The Kelly Cup will be changing addresses this summer. After three straight seasons in Estero, Florida, home of the Florida Everblades, the ECHL’s championship trophy will be in the hands of a team that has never held it before.

• Subscribe to FloHockey today to watch the Kelly Cup Finals
• Toledo Walleye Win Western Conference, Advance To Kelly Cup Finals
• Trois-Rivières Lions End Florida Everblades' Championship Reign

The Toledo Walleye and Trois-Rivières Lions will do battle for the Kelly Cup, looking to secure their organization’s first ECHL championship. Toledo has been on top of the league before, but not in the Walleye era, while Trois-Rivières is just in its fourth year overall in the league and first under new ownership.

The matchup will pit one of the league’s most veteran and prolific offensive attacks against one of the postseason’s stingiest teams, which should lead to some fascinating results in the best-of-seven series.

The Kelly Cup Finals begin Saturday, with the series taking on a two-three-two format with Games 1 and 2 in Toledo before Games 3-5 go to Trois-Rivières and Games 6 and 7 will come back to Toledo if necessary.

To help get you ready for the anticipated championship series, FloHockey has details on all the things you need to know including players to watch, storylines to follow and much more.

Kelly Cup Finals Schedule

• Game 1 – Saturday, May 31 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
• Game 2 – Monday, June 2 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo
• Game 3 – Wednesday, June 4 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
• Game 4 – Friday, June 6 at 7 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières
• Game 5 – Saturday, June 7 at 3 p.m. ET at Trois-Rivières (If Necessary)
• Game 6 – Tuesday, June 10 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)
• Game 7 – Thursday, June 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET at Toledo (If Necessary)

How To Watch The Kelly Cup Finals: Toledo Walleye Vs. Trois Rivières Lions

The 2025 Kelly Cup Finals will stream exclusively on FloHockey, the ECHL’s official streaming provider. Sign up for a FloHockey subscription so you don’t miss a second of the heart-pounding action of the Kelly Cup Finals.

Toledo Walleye

Toledo has been here before, but these last three years since they played in the championship series had to have felt long. There have been a lot of personnel changes since the Walleye lost in the 2022 finals to Florida, but Brandon Hawkins is among those that remain.

The reigning ECHL MVP leads the playoffs in scoring with 22 points, propelling an offensive attack that has led the postseason with 54 goals in 15 games. Trenton Bliss, who joined Toledo the year after that run to the Kelly Cup Finals, is second in the ECHL in playoff scoring with 20 points. Veteran defenseman Jalen Smerek is next on the team with 12 points.

The Walleye have depth and experience in a lot of positions. They’ve also had success with a goalie rotation featuring Jan Bednar and Carter Gylander. Neither has put up spectacular numbers, but they’ve been good enough for a team that has seemingly always scored enough.

Pat Mikesch, who is in his second season as head coach of the Walleye, hasn’t yet led a team to a championship as a head coach. He did, however, help guide the Green Bay Gamblers to the USHL’s Clark Cup in 2012 as Derek Lalonde’s assistant coach. Lalonde followed up his tenure in Green Bay with two years in Toledo before working his way up to NHL head coach. Should he find a way to get Toledo over the postseason hump, he won’t have to purchase many meals or beverage in T-Town anytime soon.

Toledo’s last ECHL championship came back when the title was known as the Riley Cup and when Toledo’s hockey team was called the Storm, which went back-to-back in 1993 and 1994. It’s been a long 30 years with only two unsuccessful trips to the final in the years since – in 2022 and 2019.

This might be the club’s best chance to end the drought.

Trois-Rivières Lions 

The Lions have made the playoffs in three of the four years since they joined the ECHL, but this was the first year they got out of the first round. And now here they stand four wins away from the first Kelly Cup title in what has been a historic season for the Lions.

Trois-Rivières won the North Division with 45 wins – 11 more wins than the franchise had experienced in any of its previous three seasons. They’ve scored 46 goals through 16 games in these Kelly Cup Playoffs, but more remarkably they’ve allowed just 26 over that same span. Toledo, in one fewer game, has allowed 13 more goals for comparison’s sake.

Luke Cavallin has been the story in net. He has appeared in 15 games, earning 11 wins and has allowed just 24 goals against. Cavallin has a .944 save percentage and 1.57 goals-against average. He’s among the top candidates for Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP, but there’s still a big job ahead as he’ll face the best scoring attack he has seen this postseason.

After dispatching the three-time defending champion Florida Everblades in the Eastern Conference Finals, confidence should be high in Trois-Rivières. 

Though Toledo has the top two scorers this postseason, the Lions have three of the top six with Alex Beaucage and Anthony Beauregard tied for the team lead with 14 points apiece with Beaucage leading the playoffs with nine goals. Xavier Cormier is just behind them with 13 points. Chris Jandric is also the second-highest scoring defenseman with 11 points after being one of the ECHL’s most productive rearguards all season.

Trois-Rivières is led by second-year head coach Ron Choules, who spent years in the QMJHL coaching ranks. Like Mikesch in Toledo, he is seeking his first championship as a head coach.

Becoming the first team to knock off the Everblades in the postseason in 15 series is no small feat and should give the team a solid lift going into one of the league's most raucous environments in Toledo.

ECHL Champions All-Time

Kelly Cup

• 2024 – Florida Everblades
• 2023 – Florida Everblades
• 2022 – Florida Everblades
• 2021 – Fort Wayne Komets
• 2020 – Playoffs canceled
• 2019 – Newfoundland Growlers
• 2018 – Colorado Eagles
• 2017 – Colorado Eagles
• 2016 – Allen Americans
• 2015 – Allen Americans
• 2014 – Alaska Aces
• 2013 – Reading Royals
• 2012 – Florida Everblades
• 2011 – Alaska Aces
• 2010 – Cincinnati Cyclones
• 2009 – South Carolina Stingrays
• 2008 – Cincinnati Cyclones
• 2007 – Idaho Steelheads
• 2006 – Alaska Aces
• 2005 – Trenton Titans
• 2004 – Idaho Steelheads
• 2003 – Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
• 2002 – Greenville Grrrowl
• 2001 – South Carolina Stingrays
• 2000 – Peoria Rivermen
• 1999 – Mississippi Sea Wolves
• 1998 – Hampton Roads Admirals
• 1997 – South Carolina Stingrays

Riley Cup

• 1996 – Charlotte Checkers
• 1995 – Richmond Renegades
• 1994 – Toledo Storm
• 1993 – Toledo Storm
• 1992 – Hampton Roads Admirals
• 1991 – Hampton Roads Admirals
• 1990 – Greensboro Monarchs
• 1989 – Carolina Thunderbirds

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