The Toledo Walleye and Kansas City Mavericks were the top two teams in the ECHL during the regular season, but the powerhouses never played head-to-head.
Kansas City finished with the most points (114) to win the Brabham Cup, awarded to the regular season champion. Toledo finished second with 105 points.
The teams now meet in the best-of-7 Western Conference finals, which is following a 3-4 format, beginning with three games in Toledo. Game 1 is set for 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Huntington Center.
The Mavericks set an ECHL record with 29 road wins in the regular season. Kansas City carried that success over to the Kelly Cup playoffs, posting a 5-0 record on the road.
The Walleye have put together a historic winning streak with 22 straight victories (14 regular-season games and eight playoff games) — the longest winning streak spanning the regular season and postseason in ECHL history. Toledo’s eight-game playoff winning streak also is tied for the fourth-longest all-time.
The Mavericks led the league in scoring during the regular season with 4.24 goals per game and finished third in goals against per game (2.81). Toledo was third in goals scored (4.07) and eighth in goals allowed (2.94).
Kansas City is 8-1 in the playoffs with a 4-0 sweep of Tulsa in the Mountain Division semifinals and a 4-1 win against Idaho in the Mountain Division finals.
Toledo swept both Kalamazoo and Wheeling in the opening rounds. It's the second straight season Toledo has reached the conference finals with eight consecutive wins. The Walleye defeated the Wings 4-0 in the first round and the Nailers 4-0 in the Central Division finals.
Both teams must defend well. The high-scoring offenses have been backed by a steady rotation of goaltenders for both teams.
While there likely will be a feeling-out process early in the series, projections on paper show two evenly matched teams that favor a high-speed and skilled style.
Here is a breakdown of the matchup to see which team has the edge in several key categories.
Forwards
Toledo leads the ECHL in scoring with 4.38 goals per game during the playoffs. Kansas City ranks third at 3.78 goals per game.
Walleye rookie forward Riley Sawchuk is tied for the playoff lead with seven goals. Sawchuk (4 assists) also is tied for fourth in overall scoring with 11 points along with two teammates — Sam Craggs (6 G, 5 A) and Brandon Hawkins (5 G, 6 A). Hawkins, who was named ECHL's MVP, leads the playoffs with 74 shots on goal and is tied for first with three game-winning goals.
Former Walleye forward Patrick Curry leads the Mavericks with 12 points and finished second in the voting for league MVP. Curry, who played for Toledo in the 2022 playoffs, is tied for fifth overall in the playoffs in scoring (6 G, 6 A) in nine games. Nolan Walker (9 points), Jeremy McKenna (8 points), and Jake Jaremko (8 points) are the other top forwards. Four other forwards have tallied seven points. Max Andreev finished ninth in scoring with 73 points (19 G, 54 A) during the regular season.
Hawkins led the ECHL in goals (40) and points (93), while Curry ranked second in goals (39) and points (87).
Both offenses favor a quick pace with intelligent plays leading not only to good defense, but also quality chances in transition.
The Walleye lead the ECHL in shots per game (37.5), while Kansas City is fifth (32.1).
■ Advantage: Walleye
Defensemen
Toledo leads the ECHL in goals surrendered per game (2.13) during the playoffs. Kansas City ranks sixth at 2.44 goals given up per game.
While those bottom line stats are reflective of a team effort including forwards and goalies, the defensemen are primarily responsible for limiting Grade A chances.
Toledo has two defensemen, Matt Anderson and Brendon Michaelian, who rank among the top d-men in plus-minus rating. Anderson ranks second at plus-8 and Michaelian is third (plus-7).
Walleye defenseman Michael Prapavessis is the top-scoring defenseman in the series, ranking third with seven points (all assists) in eight games. Anderson has six points (1 G, 5 A) in eight games. Toledo defenseman Riley McCourt, who had 52 points (8 G, 44 A) in 67 regular season games, has five points (1 G, 4 A) in eight playoff games.
The Mavericks are led on defense by Marc-Olivier Duquette and Ryan Jones, who both have four points in nine games — all assists. Nate Knoepke has two points in nine games.
