WICHITA, Kan. – The race for the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs enters its final week and the field is just about set, but there’s still lots to be decided including home-ice advantage, and a Brabham Cup champion.
This season, thanks to the imbalance of games, the league is doing things differently, with points percentage being used to award playoff positions.
With the playoffs fast approaching the questions of tiebreakers always comes up and even more so this season when playoff positions are decided by points percentage, not points. Here are the eight tiebreakers the ECHL will use in 2020-21:
1. The higher percentage of regulation wins (regulation wins/total games played)
2. The higher percentage of regulation and overtime wins (excluding games won in the Shootout) (regulation + OT wins/total games played)
3. The greater differential between goals scored for and against by Members having equal standing under priority (1)
4. The higher number of points earned in games against each other among two Members having equal standing under priorities (1) and (2)
5. The higher winning percentage earned in games within the Members Conference (only applicable if tied Members are from the same conference)
6. The higher number of goals scored during the Regular Season
7. The lowest number of goals against during the Regular Season
8. Coin toss
It’s a two-game night in the ECHL, with both games carrying some implications. Let’s get into it.
Eastern Conference:
Here is how the standings stack up at the beginning of play tonight.
Florida and Greenville have clinched home ice for the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The ‘Blades and Swamp Rabbits will play three times this week, starting tomorrow night in Estero, to settle the conference’s regular-season champion.
Indy can clinch the third Eastern Conference playoff spot if South Carolina loses in regulation to Wheeling.
Orlando’s magic number is 7 and they could clinch a playoff berth as early as Thursday night if South Carolina loses in regulation tonight.
Western Conference
Here is how the standings stack up at the beginning of play tonight.
None of the home-ice spots have been officially locked up, but Wichita and Allen remain in the driver’s seat for those two spots. Fort Wayne can still get into one of the top two spots if they win out against Utah and get some help this weekend.
Wichita and Allen will meet tomorrow night in Allen, with the winner of that contest in a really good spot to win the conference and have home-ice throughout the Western Conference playoffs.
If Utah defeats Fort Wayne in regulation three straight times this weekend, they will be the three-seed in the upcoming playoffs.
The Bracket
Teams With Best Record in Last 10 Games:
Greenville Swamp Rabbits: 8-2-0-0
Utah Grizzlies: 7-3-0-0
South Carolina Stingrays: 7-3-0-0
Wichita Thunder: 6-4-0-0
Kansas City Mavericks: 6-4-0-0
Race for the Brabham Cup
The race for the Brabham Cup, and home-ice throughout the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs, is a three-horse race between the Florida Everblades, Wichita Thunder, and Allen Americans, who separated by .021 percentage points for the league’s top spot entering the final week of the regular season.
Looking back to 2006-07, the winners of the Brabham Cup have gone on to win the Kelly Cup three times.
| YEAR | TEAM | PLAYOFF RESULT |
| 2006-07 | Las Vegas Wranglers | Lost in Conference Semis to Idaho |
| 2007-08 | Cincinnati Cyclones | WON KELLY CUP |
| 2008-09 | Florida Everblades | Lost in South Division Finals to SC |
| 2009-10 | Idaho Steelheads | Lost in Kelly Cup Finals to Cincinnati |
| 2010-11 | Alaska Aces | WON KELLY CUP |
| 2011-12 | Alaska Aces | Lost in Conference Finals to Las Vegas |
| 2012-13 | Alaska Aces | Lost in Conference Semis to Stockton |
| 2013-14 | Alaska Aces | WON KELLY CUP |
| 2014-15 | Toledo Walleye | Lost in Conference Finals to SC |
| 2015-16 | Missouri Mavericks | Lost in Conference Semis to Allen |
| 2016-17 | Toledo Walleye | Lost in Conference Finals to Colorado |
| 2017-18 | Florida Everblades | Lost in Kelly Cup Finals to Colorado |
| 2018-19 | Cincinnati Cyclones | Lost in Central Division Final to Toledo |
| 2019-20 | NO WINNER | SEASON CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC |
Stay with The Sin Bin as we chronicle the race to the 2021 Kelly Cup Playoffs!
