2001–02 ECHL season

Ice hockey league season May 2026 January 2024 2001–02 ECHL season East Coast Hockey League Ice hockey Regular season Brabham Cup Louisiana IceGators Frederic Cloutier (Louisiana) ECHL Most Valuable Player Louis Dumont (Pensacola) ECHL Leading Scorer Award Playoffs Northern Dayton Bombers Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies Southern Greenville Grrrowl Mississippi Sea Wolves Finals Kelly Cup Greenville Grrrowl Dayton Bombers Simon Gamache and Tyrone Garner (Greenville) List of ECHL seasons ECHL 2000–01 ECHL season 2000–01 2002–03 ECHL season 2002–03 The 2001–02 ECHL season was the 14th season of the East Coast Hockey League. Before the start of the season, the league saw one expansion franchise and five relocations, three of which were through the buying of the franchise rights of former clubs that had ceased operations. These relocations include the rights to the Columbus Chill moving to Reading, PA, the rights to the Hampton Roads Admirals moving to Columbus, GA, and the rights to the Miami Matadors relocating to the former ECHL market of Cincinnati, OH. The league also saw current franchises Birmingham Bulls move to Atlantic City, NJ and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks move to Macon, GA. The league also welcomed its fourth franchise from the state of South Carolina with an expansion franchise in the state's capital of Columbia, SC. The Louisiana IceGators finished first overall in the regular season, winning the Brabham Cup with the best record in league history. The Greenville Grrrowl won their first Kelly Cup sweeping the Dayton Bombers in four games. During the opening weekend of the ECHL season, the league had a moment of silence for former South Carolina Stingrays player Mark Bavis, who had been killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks. Ryan Brindley, who was wearing #12 for the Stingrays in the previous season, changed to #55 after the team retired the number that Bavis had worn during his two seasons (1994–96) with the Stingrays. Playoff format The ECHL realigned the playoff format for the season. Northern Conference The top four teams in each division would qualify for the playoffs, with the division champions being ranked first in their brackets and the other qualified teams ranked by points. The first seeds will play the fourth seeds and the second seeds will play the third seeds in best-of-five series in the Division Semifinals. The winners will advance to the best-of-five Division Finals and the playoff winners of each division would play each other in a best-of-five Conference Championship series, with the winner advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals. Southern Conference The top five teams in each division would qualify for the playoffs, with the division champions being ranked first in their brackets and the other qualified teams ranked by points. The fourth and fifth seeds of each division will play a single-game series in the Division Wild Card, with each winner advancing to play their division leader in the best-of-five Division Semifinal series, while the second seeds will play the third seeds in best-of-five series in the Division Semifinals. The winners will advance to the best-of-five Division Finals and the playoff winners of each division would play each other in a best-of-five Conference Championship series, with the winner advancing to the Kelly Cup Finals. Regular season Final standings Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points; Green shade = Clinched playoff spot; Blue shade = Clinched division; (z) = Clinched home-ice advantage Northern Conference Northeast Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Trenton Titans 72 46 16 10 102 238 178 Charlotte Checkers 72 41 20 11 93 256 207 Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies 72 42 22 8 92 233 209 Roanoke Express 72 35 26 11 81 242 223 Richmond Renegades 72 32 30 10 74 191 225 Reading Royals 72 27 36 9 63 182 215 Greensboro Generals 72 23 41 8 54 188 278 Northwest Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Dayton Bombers 72 40 20 12 92 222 196 Peoria Rivermen 72 41 23 8 90 206 179 Johnstown Chiefs 72 39 31 2 80 220 232 Cincinnati Cyclones 72 36 30 6 78 210 207 Wheeling Nailers 72 36 32 4 76 213 208 Toledo Storm 72 28 34 10 66 225 265 Southern Conference Southeast Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Greenville Grrrowl 72 43 23 6 92 231 198 Pee Dee Pride 72 41 25 6 88 236 218 Columbia Inferno 72 36 22 14 86 211 197 South Carolina Stingrays 72 39 26 7 85 235 225 Florida Everblades 72 37 27 8 82 207 221 Augusta Lynx 72 36 26 10 82 218 224 Macon Whoopee 72 29 31 12 70 194 228 Columbus Cottonmouths 72 24 37 11 59 197 242 Southwest Division GP W L T Pts GF GA Louisiana IceGators 72 56 12 4 116 261 156 Mississippi Sea Wolves 72 41 26 5 87 251 232 Pensacola Ice Pilots 72 38 28 6 82 247 242 Jackson Bandits 72 34 29 9 77 187 202 New Orleans Brass 72 36 32 4 76 211 209 Mobile Mysticks 72 28 26 18 74 215 237 Arkansas RiverBlades 72 31 31 10 72 189 206 Baton Rouge Kingfish 72 29 35 8 66 187 244 Kelly Cup playoffs Northern Conference Bracket Division Semifinals(Best of 5) Division Finals(Best of 5) Conference Finals(Best of 5) Northeast Division Northwest Division NE.1 Trenton 3 NE.4 Roanoke 1 NE.2 Charlotte 2 NE.3 Atlantic City 3 NW.1 Dayton 3 NW.4 Cincinnati 0 NW.2 Peoria 2 NW.3 Johnstown 3 NE.1 Trenton 0 NE.3 Atlantic City 3 NW.1 Dayton 3 NW.3 Johnstown 0 NE.3 Atlantic City 1 NW.1 Dayton 3 Division semifinals Northeast Division Semifinals(1) Trenton vs. (4) Roanoke Date Away Home April 2 Roanoke 1 Trenton 2 April 3 Roanoke 4 Trenton 1 April 5 Trenton 6 Roanoke 1 April 7 Trenton 5 Roanoke 2 Trenton wins series 3–1 Northeast Division Semifinals(2) Charlotte vs. (3) Atlantic City Date Away Home April 2 Atlantic City 4 Charlotte 1 April 3 Atlantic City 1 Charlotte 4 April 5 Charlotte 4 Atlantic City 3 OT April 6 Charlotte 0 Atlantic City 6 April 10 Atlantic City 4 Charlotte 2 Atlantic City wins series 3–2 Northwest Division Semifinals(1) Dayton vs. (4) Cincinnati Date Away Home April 3 Cincinnati 1 Dayton 4 April 5 Dayton 1 Cincinnati 0 OT April 6 Cincinnati 1 Dayton 2 Dayton wins series 3–0 Northwest Division Semifinals(2) Peoria vs. (3) Johnstown Date Away Home April 2 Johnstown 1 Peoria 2 April 3 Johnstown 0 Peoria 1 April 5 Peoria 1 Johnstown 6 April 6 Peoria 1 Johnstown 3 April 9 Johnstown 4 Peoria 0 Johnstown wins series 3–2 Division finals Northeast Division Finals(1) Trenton vs. (3) Atlantic City Date Away Home April 12 Atlantic City 4 Trenton 3 OT April 15 Atlantic City 3 Trenton 0 April 16 Trenton 1 Atlantic City 4 Atlantic City wins series 3–0 Northwest Division Finals(1) Dayton vs. (3) Johnstown Date Away Home April 12 Johnstown 3 Dayton 4 2OT April 13 Johnstown 1 Dayton 3 April 18 Dayton 5 Johnstown 1 Dayton wins series 3–0 Conference finals (NE.2) Atlantic City vs. (NW.1) Dayton Date Away Home April 24 Dayton 3 Atlantic City 2 April 26 Dayton 3 Atlantic City 4 April 28 Atlantic City 2 Dayton 3 April 29 Atlantic City 2 Dayton 5 Dayton