For the first time since 2021, the Kelly Cup Finals will not feature the Florida Everblades. After hoisting the Cup in 2022, 2023 and 2024, the Everblades’ hold on the trophy came to an end in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Now, the quest for the Kelly Cup is down to two teams: the Toledo Walleye [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/walleye-capture-western-conference-finals-eliminate-mavericks]and Trois-Rivieres Lions [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/lions-dash-hopes-of-a-florida-four-peat-eliminate-everblades-from-eastern-conference-finals]. The best-of-seven series kicks off Saturday night in Toledo. Kelly Cup Finals Schedule Game 1 – Saturday, May 31 at 7:15 p.m. – Huntington Center, Toledo Game 2 – Monday, June 2 at 7:15 p.m. – Huntington Center, Toledo Game 3 – Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m. – Colisée Vidéotron, Trois-Rivières Game 4 – Friday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m. – Colisée Vidéotron, Trois-Rivières Game 5 (if necessary) – Saturday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m. – Colisée Vidéotron, Trois-Rivières Game 6 (if necessary) – Tuesday, June 10 at 7:15 p.m. – Huntington Center, Toledo Game 7 (if necessary) – Thursday, June 12 at 7:15 p.m. – Huntington Center, Toledo All-New Territory No matter who wins the 2025 Kelly Cup, it will go to a first-time champion. While the Lions are making team history with their first trip to the ECHL’s championship series since entering the league in 2021-22, Toledo is returning to the final for the third time in six seasons. The Walleye’s most recent appearance came in 2022, when they fell in five games to the Everblades. In 2019, Toledo succumbed to the now-defunct Newfoundland Growlers in six games. It’s worth noting that there were no Kelly Cup Playoffs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Toledo took a Pandemic Voluntary Suspension during the 2020-21 season. The city of Toledo does have a hockey championship history. The Toledo Storm captured back-to-back Riley Cup titles in 1993 and 1994. How They Got Here The Walleye captured the Central Division regular-season title for the second consecutive season and third time in four years with a 44-17-11 record for 99 points. They swept the Indy Fuel in the Central Division Semifinals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/fish-sweep-fuel-advance-to-central-division-finals], then defeated Fort Wayne 4 games to 2 in the Division Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/walleye-advance-to-western-conference-finals-eliminate-komets-in-central-division-series]before eliminating Kansas City 4 games to 1 in the Western Conference Finals. Trois-Rivières won the North Division regular-season title for the first time in its four-season history, finishing with a 45-19-8 record for 98 points. The Lions won a playoff series for the first time in their existence with a four-game sweep [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/lions-advance-to-north-division-finals-with-sweep-of-royals]over Reading in the North Division Semifinals and eliminated Norfolk 4 games to 2 in the Division Finals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/game-day/lions-advance-to-eastern-conference-finals]before defeating the three-time defending Kelly Cup champion Everblades 4 games to 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Road Success Both teams arrived here with the help of great play away from home ice during the playoffs. Toledo, which went 21-10-5 on the road in the regular season, is 6-1 on the road in the post-season. The Walleye have won their last four games away from Huntington Center since dropping Game 3 of the Central Division Finals at Fort Wayne. The Lions also enjoyed road success in the regular season, posting a record of 21-13-2, before going 7-1 away from home through the first three post-season rounds. They outscored their opponents 22-7 in those games. The Lions won all three games in Florida against the Everblades in the Eastern Conference Finals, where they outscored Florida 9-1. Working Overtime The 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs have seen 14 overtime games through three rounds. The record for overtime games in a single post-season is 26, which was set in the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Toledo is 2-0 in games that have gone beyond regulation in the playoffs, while Trois-Rivières is 1-0. Scoring Leaders Toledo is led in the playoffs by Brandon Hawkins, who has a league-leading 22 points (7-15-22) in 15 games. Hawkins enters the Kelly Cup Finals second all-time in ECHL postseason history with 41 goals and fourth with 99 points. The Walleye’s Trenton Bliss has scored a team-high eight goals, which is tied for second overall. Colby Ambrosio leads all rookies in the playoffs with 11 points (4-7-11), while Jalen Smereck tops defensemen with 12 points (3g-9a). For Trois-Rivieres, Alex Beaucage (9-5-14) and Anthony Beauregard (8-6-14) share the club lead with 14 points each. Beaucage leads all players in the playoffs with nine goals. Tyler Hylland is tied for first among rookies with six goals and Chris Jandric ranks second among defensemen with 11 points (2-9-11). Between The Pipes Toledo has gone with a goalie rotation of Jan Bednar (eight games) and Carter Gylander (seven contests). Bednar ranks ninth with a 2.52 goals-against average, while Gylander is 10th with a 2.59 GAA. For Trois-Rivières, Luke Cavallin has seen the majority of action and has been spectacular in net. He is 11-4 in 15 appearances and leads all goaltenders in the post-season in wins and a 1.57 goals-against average. He ranks second with a .944 save percentage and is tied for second with three shutouts. Cavallin has allowed two goals or less in 11 of his 15 appearances. Offense vs. Defense In goals scored, the Lions hold the edge with 251 compared to Toledo’s 234. Trois-Rivières also allowed fewer goals: 186 vs. 194 for the Walleye. Special Teams Both teams ranked among the league’s best on the power-play and penalty-kill units. Toledo ranked first (25.1%) with the man advantage, while Trois-Rivières is second (24.5%). On the penalty kill, Trois-Rivières comes in at 83.5%, Toledo 82.7%. Behind The Benches The Walleye’s Pat Mikesch has led his team to the Central Division title in each of his two seasons as head coach. Mikesch has gone 22-7 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with Toledo, leading the Walleye to the Western Conference Finals last season, his first behind the bench. Trois-Rivières’ Ron Choules is also in his second season as head coach, leading the Lions to the post-season both years. He has posted a 76-49-16 record in the regular season while going 14-8 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Championship Trophy Experience Toledo’s Brandon Hawkins and Trois-Rivières’ Morgan Adams-Moisan were teammates on Fort Wayne’s Kelly Cup championship team in 2021. There are 71 players who have won multiple Kelly Cup titles since the trophy was introduced in 1997. Players Returning To Finals In addition to the players who have previously hoisted the Kelly Cup, two players and two coaches from Toledo have made appearances in the Kelly Cup Finals. Tyler Spezia was part of Toledo’s 2019 team which faced Newfoundland while Conlan Keenan was with Toledo for its 2022 series against Florida. Assistant Coach Alden Hirschfeld was a part of the staff for both teams, while Brett Bain was an assistant coach in 2022. In addition to winning the Kelly Cup with Fort Wayne in 2021, Brandon Hawkins was also part of Toledo’s 2022 team.
