TULSA, Okla. – With only five dates remaining on the 2021-22 ECHL regular season schedule and eight playoff spots still undecided, the final week of the grueling schedule could be its most exciting.
The top four teams from each of the four divisions, based on percentage points, will qualify for the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs. With 16 spots in thr tournament, 12 teams are still battling for eight open spots, and only one division has been clinched.
In the Eastern Conference, Reading, Newfoundland, Florida, Atlanta and Jacksonville have clinched playoff berths, while Toledo, Fort Wayne and Utah have clinched in the Western Conference. Toledo (47-19-1-2) secured the Central Division Championship over the weekend, and will look to claim the Brabham Cup as the regular season champion. Reading (43-16-7-2) is the only threat to Toledo for that honor.
The Western Conference, and more specifically, the Mountain Division, is wide open. Five spots are still waiting to be claimed in the conference, three of them being in the Mountain Division. With Utah (40-27-2-1) locked in, four of the six remaining Mountain Division teams are in a heated race for the three remaining spots.
Currently in second place, Rapid City (34-24-6-5) will host third place Tulsa (35-28-3-3) for a three game series beginning Wednesday. Fourth-place Allen (33-27-8-1) will host seventh-place Central Division squad, Iowa (28-32-8-1). The most intriguing series in this division, though, is a two-game weekend set with fifth-place Idaho (36-31-2-1) visiting first place Utah. Idaho will need to win both games and hope for three losses from either Tulsa or Allen in order to reach the fourth spot. Utah can clinch the division by winning out, or with one win and one Rapid City loss.
With Toledo and Fort Wayne (38-25-6-1) locked in, Wheeling (36-29-4-0), Cincinnati (36-31-3-0) and Kalamazoo (36-32-1-0) are still in play for the final two spots in the Central Division. Wheeling faces fifth place Kalamazoo once and Fort Wayne twice this week, while fourth place Cincinnati plays a home-and-home series with sixth place Indy. Kalamazoo will have the toughest road with a pair of weekend games against Toledo following a Wednesday night battle with third place Wheeling.
In to the Eastern Conference, the race for the South Division Championship comes down to a two-game series between Florida (40-20-6-4) and Atlanta (43-23-3-1). The two teams are currently tied atop the division, and locked into the postseason heading into this weekend’s games. Jacksonville (38-26-3-2) has also clinched a postseason berth, and barring three losses and three Greenville wins, will finish in third place. Greenville (32-27-5-4) can lock up the fourth spot with three wins in ts final four games, while Orlando (32-29-6-1) is hoping for three wins and two Greenville losses to punch its ticket.
In the North Division, Reading (43-16-7-2) and Newfoundland (41-20-3-0) find themselves in the first two spots, locked into the playoffs, while Trois-Rivieres (31-28-5-1), Worcester (31-31-4-2), and Maine (30-31-5-3) prepare to battle for the final two positions. Trois-Rivieres and Worcester will face off three times beginning Wednesday, as they each try to move into the third spot. Maine could slide into the fourth spot in the oustide chance that they can pick up home wins against Reading and Newfoundland while Worcester loses at least once, or Trois-Rivieres loses all four remaining games.
The final week of the regular season gets underway tonight with Adirondack visiting Trois-Rivieres and Jacksonville visiting Orlando. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday also have full slates of games before the regular season closes with a pair of matinee games on Sunday.
To view any of the upcoming games, go to FloHockey.tv.
The remaining regular season schedule can be found here.
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter: @ProHockeyNews, @JohnHallPHN
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