The Kelly Cup Playoffs are finally here, and we begin our division semifinals previews with a look at two intriguing matchups in the North Division.

No. 1 Reading Royals Vs. No. 4 Maine Mariners

Game 1 – Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m. ET at Reading
Game 2 – Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. ET at Reading
Game 3 – Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 4 – Friday, April 29 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Maine
Game 5 – Saturday, April 30 at 6 p.m. ET at Maine (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 2 at 7 p.m. ET at Reading (If Necessary)
Game 7 –Wednesday, May 4 at 7 p.m. ET at Reading (If Necessary) 

The Mariners held off the Railers to secure the fourth and final playoff spot out of the North.

Reading ended their season as the hottest team in the ECHL and suffered just one regulation loss in their last 11 games. They were in late contention to win the Brabham Cup as the league’s top team, an honor that ultimately went to the Toledo Walleye.

That lone regulation loss for Reading since March 26? A 6-2 loss to the Mariners on April 13 in their last matchup, surely a confidence-builder heading into a tough series for Maine given the Royals’ momentum. 

Kirk MacDonald’s Royals also ended the season as the league’s least-penalized team—only 656 PIM’s in 71 total games played—and they’ll need to rely on that kind of discipline to get past this scrappy Maine team. 

Regular Season Series: 

3-3; home team won all six games.

Players To Watch:

Hayden Hawkey, Reading Royals
Cameron Askew, Maine Mariners

With Reading’s top goalie for a good chunk of the season, Pat Nagle—still up in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms—it seems likely Hawkey will get the run as the starter to open up the Kelly Cup Playoffs. A journeyman who has bounced around five different ECHL teams over the past three seasons, Hawkey has posted an 11-4-2 record with a 3.22 goals against average and .885 save percentage in 19 regular season games for the Royals this season.

Askew potted two goals for the Mariners in that 6-2 win last week, and has quietly put together a solid first season for Maine after spending his first three years in the league with South Carolina. Askew set career-highs in goals (23) and points (38) this year.  

No. 2 Newfoundland Growlers Vs. No. 3 Trois-Rivières Lions

Game 1 – Friday, April 22 at 7 p.m. NT at Newfoundland
Game 2 – Saturday, April 23 at 7 p.m. NT at Newfoundland
Game 3 – Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières  
Game 4 – Thursday, April 28 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
Game 5 – Saturday, April 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, May 2 at 7 p.m. NT at Newfoundland (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. NT at Newfoundland (If Necessary) 

The rare all-Canadian postseason series features the Growlers and Lions, who have both had to overcome some early season pandemic-related issues to excel on the ice and earn berths into the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

At one time, Newfoundland was inarguably the league’s best team—no surprise given they’re still the reigning Kelly Cup Champions in a traditional season—but fell off for stretches and ultimately settled into the second seed in the North.

Trois-Rivieres makes the playoffs as an expansion franchise, the only club that can make that claim after Iowa’s late charge fell short in the Western Conference. The Lions experienced numerous game postponements and, ultimately, cancelations with border issues early on during the season. They garnered enough points percentage in a shortened season (69 games) to lock up the third spot in the North. 

Regular Season Series: 

10-4, in favor of Newfoundland (4-3 at home)

Players To Watch:

Keith Petruzzelli, Newfoundland Growlers
Anthony Nellis, Trois-Rivieres Lions

Petruzzelli was a deserving addition to the ECHL’s All-Rookie Team, posting a 2.01 goals against average and .927 save percentage in 23 games this year. The Quinnipiac alum barely missed the cutoffs to qualify for the league leaders, where he’d be on top of both of the latter categories. He’d been with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies as of late, but was sent back to the Growlers, and figures to be their starter for the duration of their playoff run.

Nellis caught fire late in the year, scoring three goals in the Lions' last two games against Worcester, and ended up as Trois-Rivieres’ leading scorer with a 22-39—61 line in 67 games. More importantly, he’s a Kelly Cup winner, as he was a point-per-postseason game player for the Fort Wayne Komets in their run to the championship just last season.