those two matchups.
Adirondack Thunder at Norfolk Admirals
Puck Drop: 7:05 Pm ET
The Thunder ousted Norfolk in six games in the 2024 North Division Finals. The Admirals took a 2-0 lead in the series, only to see Adirondack storm back to win four straight. The Thunder fell to eventual Kelly Cup champion Florida 4 games to 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Adirondack won the North Division and finished fourth in the ECHL with a 43-18-11 record, good for 97 points. They ranked seventh in the league with 3.35 goals per game, tied for eighth in goals against (2.94), 16th on the power play (19.5%) and finished fifth on the penalty-kill at 82.4%.
Pete MacArthur begins his third season as Thunder head coach, going 75-47-22 in his previous two seasons with the club.
The Admirals had a fine season despite losing in the North Division Finals. They finished second behind Adirondack in the division, going 41-21-7 (88 points) and made the post-season for the first time in 10 years.
Jeff Carr begins his third season as the Admirals’ bench boss, going 61-60-12 since coming to Norfolk. The club averaged 3.55 goals per game to finish fourth, and allowed 2.88, good for seventh.
Orlando Solar Bears at Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Puck Drop: 7:05 Pm ET
The Solar Bears eliminated Greenville 4-2 in last season’s South Division Semifinals, eventually bowing out to Florida in the Division Finals.
Orlando finished fourth in the South under head coach Matt Carkner, who begins his third season behind the bench. The Solar Bears ranked 19th out of 29 teams with a 3.06 goals-per-game average, but were fifth in goals against (2.86).
The Swamp Rabbits are hoping to reach the post-season for a fifth consecutive year as head coach Kyle Mountain begins his first season with the club. Their 44-34-5 mark and 93 points were good for first in the South and fifth overall in the ECHL. They tied for seventh in the league with an 81.7 penalty-kill percentage but ranked 22nd on the power play (18.0%).
Other games on Friday include:
Reading Royals at Trois-Rivieres Lions
Puck Drop: 7 Pm ET
Jason Binkley is entering his first full season with the Royals after serving as interim coach for the final 33 games in 2023-24. Reading is playing their 16th season opener on the road in the past 23 seasons. The Royals are 8-11-3-0 all-time in season openers with a 5-9-2 record in openers on the road.
Trois-Rivières is led by second-year head coach Ron Choules (31-30-8) and returns the franchise's all-time leader in goals and 2020-21 ECHL MVP with the Wichita Thunder, forward Anthony Beauregard, for a third season (his 7th pro season overall).
Wheeling Nailers at Maine Mariners
Puck Drop: 7:15 Pm ET
The Nailers went 38-28-5 (81 points) to finish third in the Central Division. They were swept by the Toledo Walleye in the Division Finals. The club finished tied for first in the ECHL with four shorthanded goals against.
The Mariners fell in last season’s North Division Semifinals to Adirondack in seven games. They ranked fifth in the league with a 3.47 goal-per-game average and gave up an average of 3.61, 21st in the league. However, new goaltender Nolan Maier finished fourth in saves last season (1,143) with Reading.
Indy Fuel at Savannah Ghost Pirates
Puck Drop: 7:30 Pm ET
The Fuel will play their first 15 games of the regular season on the road as they await the completion of Fishers Event Center. Duncan Dalmao has a 93-55-13 mark as the club’s head coach coming into his fourth season. Indy finished 39-25-8 (86 points), second in the Central. They lost to Wheeling in the Division Semifinals in five games.
Jared Staal is starting his first season as head coach for Savannah, who finished sixth in the South Division with a 30-34-8 record. They were led in points by Logan Drevitch with 52 (19-33-52).
Fort Wayne Komets at Iowa Heartlanders
Puck Drop: 7 Pm CT
The Komets return only seven players from last year’s squad after missing the post-season for the first time since 2013. However, team MVP Jack Dugan returns after an 80-point season in which he led the ECHL in assists with 60.
The Heartlanders finished seventh in the Central in 2023-24, going 27-37-8 (62 points). In three seasons as head coach, Derek Damon is 49-73-22. The team is opening at home for the fourth consecutive season at Xtream Arena.
Kansas City Mavericks at Wichita Thunder
Puck Drop: 7:05 Pm CT
The Mavericks are coming off the best season in club history, falling just short of a Kelly Cup championship against the Everblades in the finals.
The team set franchise records in post-season wins (13), regular-season wins (54) and set an ECHL record in road wins (29).
Wichita finished last in the Mountain Division in 2023-24 with a 27-35-9-1 record. They open at home for the third straight season and will face the Mavericks for the second straight season in their season and home opener.
Utah Grizzlies at Idaho Steelheads
Utah netminder Adam Scheel is facing his old team to kick off the season after leading the league with a 1.97 goals-against average with the Steelheads in 2022-23. The Grizzlies gave up an average of 3.15 goals per game, 14th-best in the ECHL, finishing fifth in the Mountain Division with a 31-36-5 mark and 67 points.
Idaho begins its fifth season with head coach Everett Sheen at the helm, going 178-82-17 during that span. The Steelheads advanced to the Mountain Division Finals before losing to Kansas City in five games. They finished second in the league with 24 wins at home.
