The 1997 Calder Cup playoffs of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

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 There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

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. 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 its curr ...

. 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, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

defeating the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 OHL season, 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Cent ...

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, first president of the National Hockey League. The Calder Cup is dis ...

as AHL playoff

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. 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, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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 Jean-François Labbé (born June 15, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets between 2000 and 2003. Playing career As a ...

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 in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

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 a ...

– 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 J ...

– 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 Natio ...

– 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 a ...

– 90 points #

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa ...

– 74 points #

Binghamton Rangers The Binghamton Rangers were an 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 served by: : Broome Dusters of the NAHL (1973� ...

– 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 US ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Worcester, Massachusetts, at the Worcester Centrum. In 2005 the team was renamed the Peoria Rivermen and moved to Peoria, Illinois. History The IceCats ...

– 100 points #

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former 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 Ar ...

– 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 fr ...

– 91 points #

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rh ...

– 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, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

( 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