Looking back at the Division Semifinals

NORTH DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Manchester defeats Adirondack, 4 games to 2

Despite having only two games in the series due to arena availability, the Manchester Monarchs defeated the North Division regular-season champion Adirondack Thunder in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

Matt Leitner (3g-4a) and Quentin Shore (2g-5a) led Manchester in the series with seven points each while Sam Brittain went 4-2 with a 2.34 goals-against average and a save percentage of .921. Dennis Kravchenko led the way for Adirondack with four goals and five points.

Brampton defeats Reading, 4 games to 2

The Beast and Royals met in a defense-dominated series in which five of the six games were decided by one goal and two games went to overtime. Over the course of the series, the two teams combined for 21 goals, the fewest in a six-game series in ECHL postseason history.

Brandon MacLean scored a team-leading three goals in the series for the Beast while Jordan Henry led the way with six points (2g-4a). Zachary Fucale went 4-1 with a 1.20 goals-against average and a .959 save percentage.  Reading was led by Chris McCarthy, who had five points (0g-5a).

SOUTH DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Florida defeats Orlando, 4 games to 3

The Florida Everblades became the sixth team in ECHL playoff history to win a best-of-seven series after trailing 3 games to 1 as they defeated the Orlando Solar Bears 4 games to 3. Florida outscored Orlando 18-9 over the final three games of the series.

Brendan O'Donnell led the Everblades in the series with seven goals while John McCarron (1g-10a) had a team-high 11 points. Anthony Peters went 4-0 with a 3.09 goals-against average and a save percentage of .904. Orlando was led by Denver Manderson (4g-5a) and Chris Crane (2g-7a) who both recorded nine points.

South Carolina defeats Greenville, 4 games to 2

After losing the first two games of the series, South Carolina came back to win the final four games by a combined score of 20-3 to advance to at least the second round of the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Rob Flick led South Carolina in the series with six goals and nine points while Kelly Zajac (4g-3a) and Joe Devin (2g-5a) added seven points each. Parker Milner went 4-2 with two shutouts, a 2.17 goals-against average and a save percentage of .923. Greenville was led by Allan McPherson's eight points (2g-6a).

CENTRAL DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Toledo defeated Kalamazoo, 4 games to 3

For the fifth straight series stretching over three seasons, Toledo went to seven games, prevailing over Kalamazoo in a series in which the home team won all seven games.

Kyle Bonis (6g-5a) and Tyson Spink (4g-7a) both had 11 points in the series to lead the way for the Walleye. Peter Schneider scored a team-leading five goals for Kalamazoo while Cameron Darcy posted 10 points (3g-7a).

Fort Wayne defeated Quad City, 4 games to 1

The Fort Wayne Komets became the only team in the ECHL to reach the second round in each of the last four seasons with a 4 games to 1 win over the Quad City Mallards

Mike Cazzola led the Komets with eight points (3g-5a) in the series. Pat Nagle posted a 2.25 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in his five appearances. Josh MacDonald led the Mallards with six points while C.J. Motte recorded a 3.03 goals-against average to go along with a .912 save percentage.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION SEMIFINALS

Allen defeated Utah, 4 games to 1

The two-time defending Kelly Cup champion Allen Americans improved to 9-0 all-time in ECHL playoff series with a 4 games to 1 win over Utah. Allen used big third-period efforts in the series, mounting rallies in each of its four wins and outscoring the Grizzlies in the final period 13-0 during the series.

Greger Hanson (2g-5a) and 2017 CCM/ECHL Most Valuable Player Chad Costello (7a) led the Americans with seven points each in the series. ECHL Goaltender of the Year Riley Gill sported a 2.15 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage in the series. The Grizzlies were led by Austen Brassard (2g-2a) and Jon Puskar (1g-3a) who each had four points in the series.

Colorado defeated Idaho, 4 games to 1

After dropping Game 1 of the series, the Colorado Eagles came back to win the final games against Idaho, advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since joining the ECHL in 2011-12.

Alex Belzile (5g-4a) and Matt Register (3g-6a) led the way in the series for the Eagles with nine points each. Lukas Hafner went 4-0 in four appearances, posting a 2.75 goals-against average. The Steelheads were led by Rob Linsmayer who had six points (2g-4a) in the series.