The 2007 Calder Cup Playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 18, 2007. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 7, 2007 with the Hamilton Bulldogs defeating the Hershey Bears four games to one to win the first Calder Cup in team history.[1] This was a rematch of the 1997 Calder Cup Final, where Hershey defeated Hamilton in five games.[2]
Carey Price won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP, and became only the third teenage goaltender to lead his team to a Calder Cup championship in AHL history.[3]
Playoff seeds
After the 2006–07 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. However, it was possible for the fifth-placed team in the West Division to take the spot of the fourth-placed team in the North Division if they earned more points, since the North Division had one fewer team. This did not occur as the Grand Rapids Griffins, the fourth-placed team in the North Division finished with 85 points while the Peoria Rivermen, the fifth-placed team in the West Division, finished with 84 points. The Hershey Bears were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were the Western Conference regular season champions.[4]
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
- Manchester Monarchs – 110 points
- Hartford Wolf Pack – 98 points
- Providence Bruins – 94 points
- Worcester Sharks – 93 points
East Division
- Hershey Bears – Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 114 points
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 108 points
- Norfolk Admirals – 108 points
- Albany River Rats – 81 points
Western Conference
North Division
- Manitoba Moose – 102 points
- Rochester Americans – 98 points
- Hamilton Bulldogs – 95 points
- Grand Rapids Griffins – 85 points
West Division
- Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights – Western Conference regular season champions, 104 points
- Chicago Wolves – 101 points
- Milwaukee Admirals – 96 points
- Iowa Stars – 88 points
Bracket
In each round the higher seed receives home ice advantage, meaning they can play a maximum of four home games if the series reaches seven games. There is no set series format for each series due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.[5]
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