Eyes were on the Central Division this year, with the defending champs and the league’s top team playing plenty of entertaining hockey. Now, the playoffs are set to start, and both the Walleye and Komets could be on a collision course to meet in the second round.

No. 1 Toledo Walleye Vs. No. 4 Cincinnati Cyclones

Game 1 – Friday, April 22 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 2 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo
Game 3 – Monday, April 25 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati
Game 4 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati
Game 5 – Thursday, April 28 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Cincinnati (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Saturday, April 30 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 3 at 7:35 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary) 

The regular season buzzsaw that is the Toledo Walleye face their first big test starting on Friday night, when the odds-on favorites to win the Kelly Cup open up their postseason run against the Cincinnati Cyclones.

This year’s Brabham Cup winners were the class of the league. Toledo was the only team to finish with over 100 points this season (102) and their plus-74 goal differential was also a league best.

It is a tough draw for the Cyclones, who were outscored by Toledo, 28-20, in their seven meetings this year. That includes their lone win against the Walleye this season, a 9-2 victory back on November 24. First-year head coach Jason Payne has done an excellent job with the Cyclones all season long, however—being in the same division as both Toledo and the defending champion Fort Wayne Komets is no easy task.

Season Series: 

6-1, in favor of Toledo

Players To Watch: 

T.J. Hensick, Toledo Walleye
Sean Bonar, Cincinnati Cyclones

As much as Derek Nesbitt is a sentimental pick to win the Kelly Cup with Atlanta, it’s much the same with Hensick, who told FloHockey earlier this season that this is likely his last season.

The ECHL’s second-leading scorer with 78 points (22-56—78) in 65 games, the 36-year-old has never gone on a deep playoff run in his career—a run that’s seen him get into 112 NHL contests with the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche, including Stanley Cup Playoff games with the latter. This deep Walleye team seems poised to do so with a significant opportunity to win it all.

Bonar has taken a circuitous route to the Cyclones net. Cincinnati is the eighth different team he’s suited up for over the last two seasons, including two others in the ECHL (Fort Wayne and Maine) this year alone. 

Goaltending was once an embarrassment of riches for the Cyclones with a season-opening tandem of Michael Houser and Mat Robson, there was a period of flux between the pipes that has since been solved by the Bonar, who has posted a 2.96 goals against average and .909 save percentage in a team-high 25 appearances for Cincinnati this year. The 31-year-old has gotten into just one playoff game in an eight-year pro career, back in 2017-18 with the Atlanta Gladiators.

No. 2 Fort Wayne Komets Vs. No. 3 Wheeling Nailers

Game 1 – Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 2 – Saturday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 27 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 4 – Friday, April 29 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 5 – Saturday, April 30 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Fort Wayne (If Necessary) 

Fort Wayne was the league’s only team that joined play mid-season in the COVID-affected year, and thus played roughly 20 less games than most clubs. After some rumblings around the league about their Kelly Cup win last year the Komets delivered a strong season and look to take that momentum into the postseason. 

They’ll open up with a matchup against a much-improved Wheeling team, which was never in playoff contention last year even with the smaller-amount of teams. The Nailers have turned things around to be a three-seed in a very competitive Central Division.

The division’s two-most penalized teams (they’ve combined for a stunning 2,479 minutes in the box), this one may very well come down to which has the more effective power play. Fort Wayne (21.6 percent) and Wheeling (20.1 percent) were the sixth and seventh-best teams in the league on the man advantage, respectively, although the Komets (81.5 percent, 13th) were far more successful on the penalty kill than the Nailers (78.3 percent, 22nd).

Season Series: 

7-3, in favor of Fort Wayne

Players To Watch: 

Will Graber, Fort Wayne Komets
Patrick Watling, Wheeling Nailers

If you like top-end scorers, this is the series for you.

Graber and Watling were two of three forwards on the All-ECHL First Team—Hensick was the other. Graber is likely to be named the league’s MVP by leading the circuit in scoring with 83 points in only 59 games played. The 25-year-old Dartmouth alum is set for his first professional playoff experience once the series gets underway at home on Friday night, and looks to continue his scoring touch when it matters the most.

As for Watling, this will be his first postseason experience since four Kelly Cup Playoff games with the Orlando Solar Bears during his first pro year in 2014-15. It’s a well-deserved opportunity for a player who finished tied for fifth in ECHL goal scoring this year with 31, and earned AHL call-ups with both Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre Scranton.