WICHITA, Kan. – We are down to the penultimate day of the 2020-21 ECHL regular season, and there is still much to be decided in the race for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
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 six-game night in the ECHL, with implications on the playoff race. Let’s get into it!
Eastern Conference
Here is how the standings stack up at the beginning of play tonight.
Here are the details:
- Florida has won the Eastern Conference regular-season title. They can win the Brabham Cup with a win or an OT/SO loss if Allen loses in regulation
- Greenville/Indy have been locked into their playoff positions and will meet in the first round
- South Carolina can clinch a playoff berth if Orlando loses in regulation
Western Conference
Here is how the standings stack up at the beginning of play tonight.
Here are the details, courtesy of the ECHL’s Director of Communications, Joe Babik:
- Allen can win the Brabham Cup with two regulation wins and have Florida lose both games, with at least one of those coming in regulation
- Allen can win the Western Conference with a win & an OT/SO loss by Wichita Saturday night
- Wichita can finish first in the west by winning against KC, and having Allen lose at least one of the two games against Rapid City (either in regulation or OT/SO)
- If Wichita loses in OT/SO to KC, they would need Allen to lose (in any fashion) both games against Rapid City, or have Allen lose at least one of the games to Rapid in regulation but if Allen loses both games to Rapid City in regulation, Wichita finishes first regardless of the outcome against Kansas City
- Two Fort Wayne wins & a regulation loss by Wichita Saturday night gives the Komets’ the two-seed
- Fort Wayne can also still finish first if they win both games, Wichita loses in regulation and Allen gets only one point over the final two games
- Utah has locked into the fourth seed
The Bracket
Teams With Best Record in Last 10 Games:
Greenville Swamp Rabbits: 7-2-1-0
South Carolina Stingrays: 7-3-0-0
Indy Fuel: 6-2-2-0
Allen Americans: 6-3-1-0
Utah Grizzlies: 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 games tonight.
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!
