1998 Calder Cup playoffs

The 1998 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 14, 1998.[1] The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series for division semifinals and best-of-seven series for division finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 10, 1998, with the Philadelphia Phantoms defeating the Saint John Flames four games to two to win the first Calder Cup in team history.[2] Philadelphia's Mike Maneluk won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the AHL playoff MVP.[3]

1998 Calder Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 14-June 10, 1998
Teams16
Final positions
ChampionsPhiladelphia Phantoms
Runner-upSaint John Flames
← 1997
1999 →

The Philadelphia Phantoms set an AHL playoff record by winning 9 road games in one playoff year.[4]

Playoff seeds

After the 1997–98 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 were the Western Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Springfield Falcons were the Eastern Conference regular season champions.[5]

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
  1. Saint John Flames – 99 points
  2. Fredericton Canadiens – 81 points
  3. Portland Pirates – 80 points
  4. St. John's Maple Leafs – 73 points

New England Division
  1. Springfield Falcons – Eastern Conference regular season champions, 99 points
  2. Hartford Wolf Pack – 99 points
  3. Beast of New Haven – 85 points
  4. Worcester IceCats – 83 points

Western Conference

Empire Division
  1. Albany River Rats – 103 points
  2. Hamilton Bulldogs – 94 points
  3. Syracuse Crunch – 83 points
  4. Adirondack Red Wings – 74 points
  5. Rochester Americans – 72 points (Played in the Mid-Atlantic Division bracket by virtue of earning more points than the fourth-placed team in that division)

Mid-Atlantic Division
  1. Philadelphia Phantoms – Western Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 106 points
  2. Hershey Bears – 85 points
  3. Kentucky Thoroughblades – 70 points

Bracket
  Division Semifinals Division Finals Conference Finals Calder Cup Final
                                     
A1 Saint John 3  
A4 St. John's 1  
  A1 Saint John 4  
Atlantic Division
  A3 Portland 2  
A2 Fredericton 1
A3 Portland 3  
  A1 Saint John 4  
Eastern Conference
  N2 Hartford 1  
N1 Springfield 1  
N4 Worcester 3  
  N4 Worcester 3
New England Division
  N2 Hartford 4  
N2 Hartford 3
N3 New Haven 0  
  A1 Saint John 2
  M1 Philadelphia 4
E1 Albany 3  
E4 Adirondack 0  
  E1 Albany 4
Empire Division
  E3 Hamilton 0  
E2 Hamilton 3
E3 Syracuse 2  
  E1 Albany 2
Western Conference
  M1 Philadelphia 4  
M1 Philadelphia 3  
E5 Rochester 1  
  M1 Philadelphia 4
Mid-Atlantic Division
  M2 Hershey 0  
M2 Hershey 3
M3 Kentucky 0  

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.[6]

Division Semifinals
Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (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) Saint John Flames vs. (A4) St. John's Maple Leafs
Saint John won series 3 – 1
(A2) Fredericton Canadiens vs. (A3) Portland Pirates
Portland won series 3 – 1

New England Division
(N1) Springfield Falcons vs. (N4) Worcester IceCats
Worcester won series 3 – 1
(N2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (N3) Beast of New Haven
Hartford won series 3 – 0

Western Conference

Empire Division
(E1) Albany River Rats vs. (E4) Adirondack Red Wings
Albany won series 3 – 0
(E2) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (E3) Syracuse Crunch
Hamilton won series 3 – 2

Mid-Atlantic Division
(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E5) Rochester Americans
Philadelphia won series 3 – 1
(M2) Hershey Bears vs. (M3) Kentucky Thoroughblades
Hershey won series 3 – 0

Division Finals

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
(A1) Saint John Flames vs. (A3) Portland Pirates
Saint John won series 4 – 2

New England Division
(N2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (N4) Worcester IceCats
Hartford won series 4 – 3

Western Conference

Empire Division
(E1) Albany River Rats vs. (E2) Hamilton Bulldogs
Albany won series 4 – 0

Mid-Atlantic Division
(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (M2) Hershey Bears
Philadelphia won series 4 – 0

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(N2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A1) Saint John Flames
Saint John won series 4 – 1

Western Conference

(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E1) Albany River Rats
Philadelphia won series 4 – 2

Calder Cup Final

(M1) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (A1) Saint John Flames
Philadelphia won series 4 – 2
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See also

References
  1. 1998 Calder Cup Playoffs caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
  2. "Philadelphia Phantoms history timeline". phantomshockey.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2009. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  3. Jack A. Butterfield Trophy Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine ahlhalloffame.com Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
  4. Calder Cup record book: Teams caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008.
  5. 1997-98 AHL Standings The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on May 2, 2008.
  6. Frequently asked questions Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine theahl.com. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Preceded by
1997 Calder Cup playoffs		 Calder Cup playoffs
1998		 Succeeded by
1999 Calder Cup playoffs
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