wins series 3–1 Southern Conference Bracket Division Wild Card Division Semifinals(Best of 5) Division Finals(Best of 5) Conference Finals(Best of 5) 1 Southeast Division Southwest Division SE.4 South Carolina 0 SE.5 Florida 1 SW.4 Jackson 1 SW.5 New Orleans 0 SE.1 Greenville 3 SE.5 Florida 2 SE.2 Pee Dee 3 SE.3 Columbia 2 SW.1 Louisiana 2 SW.4 Jackson 3 SW.2 Mississippi 3 SW.3 Pensacola 0 SE.1 Greenville 3 SE.2 Pee Dee 1 SW.4 Jackson 0 SW.2 Mississippi 3 SE.1 Greenville 3 SW.2 Mississippi 1 Division Wild Card Southeast Division Wildcard(4) South Carolina vs. (5) Florida Date Away Home April 2 Florida 3 South Carolina 2 Florida wins series 1–0 Southwest Division Wildcard(4) Jackson vs. (5) New Orleans Date Away Home April 2 New Orleans 1 Jackson 3 Jackson wins series 1–0 Division semifinals Southeast Division Semifinals(1) Greenville vs. (5) Florida Date Away Home April 4 Florida 4 Greenville 2 April 5 Florida 1 Greenville 5 April 7 Greenville 3 Florida 6 April 8 Greenville 4 Florida 2 April 10 Florida 3 Greenville 4 Greenville wins series 3–2 Southeast Division Semifinals(2) Pee Dee vs. (3) Columbia Date Away Home April 3 Columbia 3 Pee Dee 2 OT April 5 Pee Dee 2 Columbia 1 April 6 Columbia 2 Pee Dee 6 April 7 Pee Dee 2 Columbia 3 April 10 Columbia 4 Pee Dee 5 Pee Dee wins series 3–2 Southwest Division Semifinals(1) Louisiana vs. (4) Jackson Date Away Home April 3 Jackson 2 Louisiana 5 April 5 Jackson 5 Louisiana 4 3OT April 7 Louisiana 2 Jackson 3 OT April 8 Jackson 0 Louisiana 3 April 10 Jackson 4 Louisiana 2 Jackson wins series 3–2 Southwest Division Semifinals(2) Mississippi vs. (3) Pensacola Date Away Home April 3 Pensacola 2 Mississippi 4 April 5 Pensacola 4 Mississippi 6 April 6 Mississippi 3 Pensacola 2 OT Mississippi wins series 3–0 Division finals Southeast Division Finals(1) Greenville vs. (2) Pee Dee Date Away Home April 12 Pee Dee 6 Greenville 0 April 13 Pee Dee 2 Greenville 7 April 16 Greenville 2 Pee Dee 1 April 17 Greenville 5 Pee Dee 4 OT Greenville wins series 3–1 Southeast Division Finals(2) Mississippi vs. (4) Jackson Date Away Home April 12 Jackson 2 Mississippi 5 April 13 Jackson 1 Mississippi 6 April 19 Mississippi 3 Jackson 0 Mississippi wins series 3–0 Conference finals (SE.1) Greenville vs. (SW.2) Mississippi Date Away Home April 25 Mississippi 1 Greenville 8 April 26 Mississippi 2 Greenville 3 April 28 Greenville 3 Mississippi 5 April 30 Greenville 6 Mississippi 2 Greenville wins series 3–1 Kelly Cup finals Kelly Cup Finals(Best of 7) NW.1 Dayton 0 SE.1 Greenville 4 (SE.1) Greenville vs. (NW.1) Dayton Date Away Home May 3 Dayton 2 Greenville 6 May 5 Dayton 1 Greenville 4 May 8 Greenville 3 Dayton 2 OT May 10 Greenville 5 Dayton 2 Greenville wins series 4–0 ECHL awards ECHL awards Patrick J. Kelly Cup: Greenville Grrrowl Henry Brabham Cup: Louisiana IceGators Northern Conference Champion: Dayton Bombers Southern Conference Champion: Greenville Grrrowl John Brophy Award: Dave Farrish (Louisiana) ECHL Most Valuable Player: Frederic Cloutier (Louisiana) Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player: Simon Gamache and Tyrone Garner (Greenville) ECHL Goaltender of the Year: Frederic Cloutier (Louisiana) ECHL Rookie of the Year: Frederic Cloutier (Louisiana) Defenseman of the Year: Duncan Dalmao (Roanoke) Leading Scorer: Louis Dumont (Pensacola) Plus Performer Award: Konstantin Kalmikov (Louisiana) Sportsmanship Award: Ben Stafford (Trenton) See also ECHL All-Star Game List of ECHL seasons 2001 in sports 2002 in sports References Category:ECHL seasons 3