April 13, 2024

By Fred Liggett
sports.lstribune08@gmail.com

The Kansas City Mavericks were the first ECHL team to qualify for the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Mavericks now hope to be the last ECHL team standing and bringing the cup home to all their fans.

The Kansas City Mavericks enter the post-season as Mountain Division Champions. The Mavs are 53-11-5-2 as they get ready to play a first round playoff series that will be known as the Mountain Division Semifinals.

Being the top-seeded team, the Mavericks playoff run will begin at Cable Dahmer Arena. Game one is set for Wednesday, Apr. 17. Game two will be played on Thursday, Apr. 18. Both games will start at 7:05 p.m. Then it’s time for the Mavs to hit the road for games three, four and five in a best of four out of seven series. All Mavericks home games will be played at 7:05 p.m. except for Sunday which will begin at 4:05 p.m.

On the way to a division championship the Mavericks became a record-breaking team as they re-wrote several pages in the franchise record books. The Mavericks have already earned the 2024 Brabham Cup which is annually presented to the ECHL’s regular-season points champion. The Mavs 7-4 win at Utah on Saturday, Apr. 5 gave the team their second Brabham Cup in franchise history. The first one coming after the 2015-16 season. Mavericks owner Lamar Hunt, Jr. gave credit for this to “roster consistency and good team chemistry.”

The 2023-24 Mavericks, who clinched a post-season spot with six weeks left in the regular season, have scored the most goals in franchise history at 296 as of press time. Forward Patrick Curry is the team’s single season ECHL leader for points in a season and holds Mavs single season goal scoring mark. The Mavericks broke the franchise record for wins in a season as one of many marks that fell in this record-breaking season.

Mavericks head coach Tad O’Had admitted of all the new franchise records he is most proud of “our road record.” O’Had adds “ECHL 72 game schedule is such a grind, with 3 in 3’s proud of this team.” The Mavericks broke the ECHL mark for road wins in a season with 29 with one more game to play. The opening round of the playoffs will find the Mavs hosting the number foour seed in the Mountain Division. With one weekend left in the regular season that ends on Sunday, Apr. 14 that team could be Utah, Tulsa or Allen. Coach O’Had says his staff “will prepare for all three.”

While this is all new to the players Mavericks team owner Lamar Hunt, Jr. enjoyed the then Missouri Mavericks who secured a Brabham Cup in the 2015-16 season. For coach O’Had he was an assistant coach with Florida when they hoisted the Kelly Cup. O’Had calls that time “such a special memory.” To win it as a head coach in KC O’Had said “do it with two fine assistants and create the environment for the players” would be another special memory.

The Kelly Cup playoffs have four rounds and all series is best four out of seven games. Thanks to having the ECHL best regular season record the Mavericks have secured home ice advantage throughout the post-season. Keep up on the Mavericks progress in the Kelly Cup playoffs on the Lee’s Summit Tribune Facebook page.