The 1997 Calder Cup playoffs of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

began on April 18, 1997.1997 Calder Cup Playoffs
''caldercup.com''. Retrieved on May 2, 2008. 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 is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 13, 1997, with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

defeating the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the Bulldogs played home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purc ...

four games to one to win the eighth Calder Cup in team history. Hershey's

Mike McHugh Michael McHugh (born August 16, 1965) is an American former ice hockey left wing. He played 20 games in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks from 1988 to 1991. The rest of his career, which lasted from 19 ...

won the

Jack A. Butterfield Trophy The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League (AHL). First awarded in the 1937–38 season, it is named after Frank Calder, inaugural president of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Calder ...

as AHL playoff

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. 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 Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

set an AHL playoff record for the most penalty minutes in one game by both teams with 350 (Hershey, 179; Philadelphia, 171). In addition, Hershey's Jean-François Labbé set an AHL playoff record for goaltenders by playing in 23 games in one playoff.

Playoff seeds

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 The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum (arena), Spectrum ...

were the Southern Conference regular season champions and also had the best overall regular season record. The

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

were the Northern Conference regular season champions.

Northern Conference

Canadian Division

St. John's Maple Leafs The St. John's Maple Leafs were a minor ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, at Memorial Stadium from 1991 to 2001, and at Mile One Stadium from 2001 to 2005. The team was ...

– 88 points #

Saint John Flames The Saint John Flames were a Canadian ice hockey team in the American Hockey League from 1993 to 2003 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The Calgary Flames bought and relocated the Utica Devils, to be their AHL affiliate. History The Saint ...

– 72 points #

– 69 points

Empire State Division

– Northern Conference regular season champions, 90 points #

Adirondack Red Wings The Adirondack Red Wings were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Glens Falls, New York, United States at the Glens Falls Civic Center. The team was affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the Nati ...

– 90 points #

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with ...

– 90 points #

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

– 74 points #

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were a former United States, American professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Binghamton, New York, USA at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The market was previously serv ...

– 69 points ''(Played in the Canadian Division bracket by virtue of earning more points than the fourth-placed team in that division)''

Southern Conference

New England Division

Worcester IceCats The Worcester IceCats were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum (Renamed to the DCU Center in 2004). In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and ...

– 100 points #

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

– 96 points #

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

– 91 points #

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

– 75 points

Mid-Atlantic Division

– Southern Conference regular season champions; Best overall regular season record, 111 points #

– 101 points #

Kentucky Thoroughblades The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena. The Thoroughblades were ...

– 81 points #

Baltimore Bandits The Baltimore Bandits were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons. They played in Baltimore, Maryland, at the Baltimore Arena. The Bandits were an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Might ...

– 73 points

Bracket

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.Frequently asked questions
''theahl.com''. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.

Division Semifinals

:Note 1: ''All times are in

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

( UTC−4).'' :Note 2: ''Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.'' :Note 3: ''Home team is listed first.''

Playoff seeds

Northern Conference

Canadian Division

Empire State Division

Southern Conference

New England Division

Mid-Atlantic Division

Bracket

Division Semifinals

Northern Conference

Canadian Division

=(C1) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (E5) Binghamton Rangers

=(C2) Saint John Flames vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs

Empire State Division

=(E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E4) Syracuse Crunch

=(E2) Adirondack Red Wings vs. (E3) Albany River Rats

Southern Conference

New England Division

=(N1) Worcester IceCats vs. (N4) Providence Bruins

=(N2) Springfield Falcons vs. (N3) Portland Pirates

Mid-Atlantic Division

=(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (M4) Baltimore Bandits

=(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (M3) Kentucky Thoroughblades

Division Finals

Northern Conference

Canadian Division

=(C1) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs

Empire State Division

=(E1) Rochester Americans vs. (E3) Albany River Rats

Southern Conference

New England Division

=(N2) Springfield Falcons vs. (N4) Providence Bruins

Mid-Atlantic Division

=(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (M2) Hershey Bears

Conference finals

Northern Conference

(E3) Albany River Rats vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs

Southern Conference

(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (N2) Springfield Falcons

Calder Cup Final

(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (C3) Hamilton Bulldogs

See also

References