Fellow d-man Jake McLaughlin ranked second in the ECHL in plus-minus during the regular season at plus-30. He tied with Jones and was one in front of Duquette in that category. McCourt was fourth (plus-27).
The Mavericks have good experience on defense and have continued to improve. Toledo shored up its defense about three-quarters of through the regular season and has limited odd-man rushes.
■ Advantage: Walleye
Goaltending
Both coaches have relied on a steady rotation of prospects in net instead of riding the hot hand as many coaches do in the playoffs.
The Walleye have 2023 goalie of the year John Lethemon, who ranks third with a 1.90 goals-against average, and rookie Jan Bednar, who ranks seventh with a 2.20 goals-against average. Each Toledo goalie has appeared in four games and won all four.
Kansas City has counted on a rotation of Jack LaFontaine and Cale Morris in the playoffs. LaFontaine (3-1) leads all netminders in the playoffs with a .944 save percentage and is sixth with a 2.16 goals-against average. Morris posted a 5-0 record and ranks 12th with a 2.60 goals-against average. LaFontaine made 53 saves in the series-clinching overtime win against Idaho.
Morris had a solid regular season (21-7-2 with a 2.58 GAA and .911 save percentage) as did Bednar (22-7-2 with a 2.66 GAA and, a 901 save percentage).
Lethemon and Bednar also split time during the regular season while Morris got the bulk of the workload for Kansas City.
■ Advantage: Walleye
Coaches
Both Kansas City coach Tad O'Had and Toledo coach Pat Mikesch finished among the top vote-getters in the voting for ECHL coach of the year.
O'Had finished second and Mikesch was fourth. (Andrew Lord of Greenville won the award). O'Had led the Mavericks to the best season in franchise history and the Brabham Cup.
O’Had is in his fourth season as the Mavericks head coach and general manager. O’Had is 151-106-31 in the regular season and 10-5 in Kelly Cup playoffs. The team has increased its win total each season, posting its best record this season after going 34-30-8 last year.
A native of Yakima, Wash., O’Had spent seven seasons as an assistant with the Florida Everblades before taking over in Kansas City. While with the Everblades, O’Had helped lead the team to the Brabham Cup in 2017-18 among six playoff appearances.
During his playing days, O'Had was a defenseman who played at Connecticut College (Division III).
Mikesch, a native of Hancock, Mich., was named the fourth coach in Walleye history last summer. He had spent 11 seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, first as an associate head coach and then director of scouting under Detroit Red Wings head coach and former Walleye coach Derek Lalonde. After taking over, Mikesch led the Gamblers to five winning seasons and three playoff appearances in his eight seasons.
Mikesch also led the United States U-17 team to three straight Gold medals (2011-13). Mikesch, a former forward, played for Michigan Tech from 1992-96 and eight seasons of pro hockey in the AHL, IHL, ECHL, and in Germany.
■ Advantage: Mavericks
Overall
Fifteen Walleye players have scored at least one goal, and all 18 skaters have at least one point. Kansas City has 12 players that have scored at least one goal and 20 players who have recorded at least a point.
Both teams have relied on a combination of eight rookies who have contributed valuable minutes along with a handful of contracted players sent to the teams from their AHL affiliates. Toledo has five players that have AHL or NHL contracts and the Mavericks have 10.
Kansas City has had better success on special teams during the playoffs, ranking second on both power play success (22.2) and penalty kill rate (95.8). Toledo, which had the second-most productive power play (25.2 percent) during the regular season, ranks fifth in the regular season (21.7). The Walleye's PK ranks fourth (88.9).
The team that commits the fewest miscues, allowing the least amount of odd-man rushes, will have the upper hand.
The Walleye always seem to remain at an even keel under the stoic Mikesch. Toledo has had the knack of coming from behind and adding tack-on goals with a propensity for clutch goals.
Kansas City has already beaten the third-best team in the playoffs, taking out an Idaho team that eliminated Toledo last season and reached the Kelly Cup Finals.
The Mavericks also have scoring depth, but the defense gave up 16 goals to the Steelheads.
The Walleye have not lost since March 13.
Overall quality depth will be the difference in the tight series that will go the distance.
■ Advantage: Walleye (4 games to 3)
First Published May 16, 2024, 9:55 p.m.
