The Mobile Mysticks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Mobile , Alabama that played in the ECHL . They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center . The team was founded in 1995 as an expansion franchise, joining the ECHL alongside the Louisville RiverFrogs and the Louisiana IceGators . The Mysticks owed their name to the prevalence of mystic societies —social organizations responsible for throwing parades and balls during the Carnival season—that existed in Mobile since the early 18th century.
14-636: The Mysticks qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs for five out of their seven seasons, but never advanced past the second round. In 2002, the franchise suspended operations and moved to Duluth , Georgia for the 2003–04 season . Originally the Gwinnett Gladiators , the team changed its name to the Atlanta Gladiators in 2015. The Mobile Mysticks began play in the ECHL as an expansion franchise for
28-572: The 1995–96 season under head coach and former NHL player Eddie Johnstone . During this time, they served as a minor league affiliate for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and the AHL 's Hershey Bears . Following a rough start (the Mysticks finished seventh in their division and did not qualify for the playoffs their inaugural year; the following year they finished fourth in their division and were eliminated from
42-542: The American Hockey League , in seven games over the regular season champions, the Florida Everblades . At the end of the regular season the top four teams in each division qualifies for the 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs and be seeded one through four based on highest point total earned in the season. Then the first two rounds of the playoffs are held within the division with the first seed facing the fourth seed and
56-679: The Florida Everblades both won this also occurred with its AHL affiliate winning the Calder Cup: 2009 when the Hershey Bears and their ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays both won. The Kelly Cup playoffs is an elimination tournament, consisting of four rounds of a best-of-seven series. The format has changed often throughout the years. Since 2016–17, the top four point earners from each division qualify. The first two playoff rounds are played within each division, followed by
70-755: The Hockey Hall of Fame . The Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player award is also given out as part of the Kelly Cup Championship ceremonies. Nick Vitucci , Dave Gagnon and Cam Johnson (ice hockey) are the only players to win the award on multiple occasions, with Johnson the only player to win the award in consecutive years. Eighteen different teams have won the ECHL Championship, with nine ( Alaska , Allen , Cincinnati , Colorado , Florida , Hampton Roads , Idaho , South Carolina , and Toledo ) winning multiple times. The Florida Everblades hold
84-684: The Eastern Conference regular season champions and clinched the Brabham Cup with the best record in the ECHL on April 5. The Toledo Walleye earned the top seed in the Western Conference. Final seeds These are the top ten skaters based on points. GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus/minus ; PIM = Penalty minutes This
98-567: The conference finals (contested between the four division winners), and ending with the Kelly Cup finals (featuring the two conference champions). 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs The 2018 Kelly Cup playoffs of the ECHL began in April 2018 following the conclusion of the 2017–18 ECHL regular season . The Kelly Cup was won by the Colorado Eagles , in their last season in the ECHL before joining
112-610: The cup before the 2019–20 season, and the league returned its status to be the primary trophy. The 2019 Kelly Cup was the fourth copy of the trophy, but was allowed to be kept by the Newfoundland Growlers when the previous cup returned to circulation. On one occasions an ECHL club has won the Kelly Cup coincidentally with its NHL affiliate winning the Stanley Cup: 2023 when the Florida Panthers and their ECHL affiliate,
126-534: The helm, the team saw postseason action for the next three seasons—losing in the 1999 preliminary round to the Birmingham Bulls ; falling in the first round of the 2000 playoffs to the Greenville Grrrowl ; and in their most successful playoff bid, falling in double overtime in the second round to the South Carolina Stingrays (the eventual Kelly Cup champions) in 2001. The Mysticks failed to qualify for
140-465: The playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup , named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley . The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly , the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning team for one year and is returned at the start of the following year's playoffs, although the trophy itself has been replaced three times with the first two iterations preserved in
154-487: The playoffs in 2002, and the franchise suspended operations, eventually moving to Duluth, Georgia , in 2003 to become the Gwinnett Gladiators (branded as the Atlanta Gladiators since the 2015–16 ECHL season ). Records as of 2001–02 season . Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL . The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997 . Prior to 1997,
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#1732852746803168-543: The playoffs in a first-round sweep by the Louisiana IceGators ) the Mysticks decided against renewing Johnstone's contract. His replacement, Matt Shaw, led Mobile to a fifth-place divisional finish and another first-round loss, again in a three-game sweep by the IceGators. Shaw did not return to the Mysticks for the following season. Jeff Pyle joined the Mysticks as head coach for the 1998–99 season . With Pyle at
182-452: The record for most championships won with four. The Colorado Eagles , who won it in 2018 for their second consecutive title, moved to the American Hockey League in 2018–19. In 2019, the Eagles' ownership did not return the Kelly Cup to the ECHL before the playoffs, leading to the league creating a replacement trophy for the 2019 Kelly Cup playoffs . The Eagles' ownership eventually returned
196-432: The second seed facing the third. The division champions then play each other in a conference championship. The Kelly Cup finals pits the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds are a best-of-seven format. After the regular season, 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The Florida Everblades were the first team to qualify during the regular season on February 28. The Everblades were
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