So they meet again. One year ago, the Kansas City Mavericks and Toledo Walleye played a hard-fought six-game series that saw the Mavericks walk out as Western Conference champions. The rematch is on in this year's Western Conference Finals in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, with Game 1 set for Thursday night in KC.

The ECHL family is in mourning today as it was announced that one of the league’s most respected leaders has died.

And then there were eight. The ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs has reached the second round as we are now into the division finals. Two teams from each of the league’s four divisions will square off for a chance to be the last two team standings in their respective conferences.

Brandon Hawkins is known as The Mayor around Toledo and odds are that if he really ever did run for office, he’d win in a landslide. That’s especially true after the Toledo Walleye’s veteran forward claimed the Warrior Hockey ECHL MVP Award for the second straight season.

The ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs are due to begin with the first round as 16 teams – four from each division – square off to begin their first steps toward the league’s coveted championship. It all starts Wednesday night as the Wheeling Nailers meet the Norfolk Admirals in the North Division semifinals.

The 2024-25 ECHL regular season has come to a close and it's time to get the second season underway. The Kelly Cup Playoffs will begin Wednesday, April 16 as the chase for the league's top prize is down to its 16 teams for the division semifinals.

The 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs field is getting closer to being set as we enter the final weeks of the regular season.

The Rapid City Rush are feeling whole again as the team announced Saturday that head coach Scott Burt is returning to the team after a 10-week medical leave. Burt has been battling a cancerous brain tumor, recently completing a round of treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

A frequent topic of conversation in the ECHL remains expansion, as the league would like to get to 32 teams – enough for every NHL team to have a minor-league affiliate at this level.

Any coach will tell you that a hockey team cannot be carried just by its star players. Depth is pivotal.

The ECHL’s holiday break is a tough time for coaches and a great time for players.

If you’re an ECHL fan, perhaps you’ve seen a number of teams sharing they’ve added a new sticker to their helmets. The decals read “Burtie,” and they’re worn in support of Rapid City Rush head coach Scott Burt.

When Tye Felhaber took to the ice Monday night to make his NHL debut, it felt as if there was a collective applause from the entire Double-A level of hockey.

I recently was texting with an ECHL coach about what he expected from a game that night. It was three hours before puck drop, and he sent me his lineup – and then the opposing team’s.

I got a good look Saturday night in person at Sergei Murashov, the outstanding 20-year-old rookie goaltender for the Wheeling Nailers, as he thwarted 48 of 52 shots in a 6-4 victory over the Fort Wayne Komets.