The Western Conference finals between the Toledo Walleye and Kansas City Mavericks is following a funky format.
The best-of-7 series will follow an unusual 3-4 format with the first three games in Toledo and the final four in Kansas City. The Mavericks, who finished with the best record in the ECHL during the regular season, have home-ice advantage.
The series, however, is not following the traditional ECHL playoff format of 2-3-2, because Kansas City’s home venue, Cable Dahmer Arena, has prior commitments to host graduation ceremonies.
Walleye coach Pat Mikesch is not concerned with the format and is sticking to the old sports adage of taking one game at a time, which has served his team well during its unprecedented 22-game winning streak.
“It starts on a Friday night just like the last two series, and that’s all I’m worried about right now,” Mikesch said. “We knew no matter what, we were going to have to win a game on the road. We can’t even worry about anything other than that Friday night.”
The Walleye’s opening series against Kalamazoo followed a 2-2-1-1-1 format, which is the traditional schedule used for NHL series. Toledo then played Wheeling in a 2-3-2 format in the second round. Toledo swept both series.
Kanas City defeated Idaho 4-1 in the Mountain Division final that followed a 2-3-2 format. The Mavericks swept Tulsa in the opening round, which also followed a 2-3-2 format.
“It’s no different from the other two series we just played,” Toledo rookie goaltender Jan Bednar said. “We just want to win every game. We want to be the best version of ourselves every night. That’s the same for every series, home or on the road. It’s kind of different, but we’re just going to make sure that we have the same mentality.”
Kansas City coach Tad O'Had conceded that he was frustrated about the format. He said Mavericks officials did all they could to make a more traditional format work.
“We did everything we possibly could to shift things and move things around. We had a couple of options, and the other options were not good,” O'Had said. “It's a city-owned building. And so at the end of the day, our building wasn't available. It's a frustration I've had for many years in the ECHL. But you have to control the controllables.”
O'Had, who is in his fourth season at KC after serving as an assistant coach for the Florida Everblades, said that both teams must win on the road to advance to the Kelly Cup Finals.
“We need to face the challenge head on. We've got a job to do,” O'Had said. “Let's just get after it.”
Forward Trenton Bliss said the team must take care of business at home.
“But even if we’ve got to go in Kansas City and win four games, we’ll do that,” he added. “We’re just taking it game by game, and we’ll be up for the challenge.”
As of Tuesday night, only about 500 tickets remain for Games 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday.
The Walleye are looking forward to the atmosphere at the Huntington Center. There have been 31 consecutive sellouts, and the Walleye lead the ECHL in playoff attendance average (7,974 per game).
“Starting the first three at home, it’s going to give us energy,” forward Conlan Keenan said. “We’ll be sleeping at home, being comfortable in a setting with all our pregame meals and routines. I can’t wait to see how loud it’s going to be here.”
The North Division semifinal series between Norfolk and Trois-Rivieres also followed a 3-4 format. Norfolk, which had home-ice advantage, won two of the first three on the road and won in six games.
Last year’s Eastern Conference finals between Florida and Newfoundland also followed a 3-4 format. The Everblades started at home, winning the first games and the series.
The Walleye could benefit from a fast start to the series at the Huntington Center.
“The beginning of a series is always important,” rookie forward Alexandre Doucet said, “so we’ve just got to take advantage of it.”
First Published May 15, 2024, 2:50 p.m.
