ORLANDO, FLA – In some years, playoff seeding plays itself out with the higher (and presumably better) seeds dominating. Some years, the lower seeds play with heart and grit that makes them dangerous to play against.
This year, it looks like the ECHL’s Eastern conference is filled with squads that will not back down.
When the conference semifinals begin Friday night, only one of the top four seeds – the second seeded South Carolina Stingrays – will still be in play along with three other teams that in part defied the odds simply because they played with more intensity and fight.
The Adirondack Thunder, Reading Royals and Wheeling Nailers will join the defending conference champion Stingrays in the second round with the Thunder taking on South Carolina while the Royals and Nailers meet for the third time in Kelly Cup playoff history.
(2) South Carolina Stingrays vs. (6) Adirondack Thunder
There is not much of a history between the two teams with the Thunder but that should not keep this best-of-seven series from being a good one. South Carolina and Adirondack met three times during the regular season with the Thunder claiming two victories, one of which came in overtime.
The first meeting came on January 8th in Glens Falls where South Caolina jumped out to a four goal lead on the way to a 5-1 victory. The next night, the Thunder scored three goals in the second period and won 4-2. The final meeting came in March in North Charleston where the host Stingrays watched a two goal lead evaporate into a Thunder win in extra time.
South Carolina’s path began with a quarterfinal series against seventh-seeded Kalamazoo. The Wings had to play hard down the stretch to get to the post-season and it appeared to take its toll.
Playing in an unusual 3-4 format due to building availability, the Stingrays started on the road with two convincing wins. In game one, South Carolina spotted Kalamazoo a goal then scored four unanswered (Kelly Zajac, Caleb Herbert, Detek DeBlois and Austin Fyten) to take the series lead. The script was nearly the same in game two as Joe Devin, Herbert and a Wade Epp staked South Carolina to a big lead. The Wings pulled back within one but Brett Cameron netted two to secure the win.
After a loss in game three, South Carolina headed home for the rest of the series. In game four, Devin scored the game-winner on a power play with less than a minute left in regulation. Two days later, the Stingrays jumper out to a big lead and never looked back as they closed the series out.
Devin led South Carolina in the quarterfinal series on offense with five goals (two on the power play) and two assists for seven points. Zajac was right behind him with one goal and six points. Herbert, Fyten, DeBlois and David Pacan all chipped in with five points.
Both Mark Dekanich and Vitek Vanecek saw time in net and each came away with two wins. Vanecek had the better goals against average (1.50) and save percentage (.943) but Dekanich made more saves (59) and saw more shots (66).
Adirondack faced third seed Manchester in the first round. This series ended up being a walk, albeit in close games, for the Thunder as they won three times on the road.
Greg Wolfe was the star in game one with two goals including the game-winner late in regulation. Game two went back and forth before Wofe tied the game in the third and Peter MacArthur won it in overtime. Game three back in Glens Falls was the Mitchell Heard show as he scored twice in a 4-2 win.
After a loss in game four, the series returned to Manchester where goals by MacArthur and Ryan Constant in the first period gave goalie Ken Appleby a lead he would not relinquish as he tossed a 33-save shutout to close out the Monarchs.
Wolfe was Adirondack’s leading scorer with four goals and three assists for seven points. Heard (three goals, four assists) and MacArthur (2/5) matched Wolfe’s point output with Constant close behind at six points (one goal, five assists).
Appleby was the go-to man in net, going 4-1 with a stingy 1.75 goals against average and .942 save percentage (145 saves on 154 shots).
(5) Wheeling Nailers vs. (9) Reading Royals
Coming into the series, the two teams have met 163 times total between regular season and playoff games. They have met twice in the playoffs with Reading winning a series in 2004 and Wheeling returning the favor in 2006.
During the regular season, the Royals and Nailers met eleven times. After splitting the first six game down the middle, Wheeling won four of the final five contests including three at Santander Arena in Reading. Riley Brace led Wheeling with 14 points in nine games while Cam Reid and Mike Pereira had eight points each for Reading.
Wheeling’s series with fourth-seeded Florida expected to be a war and it was to a point. Game one in Estero was controlled by the Nailers from the start as John McCarron, Andrew Ammon, Cosy Wydo and Mathew Maione staked the visitors to a lead they would never give up. Games two in Southwest Florida and Wheeling went the way of the Everblades to give Florida a two games to one advantage.
Game four was the turning point. Florida led 4-2 after two periods and all seemed lost for the Nailers. Then came the third period where Wheeling for goals from McCarron, Wydo and Brace to turn what could have been a loss into a win. Ty Loney, Brace and two goals from Maione gave the Nailers a big lead in game five before a furious Florida rally fell just short. Back in Florida for game six, captain Shane Bakker’s first goal of the season was the difference as Wheeling finished off the Everblades.
Brace led Wheeling in scoring with three goals and seven assists for ten points. Maione (9 points), McCarron (7 points) and Wydo (6 points) also played a big role.
The goaltending story for the Nailers was Brian Foster. Foster relieved Franky Palazzese midway through the series and was brilliant. He went 3-1 with a 2.83 goals against and a .916 save percentage (106 saves on 116 shots faced) to fuel Wheeling’s series win. His best performance came in the final game, a 43-save classic.
Reading faced arguably the toughest road facing top-seeded Toledo and the series turned into a seven-game classic.
The series went back and forth starting with a Reading win in game one sparked by Reid’s third period winner. Toledo took game two but Reading bounced back in game three at home ad Maxin Lamarche, Yannick Tifu and Ian Watters staked the Royals to a lead that held up.
After the Walleye evened the series in game four, game five was a see-saw tussle that went Reading’s way thanks to a hat trick by Brandon Alderson. Toledo took game six setting up a winner-take-all game seven in Toledo.
Kevin Goumas scored twice and Nikita Kashirsky netted one to give the Royals a commanding lead after two periods. Goumas sealed the series victory with his hat trick goal in the third period.
Alderson topped Reading’s offensive attack with six goals and two assists for eight points. Goumas and Reid each posted three goals and four assists for seven points while Kashirsky and Lanarche both had five points.
Martin Ouellette picked up all four wins for Reading in the series. His overall record was 4-1 with a 2.72 goals against average and a .909 save percentage (140 saves on 154 shots). Adam Morrison was 0-2 but posted a 1.71 goals against and a .923 save percentage (36 saves on 39 shots).
This series will have one x-factor that could play a role. The Nailers announced Thursday that head coach David Gove is taking a leave of absence immediately. Assistant coach Jeff Christian will handle the head coaching duties in Gove’s absence.
Contact the author at Don.money@prohockeynews.com
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