After requiring the full 72 games to determine the second, third and fourth seeds, the regular-season champions – and remainder of the Mountain Division qualifiers – are ready for the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Catch every Mountain Division game live, right here on FloHockey, along with the entirety of the ECHL’s postseason across all four divisions. 

The winner of each series will face off in the division final for a spot in the Western Conference Finals.

No. 1 Idaho Steelheads (58-11-3) Vs. No. 4 Utah Grizzlies (35-33-4)

*All games scheduled for 9:10 p.m. Eastern.

Game 1 – Wednesday, April 19 at Idaho
Game 2 – Friday, April 21 at Idaho
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 26 at Utah
Game 4 – Friday, April 28 at Utah
Game 5 – Saturday, April 29 at Utah (if necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 1 at Idaho (if necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 2 at Idaho (if necessary)

Quick Look: The Steelheads ran away with the regular-season title, finishing with an ECHL record 58 wins, thanks to a deep offense and dominant campaign from netminder Adam Scheel.

The 2023 postseason puts an end to a three-year drought, and the Steelheads skate in among the favorites.

En route to the league title, Idaho won 11 of its 15 matchups against Utah this season.

Despite that lopsided record, the Grizzlies captured two of the past three outings against the Steelheads, back in mid-January.

Utah (35-33-4) also has claimed four of its past five games and is unbeaten in regulation over the last six, which helped the Grizzlies secure the fourth, and final, spot in the division semis.

The Grizzlies are looking to improve on a third-round loss in 2022.

Player to Watch: Steelheads, Adam Scheel – Scheel led the league with 28 wins, a 1.57 GAA, .932 save percentage and five shutouts.

After the Dallas Stars signed the goaltender as an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota two years ago, his first full ECHL season has been everything management hoped for after an up-and-down 2021-2022 AHL campaign with the Texas Stars.

Player to Watch: Grizzlies, Dylan Fitze – The veteran forward has led the late-season charge for the Grizzlies, contributing five goals and nine points during their final five games.

Fitze is coming off a career year and will look to help the Grizzlies in another playoff run. He scored six goals and nine points in 18 playoff games last season.

No. 2 Allen Americans (37-32-3) Vs. No. 3 Kansas City Mavericks (34-30-8)

*All games scheduled for 8:05 p.m. Eastern.

Game 1 – Wednesday, April 19 at Kansas City
Game 2 – Thursday, April 20 at Kansas City
Game 3 – Monday, April 24 at Kansas City
Game 4 – Friday, April 28 at Allen
Game 5 – Saturday, April 29 at Allen (if necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 1 at Allen (if necessary)
Game 7 – Wednesday, May 3 at Allen (if necessary)

Quick Look: Kansas City has the second-fewest home-ice losses this season and will begin the series at Cable Dahmer Arena for the first three games.

The Mavericks return to the postseason for the first time since the 2018-2019, their only postseason berth over the past five years – excluding the canceled 2019-2020 season.

The Mavs boast a balanced scoring attack and one of the ECHL’s better goaltenders in Shane Starrett.

The Americans claimed home ice, despite three more wins and a one-point deficit in the final standings.

Allen won the season series 4-1 and enters the series with the apparent edge on paper.

The Americans lost in the opening round in 2022, a year after a third-round loss.

Under first-year head coach Chad Costello, an Allen legend as a player, the Americans are chasing their third Kelly Cup this postseason. They won titles in 2016 and 2017 with Costello as one of their leading players.

Hank Crone adds another one to his resume!
Congratulations to the '22-'23 Rookie of the Year, #67 Hank Crone#LiveInTheRed?? #REDemption pic.twitter.com/lchA9DHse7

— X-Americans Professional Hockey Club (@AllenAmericans) April 17, 2023

Player to Watch: Allen, Hank Crone – The forward led the ECHL with 49 goals and 105 points, becoming the first player to hit the century mark in the ECHL since his current coach had 122 for Allen during the 2016-2017 season.

Crone, the John A. Daley Memorial Award winner as the ECHL Rookie of the Year will look to continue the scorching offense this postseason for the Americans.

Player to Watch: Kansas City, Shane Starrett – While the Mavericks don’t possess the same offensive output as the Americans, Starrett could be the balancing factor for his team.

He finished the regular season with a 2.68 goals-against average, .913 save percentage and four shutouts.

His stats place him comfortably in the top 10 in each category, while his four shutouts are tied for second.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.