Perhaps it’s fitting that Matthew Wedman, a player who didn’t skate a single regular-season game with the Florida Everblades, netted the 2024 Kelly Cup-winning goal Saturday night against the Kansas City Mavericks.

It’s not surprising that the best-of-seven Kelly Cup Finals, between the Florida Everblades and Kansas City Mavericks, are tied at 1 after the opening weekend of the series.

The Florida Everblades, winners of the last two Kelly Cups, will face the Kansas City Mavericks, who won the Brabham Cup as regular-season champions.

The Florida Everblades are trying to do something no team in ECHL history has done before – win three consecutive Kelly Cup championships – and Game 1 of the best-of-seven 2024 finals will be Friday against the Kansas City Mavericks at Cable Dahmer Arena in Independence, Missouri.

The Kansas City Mavericks have a chance to do something no ECHL team has done since 2014 – follow a regular-season championship with a playoff championship.

The two-time defending-champion Florida Everblades will take on the Orlando Solar Bears in the South Division Finals of the 2024 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs.

The Jacksonville Icemen will take on the Florida Everblades in the first round of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. This is the one of the two South Division semifinals. The other will feature the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Orlando Solar Bears.

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits will take on the Orlando Solar Bears in the first round of the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. This is the one of the two South Division semifinals. The other will feature the Jacksonville Icemen and Florida Everblades.

As the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning face off in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the intrastate series is putting the growth of Florida hockey on display.