AHL Hershey Bears

Bears on the Move as AHL Announces Realignment for 2003-04

Published on July 9, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


HERSHEY – The HERSHEY Bears announced today in conjunction with the American Hockey League that the AHL's most storied franchise will be in a new conference and a new division for the 2003-04 campaign. The announcement came from the AHL Board of Governors' annual meeting on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

The AHL has returned to a four-division, two-conference setup, with seven teams in each division. The Bears will compete in the newly created East division. The six other teams joining HERSHEY in the division are as follows: the Philadelphia Phantoms, Norfolk Admirals, Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins, Albany River Rats, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and the Binghamton Senators.

In addition to the changes in divisional alignment, the AHL also announced today in Hilton Head that the league has changed the playoff format for the 2004 Calder Cup Playoffs. At the conclusion of the 2003-04 regular season, the top five teams in each of the four divisions will qualify for the Calder Cup 2004 Playoffs, allowing once again for at least two-thirds of National Hockey League teams' prospects to gain valuable postseason experience.

In each division, the fourth-place team will face the fifth-place team in a best-of-three qualifying round. Each subsequent round will be a best-of-seven. In the division semifinals, the first-place team will face the qualifying winner and the second-place team will face the third-place team from each division. The division finals will match the semifinal winners within each division, with those winners advancing to their respective conference final. Conference final winners will advance to the Calder Cup 2004 Finals.

The Bears open up the home portion of the 2003-04 season on Saturday, October 19th at GIANT Center. Season ticket information is available by calling 520-5796. Several different season ticket plans are available.

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American Hockey League Stories from July 9, 2003


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