Saturday was the final day of the 2024-25 season for some teams, while others will finish Sunday or start preparing for the post-season.
Here are some observations from Saturday’s action.
Stingrays Hit No. 17
There’s no debate as to who the ECHL’s hottest team is heading into the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The South Carolina Stingrays, who captured the Brabham Cup on Friday for compiling the league’s best regular-season record, notched their 17th consecutive victory Saturday with a 5-2 road win over the Norfolk Admirals.
Ryan Hofer, Tyler Weiss, Lynden Breen, Erik Middendorf, and Charlie Combs each scored for the Stingrays, while goaltender Seth Eisele stopped 17 of 19 shots in the victory.
Sean Montgomery put the Admirals on the board with a wrister from the left circle less than two minutes into the game. Hofer responded to tie the score 1-1 with 2:46 to go in the opening frame.
The Admirals pulled back in front 4:59 into the second period with a power play goal from Ryan Chyzowski before the Stingrays scored four unanswered goals.
The Stingrays have one more regular season game in Greenville Sunday night against the Swamp Rabbits.
Friday’s clinching of the Brabham Cup marks the second time in franchise history the Stingrays have captured the honor, with the first coming during their historic 1996-97 season. That year, they became the first team in league history to win both the Brabham Cup and the Kelly Cup Championship in the same season.
This season also marks the eighth time South Carolina will finish the year with the best record in the ECHL's South Division.
Royals Clinch Final Playoff Spot By Rolling Over Railers
By cruising past the Worcester Railers 7-3 Saturday night at Santander Arena, the Reading Royals advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons and 17th time in franchise history.
Goaltender Keith Petruzzelli earned the win in net with 33 saves on 36 shots faced while Railers’ netminder Hugo Ollas (10-9-2-0) suffered the loss with 25 saves on 32 shots faced.
Matt Brown gave Reading a 1-0 lead 1:16 into the game for the start of a three-goal surge for the Royals.
Logan Britt at 17:10 remaining in the first period and Sam Sedley at 2:25 into the second frame improved Reading’s lead to 3-0.
Matias Rajaniemi put Worcester on the board at 5:24 into the second, before Mason Primeau restored Reading’s three-goal lead at 18:50, 4-1.
Matthew Kopperud and Anthony Callin scored at 6:17 and 15:25, respectively, into the third period around Brown’s second goal of the game at 8:46. Jake Smith and Tyler Gratton sealed the game with empty net goals at 16:25 and 17:52, respectively, to secure the Royals victory in their season finale.
With the win, Reading moves on to the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs as the fourth place team in the standings. The Royals will take on the Trois-Rivieres Lions in the best-of-seven first round playoff series.
Wichita Claims Second Seed In Mountain Division
The Wichita Thunder finished its three-game series in Tahoe on Saturday night, earning a 3-1 victory over the Knight Monsters.
The victory allowed Wichita to move into second place with 89 points and secure home-ice advantage for its opening round matchup against the Knight Monsters.
Peter Bates led all scorers with two points while Will Zapernick and Kobe Walker also found the back of the net. Roddy Ross claimed his second win as a pro, stopping 32 shots.
Zapernick opened the scoring at 6:59 of the opening period for a 1-0 Thunder lead. At 12:38, Bates made it 2-0 with a power-play goal.
Tahoe cut the lead to one at 17:35 before Walker tallied his 30th of the year to close the scoring and make it 3-1.
The Knight Monsters fired 13 shots on net in the third period and had several quality chances, but Ross stood tall and helped close the door for the win.
Wichita finishes the season with 41 wins, which equals a franchise high since joining the ECHL.
Lordy, Lordy, The Oilers Hit 40
For the second time in franchise history, the Tulsa Oilers hit the 40-win mark in a season after downing the Allen Americans 7-2 on the road in their final regular-season contest.
Tulsa also secured their 22nd victory away from the BOK Center, a new franchise record.
The Oilers showed no mercy early, scoring four goals in the first period for the easy win. Tulsa finished the regular season by scoring seven or more goals in their last three games and had more than 240 on the season for just the second time since joining the ECHL.
Fuel Set Records Despite Losing To K-Wings
Friday’s victory over the Kalamazoo Wings gave Indy the final playoff spot in the Central Division. It also eliminated the K-Wings from post-season contention.
The Fuel lost 6-4 to Kalamazoo on Saturday, but still managed to set a record in the process.
Head coach Duncan Dalmao set a new franchise record for most games coached in his 231st game behind the Fuel bench. He surpassed Bernie John, who held the previous record. Dalmao already holds the Indy franchise record for most wins with 125.