2014 - 15 ECHL season The 2014 – 15 ECHL season is the 27th season of the ECHL . The regular season schedule will run from October 17 , 2014 , to April 11 , 2015 , with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow . Twenty - eight teams in 20 states and one Canadian province will each play a 72 - game schedule . The league was significantly expanded just before the season in October 2014 after a merger with its longtime rival , the Central Hockey League . League business . Annual Board of Governors meeting . The annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting was held at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas , Nevada , in June 2014 . Conferences were significantly re - aligned in light of recent team changes . In the Eastern Conference , the three - team Atlantic Division was eliminated while the Mountain Division in the Western Conference was eliminated to make way for a new Midwest Division . The Evansville IceMen , Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings were moved to the Western Conference to compete in the Midwest Division with the Colorado Eagles and expansion Indy Fuel . This was significantly revised after the CHL merger in October 2014 , with the newly created Midwest Division eliminated in favor of a Central Division consisting of the former CHL teams . Along with Indy , Evansville , Fort Wayne and Kalamazoo were moved back to the Eastern Conference . The ECHL Board of Governors also re - elected Gwinnett Gladiators president Steve Chapman as chairman and approved changes to the icing rule similar to those previously implemented by the National Hockey League . All - star game . The annual ECHL All - Star Classic will be held on January 21 , 2015 , at the Amway Center in Orlando , Florida . The plan as was set in August 2013 would feature the Orlando Solar Bears against an all - star team composed of players from the other ECHL teams . The ECHL and the Solar Bears , however , have not announced if that format will stay or a more traditional East vs West format would be used , considering the balance of the league has changed since the original plan . 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs format . At the end of the regular season the top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs . The first two playoff rounds will be played entirely within the divisions , with the divisional playoff champions facing each other in the conference championships . The Kelly Cup final will pit the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion . All four rounds will be a best - of - seven format . Standings . Due to the merger with the Central Hockey League , the league ' s conference alignment changed on October 9 , 2014 , moving the Colorado Eagles to the Pacific Division and moving the seven former CHL squads into the Western Conference as the Central Division . The Midwest Division dissolved , with its remaining teams joining the North Division . To make room for the four Midwest teams , the Reading Royals and Elmira Jackals left the North Division for the South , which was then renamed the East Division . 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs . Format . the top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs . The first two playoff rounds will be played entirely within the divisions , with the divisional playoff champions facing each other in the conference championships . The Kelly Cup final will pit the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion . All four rounds will be a best - of - seven format . South Carolina Stingrays win E . A . " Bud " Gingher Memorial Trophy as Eastern Conference champions Allen Americans win Bruce Taylor Trophy as Western Conference champions The Allen Americans win the Kelly Cup Kelly Cup Final . Greger Hanson of the Allen Americans was named Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player with 12 goals and 17 assists in 25 games .