The 2004 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 14, 2004. Twenty teams, the top five from each division, qualified for the playoffs. The fourth- and fifth-placed teams in each division played
best-of-3 series in the qualifying round. The four winners, in addition to the other twelve teams that qualified, played
best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals.
[2004 Calder Cup Playoffs]
''caldercup.com''. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 The conference champions played a best-of-7 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 6, 2004 with the
Milwaukee Admirals
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...
defeating the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...
four games to none to win the first Calder Cup in team history. Milwaukee's
Wade Flaherty
Wade Flaherty (born January 11, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who has played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and the Nashville Pre ...
won the
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy 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 ...
.
Records
Several league records were set during the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs.
*A total of 93 games were played throughout the playoffs, the most of any Calder Cup Playoffs
*
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost 12 times during the 2004 playoffs, the most games lost in a single playoff
*Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also played in a record 11 overtime games in one playoff
*There were 17 shutouts overall, the most in any single playoff
*27 overtime games were played, the most in a single playoff
*
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
tied a record by recording six overtime victories in one playoff
*
Wade Flaherty
Wade Flaherty (born January 11, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who has played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, and the Nashville Pre ...
became the first goaltender to win 16 games in a single playoff
Playoff seeds
After the
2003–04 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top five teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The
Milwaukee Admirals
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...
were the Western Conference regular season champions as well as the
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The
Hartford Wolf Pack
The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...
were the Eastern Conference regular season champions.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
#
Hartford Wolf Pack
The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the XL Center. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. After a ...
– Eastern Conference regular season champions, 102 points
#
Manchester Monarchs Manchester Monarchs may refer to:
*Manchester Monarchs (AHL) (2001–2015)
*Manchester Monarchs (ECHL)
The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL which began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Manchester, New ...
– 92 points
#
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 ...
– 90 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 ...
– 87 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 ...
– 85 points
East Division
#
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 ...
– 101 points
#
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...
– 98 points
#
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...
– 86 points
#
Binghamton Senators
The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2002 to 2017. Nicknamed the B-Sens, they played in Binghamton, New York, at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena. The B-Sens w ...
– 80 points
#
Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises:
*Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015
*Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...
– 79 points
Western Conference
North Division
#
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 ...
– 96 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 ...
– 93 points
#
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 ...
– 89 points
#
Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team.
*Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978
*Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...
– 89 points
#
Toronto Roadrunners
The Toronto Roadrunners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita, Brad Winchester, Jamie Wright a ...
– 81 points
West Division
#
Milwaukee Admirals
The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...
– Western Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 102 points
#
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...
– 96 points
#
Grand Rapids Griffins
The Grand Rapids Griffins are a professional ice hockey, hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and play home games at Van Andel Arena. They are the AHL affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings of the National H ...
– 96 points
#
Houston Aeros – 74 points
#
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary mi ...
– 72 points
Bracket
In the qualification round all games are played at the arena of the fourth seed. In each round after the Qualification 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 after the Qualification Round due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.
Frequently asked questions
''theahl.com''. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Division Qualifiers
: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.''
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
=(A4) Providence Bruins vs. (A5) Portland Pirates
=
East Division
=(E4) Binghamton Senators vs. (E5) Norfolk Admirals
=
Western Conference
North Division
=(N4) Cleveland Barons vs. (N5) Toronto Roadrunners
=
West Division
=(W4) Houston Aeros vs. (W5) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
=
Division Semifinals
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
=(A1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A5) Portland Pirates
=
=(A2) Manchester Monarchs vs. (A3) Worcester IceCats
=
East Division
=(E1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E5) Norfolk Admirals
=
=(E2) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (E3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
=
Western Conference
North Division
=(N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (N4) Cleveland Barons
=
=(N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Rochester Americans
=
West Division
=(W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (W5) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
=
=(W2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (W3) Chicago Wolves
=
Division Finals
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
=(A1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A3) Worcester IceCats
=
East Division
=(E1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
=
Western Conference
North Division
=(N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (N3) Rochester Americans
=
West Division
=(W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (W3) Chicago Wolves
=
Conference finals
Eastern Conference
(A1) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (E3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Western Conference
(W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (N3) Rochester Americans
1 – Game played at HSBC Arena – Buffalo, NY
2 – Game played at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial – Rochester, New York[
]
Calder Cup Final
(W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (E3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
See also
*2003–04 AHL season
The 2003–04 AHL season was the 68th season of the American Hockey League. The league introduced the Willie Marshall Award in honor of the career points leader in the AHL, and awards it to the annual top goal scorer.
The AHL switched from a si ...
*List of AHL seasons
The American Hockey League is a minor professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada. It serves as the top developmental league for the National Hockey League. The league played its first season in 1936 as the International-America ...
References
{{AHL
Calder Cup playoffs
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 ...