Two teams clinch Kelly Cup Playoff spots, while a skater scores an overtime winner to earn a hat trick.
Let’s dive in with our Friday Five top performances in the ECHL.
Lions And Stingrays Clinch Playoff Spots
OK, so technically this would be the Friday Six, but who’s counting, right?
The Trois-rivieres Lions and South Carolina Stingrays join the Florida Everblades on the train that’s headed to the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
The Lions punched their ticket with a 5-3 road win over the Reading Royals.
Trois-Rivieres took an early lead with Nicolas Guay's 11th goal of the season, a power-play marker at 3:44.
The Royals responded just under 10 minutes later when Matt Brown beat Trois-Rivières goaltender Hunter Jones with a top-corner shot.
After surrendering 14 shots in the first period, the Lions solidified their defensive efforts in the second frame and allowed only five shots on Jones. At the other end of the ice, Trois-Rivieres got two quick goals from Tommy Cormier at 13:42 and then Jacob Paquette at 17:07 to give Trois-Rivières a two-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.
At the beginning of the final frame, the Royals knotted the score at 3-3 when Gatineau, Quebec native Yvan Mongo – making his return to the Reading lineup – scored his first two goals of the season at 3:43 and 4:04.
Logan Nijhoff gave Trois-Rivières a 4-3 lead at 15:21 and then Isaac Dufort sealed the victory with an empty net goal with just four seconds remaining.
Meanwhile, South Carolina assured themselves of a post-season spot with a 6-3 victory over the Atlanta Gladiators. Romain Rodzinski (2), Austin Magera, Justin Nachbaur, Ryan Hofer, and Charlie Combs scored for the Stingrays, while goaltender Garin Bjorklund finished the game with 26 saves. The victory was South Carolina's sixth consecutive win.
The Stingrays have punched their ticket to the playoffs for the 29th time in 32 seasons in the ECHL. They will be looking for their fourth Kelly Cup in team history.
South Carolina is currently in first place in the entire ECHL with 87 points.
Bates Gets Hat Trick And Game-Winner
It was a night of double pleasure for Peter Bates.
The Wichita Thunder forward not only netted his third career hatty, but accounted for all of Wichita’s scoring including the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over Utah.
Bates broke the ice with two minutes to go in the opening frame. He skated down the slot and fired a wrist shot past Jake Barczewski to make it 1-0.
After the Grizzlies tied the game in the second period, Bates re-gained the Wichita lead with a power-play tally at 6:14 of the third. Michal Stinil made a great pass across the slot to Bates, and he fired a one-timer past Barczewski for his second of the night.
Keaton Mastrodonato tied the game once again for Utah at 14:57. The game stayed 2-2 after 60 minutes.
In the overtime session, Bates took a pass from Nico Somerville at the top of the right circle, curled around a pick and skated in all alone on Barczewski. He went backhand, forehand and beat the Grizzlies goaltender just inside the right post for his 21st of the season.
Bates recorded his first hat trick since Dec. 3, 2023, against the Allen Americans. He also reached 20 goals for the third-straight season and netted his second overtime winner of the year.
Pedersen’s Hatty Lifts Swamp Rabbits Over KC
Brent Pedersen netted his first hat trick of the season to give the Greenville Swamp Rabbits a 4-1 home victory over the Kansas City Mavericks.
The win gives the Swamp Rabbits a seven-game home point streak (4-0-2-1) dating back to Jan. 25th against the Reading Royals.
Pedersen picked up the first two goals of his hatty in the opening period, giving the Swamp Rabbits a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. At 5:59 of the first, Pedersen hacked the puck in a chaotic net-front scramble, squeaking it past Mavericks netminder Alex Aslanidis to give the Swamp Rabbits a 1-0 lead.
Under four minutes later, Pedersen struck again on the Swamp Rabbits first power play of the game, deflecting an Austin Saint shot on the move past Aslanidis to double the lead with 10:03 to play in the frame.
With Greenville holding a 3-1 lead, Pedersen’s third and final tally came right before the buzzer with 0.7 seconds remaining, ending the game in a 4-1 win.
Gauthier Finally Gets His Due
Wheeling Nailers goalie Taylor Gauthier had to feel snakebitten. In his previous four starts, he allowed no more than one goal but had nothing to show for it.
That changed Friday, when Gauthier stopped 33 of 34 shots for a 3-1 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets. Even better, he received some support from an offense that had scored one goal or fewer in seven of its last 13 games.
David Jankowski snapped a 1-1 tie at the 3:47 mark of the third period and Kyle Jackson added insurance for a big win on home ice.
Berard Tallies Two In K-Wings’ Triumph Over Fuel
Ben Berard notched two goals as the Kalamazoo Wings went into Fishers, Ind. and stole a 6-2 victory over the Indy Fuel. It was the fifth time this season Kalamazoo has reached the six-goal mark.
Berard scored the opening goal at the 4:40 mark of the first frame. Blake Christensen set up Phil Beaulieu for the initial shot, and Berard cleaned up his own rebound on the right side of the crease to put Kalamazoo on top early.
After the K-Wings increased the lead to 3-0, Berard netted his second of the night as an Indy penalty expired at the 9:38 mark of the second period. Christensen fed Lee Lapid down low on the left side, who sent a feed across the goalmouth to Berard at the bottom of the right circle for a one-time finish and his 15th goal of the season.