2012 Kelly Cup playoffs The 2012 Kelly Cup Playoffs of the ECHL started on April 2 , 2012 following the end of the 2011 – 12 ECHL regular season . The playoff format remains unchanged from that of the 2011 postseason . 15 teams qualified for the playoffs , being the top seven teams from the Western Conference and the top eight teams from the Eastern Conference . Playoff format . In the Eastern Conference , postseason berths will be awarded to the first - place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference , based on points . The division winners will be seeded first , second and third and will play the eighth - place finisher , the seventh - place finisher and the sixth - place finisher , respectively , while the fourth - place finisher and the fifth - place finisher will meet . The conference semifinals will have the winner of the first - place and eighth - place matchup will meet the winner of the fourth - place and fifth - place game while the winner of the second - place and seventh - place game will face the winner of the third - place and sixth - place matchup . In the Western Conference , postseason berths will be awarded to the first - place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference , based on points . The division winner with the best record in the conference will receive a bye in the first round . The other division winner will be seeded second and meet the team that finishes seventh in the conference in the first round . The other first round matchups will be the third - place finisher in the conference against the sixth - place finisher in the conference and the fourth - place finisher in the conference against the fifth - place finisher in the conference . The conference semifinals will have the first - place finisher meeting the winner of the fourth - place and fifth - place matchup and the winner of the second - place finisher and seventh - place finisher against the winner of the third - place finisher against the sixth - place finisher . The first round in each Conference will be a best of five series with each subsequent round being a best of seven series . Playoff seeds . After the regular season , 15 teams qualified for the playoffs . The Alaska Aces were the Western Conference regular season champions and the Brabham Cup winners with the best record at 97 points , making them the first team in league history to win the Brabham Cup in consecutive seasons . The Elmira Jackals earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference and finished the season with 95 points . Conference Semifinals . Eastern Conference . ( 1 ) Elmira Jackals vs . ( 5 ) Florida Everblades . This was the second playoff meeting between the two franchises ; Elmira defeated Florida 4 - 2 in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals . During the regular season , Elmira defeated Florida 4 - 2 , going 2 - 1 both in Elmira and in Florida . Florida ' s John Muse was injured in the second period of Game 2 , resulting in Pat Nagle coming in for the third period to secure the shutout . Nagle would be Florida ' s goalie throughout the rest of the series . Western Conference . ( 3 ) Las Vegas Wranglers vs . ( 7 ) Idaho Steelheads . This was the fifth postseason meeting between the two franchises . Idaho had won three of the prior series ( semifinals in 2004 and 2007 , and quarterfinals in 2011 ) ; Las Vegas ' sole historical victory was in the 2006 semifinals . During the regular season , Las Vegas was 7 - 1 - 4 against Idaho ( 1 overtime loss and 3 shootout losses , with 1 win in shootout ) . Conference Finals . Note : " Home team is listed first . " < / small > Eastern Conference . ( 3 ) Kalamazoo Wings vs . ( 5 ) Florida Everblades . This was Kalamazoo ' s second consecutive Conference Final , and Florida ' s fourth in the past nine seasons . Their previous meeting was in 2011 , where Kalamazoo beat Florida 3 - 1 in the first round . During the regular season , Florida beat Kalamazoo 3 - 2 , with one loss in overtime and one win and one loss in shootout . The series marked the return of John Muse from his lower - body injury ( suffered in Game 3 against Elmira in the Conference Semifinals ) in a 7 - 0 shutout at home for Game 3 . Western Conference . ( 1 ) Alaska Aces vs . ( 3 ) Las Vegas Wranglers . This was the third playoff meeting between the two franchises ; Alaska won in the 2006 West Division Finals , 4 - 2 , and 2009 National Conference finals 4 - 0 , while Las Vegas won the 2008 National Conference Semifinals 4 - 1 , giving Alaska a historical 9 - 6 lead . It was the second consecutive Conference Final for Alaska , and their sixth in eight seasons , and the third Final for Las Vegas in five seasons . During the regular season , Las Vegas beat Alaska 5 - 4 , with Alaska winning a game in shootout , and Las Vegas winning two shootout games . Kelly Cup Finals . ( 3 ) Las Vegas Wranglers vs . ( 5 ) Florida Everblades . This is the first playoff meeting between the two franchises , and the first time either has played the other since 2005 . They have met 5 times during the regular season ( once in 2003 , twice in 2004 , and twice in 2005 ) , with Florida leading the series 4 - 1 ; Las Vegas ' s sole victory prior to Game 1 was a shutout at Florida in 2005 . Games 1 was only the second time Florida played at the Orleans Arena . Florida ' s 7 - 3 victory in Game 2 marks the largest margin of defeat for Las Vegas during the 2012 Kelly Cup playoffs , and ties for the most points scored by a team in any game during the postseason ( Florida also scored 7 points on Kalamazoo twice ) . The 3 - game stand for Games 3 , 4 , and 5 were billed as pitting the Everblades 8 - 0 postseason home record against Las Vegas ' 7 - 1 postseason away record . Game 3 marked the first home victory in a Kelly Cup final for Florida , and Game 5 saw the Everblades win the cup in front of a standing - room - only crowd .