Missouri Mavericks will compete in a new division

The Missouri Mavericks announced on Monday that the team has joined the ECHL’s Mountain Division for the 2016-17 season, as decided by the league’s new divisional alignment.

The Mavericks are in the Mountain Division with the Alaska Aces, Allen Americans, Colorado Eagles, Idaho Steelheads, Rapid City Rush and Utah Grizzlies.

The Central Division — the other ECHL Western Conference division — will feature the following teams: Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, Kalamazoo Wings, Quad City Mallards, Toledo Walleye, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder.

In addition to the new divisional alignments, a new playoff format for the 2016-17 season was approved by the ECHL Board of Governors.

The first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs will be played entirely within the division, with the division winner playing the fourth-place finisher and the second-place team meeting the third-place team in the Division Semifinals. The winners of each series will meet in the Division Finals, leading to the Conference Finals and Kelly Cup Finals.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Missouri Mavericks will compete in a new division."