The 2008 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 16, 2008.2008 Calder Cup Playoffs
''caldercup.com''. Retrieved on May 6, 2008 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 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 10, 2008 with the

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 ...

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 two, to win the second Calder Cup in team history.

Jason Krog Jason Krog (born October 9, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre last contracted by Lørenskog IK in the Norwegian GET-ligaen (GET). Playing career A native of British Columbia, Krog began his junior career in the BCJHL with ...

won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as 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 ...

, after having already been named the regular-season MVP. Krog also tied the AHL record for most assists in one playoff with 26. In Game 5 of the East Division Semifinals between 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 ...

and

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 ...

Ryan Potulny Ryan Potulny (born September 5, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey center. He is currently an assistant coach for the University of Minnesota men's ice hockey team. Playing career Potulny was drafted in the third round, 87th ov ...

of Philadelphia scored 2:58 into the fifth overtime period, ending what was longest game in AHL history. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

a game would last until 6:48 into the fifth overtime period, setting a new record. Chicago's

Darren Haydar Darren J. Haydar (born October 22, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Haydar was selected by the Nashville Predators in the ninth round (248th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He is one of the top AHL players of all ...

set two AHL playoff scoring records in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Final by recording his 52nd career AHL playoff

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

, as well as his 120th career AHL playoff

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

. In the same game, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's

Alex Goligoski Alexander Goligoski (born July 30, 1985) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). During his NHL career, he has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the organization that ...

set an AHL record for most points scored by a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

in a single post-season with 26. This eclipsed the record set by former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman

Chris Kelleher Christopher D. Kelleher (born March 23, 1975) is a retired American professional ice hockey Defenceman, defenseman. He played one game in the National Hockey League, with the Boston Bruins on March 16, 2002, against the Detroit Red Wings. The rest ...

, who scored 25 points in the 2001 Calder Cup Playoffs. Goligoski extended his record to 28 points before the playoffs ended.

Playoff seeds

After the 2007–08 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs, except in the North division where the fourth playoff spot was taken by the fifth-placed team from the West division since the fifth-placed

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

earned more points than 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 ...

during the season. This is because the West division has 8 teams while the other three divisions have 7 teams each. Therefore, this was the only situation in which a crossover was possible. The

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 ...

were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The

were the Western Conference regular season champions.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

– Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 117 points #

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 ...

– 110 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 ...

– 99 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 ...

– 88 points

East Division

– 101 points #

– 99 points #

– 93 points #

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 ...

– 92 points

Western Conference

North Division

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

– 109 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 ...

– 100 points #

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets o ...

– 99 points #

– 94 points (Fifth-place in West Division)

West Division

– Western Conference regular season champions, 111 points #

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

– 98 points # Houston Aeros – 96 points #

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 ...

– 95 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.

Division Semifinals

:Note 1: ''All times are in

Eastern Daylight 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 por ...

( 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

= (A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A4) Manchester Monarchs

= (A2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

East Division

= (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E4) Hershey Bears

= (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E3) Albany River Rats

= Game five was the longest game in AHL history at the time at 82 minutes, 58 seconds of overtime play. It is now the second longest game in AHL history. Philadelphia's Michael Leighton faced 101 shots and made 98 saves, which remains the AHL record.

Playoff seeds

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

East Division

Western Conference

North Division

West Division

Bracket

Division Semifinals

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

= (A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A4) Manchester Monarchs

= (A2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

East Division

= (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E4) Hershey Bears

= (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E3) Albany River Rats

Western Conference

North Division

= (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (W5) San Antonio Rampage

= (N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

West Division

= (W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W4) Milwaukee Admirals

= (W2) Rockford IceHogs vs. (W3) Houston Aeros

Division Finals

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

=(A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

East Division

=(E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms

Western Conference

North Division

=(N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N2) Syracuse Crunch

West Division

=(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W2) Rockford IceHogs

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A3) Portland Pirates

Western Conference

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (N1) Toronto Marlies

Calder Cup Final

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

See also

References