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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the lea ...
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, four games to two, to win the second Calder Cup in team history.
Jason Krog 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 di ...
as playoff
MVP, 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. During sched ...
and
Albany River Rats,
Ryan Potulny 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 set two AHL playoff scoring records in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Final by recording his 52nd career AHL playoff
goal, as well as his 120th career AHL playoff
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 d ...
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 scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference ...
in a single post-season with 26. This eclipsed the record set by former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman
Chris Kelleher, 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 s ...
earned more points than the
Hamilton Bulldogs 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, R ...
were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. 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 ...
were the Western Conference regular season champions.
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
#
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, R ...
– Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 117 points
#
Hartford Wolf Pack – 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
#
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 101 points
#
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. During sched ...
– 99 points
#
Albany River Rats – 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. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...
– 92 points
Western Conference
North Division
#
Toronto Marlies – 109 points
#
Syracuse Crunch – 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 ...
– 99 points
#
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 s ...
– 94 points (Fifth-place in West Division)
West Division
#
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 ...
– 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 – 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 sma ...
( 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.
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
*
2007–08 AHL season
*
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-Ameri ...
References
{{AHL
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 ...
Calder Cup playoffs