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1997 Calder Cup playoffs Venue(s) (in {{{cities}}} host cities) Dates April 18 – June 13, 1997 Teams 16 (from {{{confederations}}} confederations) Champions Hershey Bears Runner-up Hamilton Bulldogs ({{{stat_leader_value}}}) ({{{stat_leader_value1}}}) ({{{stat_leader_value2}}}) ({{{stat_leader_value3}}}) ({{{stat_leader_value4}}})
The 1997 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 18, 1997.[1] The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series for division semifinals and best-of-seven series for division finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup . The Calder Cup Final ended on June 13, 1997, with the Hershey Bears defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs four games to one to win the eighth Calder Cup in team history.[2] Hershey's Mike McHugh won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP .[3]
Hershey set an AHL playoff record by scoring 35 powerplay goals during the 1997 Calder Cup playoffs. Furthermore, Game 2 of the Mid-Atlantic Division final between Hershey and Philadelphia set an AHL playoff record for the most penalty minutes in one game by both teams with 350 (Hershey, 179; Philadelphia, 171).[4] In addition, Hershey's Jean-François Labbé set an AHL playoff record for goaltenders by playing in 23 games in one playoff.[5]
Playoff seeds [ edit ]
After the 1996–97 AHL regular season , 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. However, due to the uneven number of teams in the each conference, it was possible for the fifth-placed team in the five team divisions to crossover to the playoffs for the four team divisions. This could only happen if the fifth-placed team in a five team division earned more points than the fourth-placed team in the four team division in the same conference. In this case, the fifth-placed team from the five team division would play in place of the fourth-placed team from the four team division in that part of the playoff bracket. The Philadelphia Phantoms were the Southern Conference regular season champions and also had the best overall regular season record. The Rochester Americans were the Northern Conference regular season champions.[6]
Northern Conference [ edit ]
Canadian Division [ edit ]
St. John's Maple Leafs – 88 points
Saint John Flames – 72 points
Hamilton Bulldogs – 69 points
Empire State Division [ edit ]
Rochester Americans – Northern Conference regular season champions, 90 points
Adirondack Red Wings – 90 points
Albany River Rats – 90 points
Syracuse Crunch – 74 points
Binghamton Rangers – 69 points (Played in the Canadian Division bracket by virtue of earning more points than the fourth-placed team in that division)
Southern Conference [ edit ]
New England Division [ edit ]
Worcester IceCats – 100 points
Springfield Falcons – 96 points
Portland Pirates – 91 points
Providence Bruins – 75 points
Mid-Atlantic Division [ edit ]
Philadelphia Phantoms – Southern Conference regular season champions; Best overall regular season record, 111 points
Hershey Bears – 101 points
Kentucky Thoroughblades – 81 points
Baltimore Bandits – 73 points
Bracket [ edit ]
In each round the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.[7]
Division Semifinals [ edit ]
Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC−4 ).
Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.
Note 3: Home team is listed first.
Northern Conference [ edit ]
Canadian Division [ edit ]
(C1) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (E5) Binghamton Rangers [ edit ]
St. John's won series 3 – 1
(C2) Saint John Flames vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs [ edit ]
Hamilton won series 3 – 2
Empire State Division [ edit ]
(E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E4) Syracuse Crunch [ edit ]
Rochester won series 3 – 0
(E2) Adirondack Red Wings vs. (E3) Albany River Rats [ edit ]
April 19
Albany River Rats
2 – 0
Adirondack Red Wings
Pepsi Arena
April 20
Albany River Rats
2 – 3
Adirondack Red Wings
Pepsi Arena
Southern Conference [ edit ]
New England Division [ edit ]
(N1) Worcester IceCats vs. (N4) Providence Bruins [ edit ]
Providence won series 3 – 2
(N2) Springfield Falcons vs. (N3) Portland Pirates [ edit ]
Springfield won series 3 – 2
Mid-Atlantic Division [ edit ]
(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (M4) Baltimore Bandits [ edit ]
Philadelphia won series 3 – 0
(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (M3) Kentucky Thoroughblades [ edit ]
April 23
Kentucky Thoroughblades
4 – 2
Hershey Bears
Rupp Arena
April 25
Kentucky Thoroughblades
2 – 5
Hershey Bears
Rupp Arena
Division Finals [ edit ]
Northern Conference [ edit ]
Canadian Division [ edit ]
(C1) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs [ edit ]
May 11
Hamilton Bulldogs
4 – 3
OT
St. John's Maple Leafs
Copps Coliseum
Hamilton won series 4 – 3
Empire State Division [ edit ]
(E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E3) Albany River Rats [ edit ]
May 4
Albany River Rats
2 – 5
Rochester Americans
Pepsi Arena
May 7
Albany River Rats
3 – 2
OT
Rochester Americans
Pepsi Arena
May 11
Albany River Rats
2 – 6
Rochester Americans
Pepsi Arena
Southern Conference [ edit ]
New England Division [ edit ]
(N2) Springfield Falcons vs. (N4) Providence Bruins [ edit ]
Springfield won series 4 – 1
Mid-Atlantic Division [ edit ]
(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (M2) Hershey Bears [ edit ]
Conference finals [ edit ]
Northern Conference [ edit ]
(E3) Albany River Rats vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs [ edit ]
May 17
Albany River Rats
1 – 2
OT
Hamilton Bulldogs
Pepsi Arena
May 20
Albany River Rats
3 – 4
Hamilton Bulldogs
Pepsi Arena
Hamilton won series 4 – 1
Southern Conference [ edit ]
(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (N2) Springfield Falcons [ edit ]
Calder Cup Final [ edit ]
(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs [ edit ]
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
^ a b 1997 Calder Cup Playoffs caldercup.com . Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
^ Calder Cup Finals open tonight Archived 2006-11-12 at the Wayback Machine , caldercup.com , June 2, 2006. Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
^ Jack A. Butterfield Trophy Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine ahlhalloffame.com . Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
^ Calder Cup record book: Teams caldercup.com . Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
^ Calder Cup record book: Players caldercup.com . Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
^ 1996-97 AHL Standings The Internet Hockey Database . Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
^ Frequently asked questions Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine theahl.com . Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Preceded by
Calder Cup playoffs 1997
Succeeded by
Eastern Conference Western Conference