
Comets Win North Division Championship
Published on April 2, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Utica Comets News Release
Just one night after clinching a Calder Cup playoff spot, the Utica Comets have won the American Hockey League's North Division Championship. The Hamilton Bulldogs 4-2 loss vs the Chicago Wolves on Thursday night, secured the Comets of the top spot in the division.
The Comets are the first team in the American Hockey League to clinch a division title this season. On Wednesday, the Comets became just the third team in the American Hockey League, behind the Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings) and the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals), to claim a playoff spot.
With the "wire-to-wire" division championship, the Comets are guaranteed one of the top three seeds in the Western Conference, and home ice advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs. Utica entered the night leading the race for the Western Conference championship, with 91 points.
Eight teams in each conference qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs, with the three division winners in each conference seeded first through third by order of regular season points. The next five teams, in order of regular season points, will be seeded fourth through eight. Home ice advantage is given to the higher seeded team in each playoff match-up.
The Conference Quarterfinal (the first round) is a best-of-five series. Home ice advantage in the Conference Quarterfinals is granted to those teams seeded first through fourth in each conference.
The Conference Semifinals, and the Conference Finals are a best-of-seven series. Teams are reseeded according to the same criteria as the Conference Quarterfinals, with division leaders seeded first, and granted home ice advantage, while remaining teams will be seeded in order of regular season points.
The Calder Cup Finals are also a best-of-seven series, with home ice determined by the higher number of points in the final standings at the end of the Schedule of Championship Games.
The 2014-15 American Hockey League regular season concludes on April 19, and all playoff dates will be announced at a later date.
American Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2015
- Rampage Clinch Playoff Spot with 5-4 Win over Adirondack - San Antonio Rampage
- Zach Miskovic Named Rockford IceHogs' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Rockford IceHogs
- IceHogs Trounced in Grand Rapids - Rockford IceHogs
- Griffins Clinch Berth in 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Paajarvi's Four Points Pace Wolves past 'Dogs, 4-2 - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Rampage Playoff Tickets to Go on Sale April 10 - San Antonio Rampage
- Barons Survive OT Scare from Checkers 3-2 - Charlotte Checkers
- Wolves Trump Bulldogs on Paajarvi's 4-Point Night - Chicago Wolves
- Comets Win North Division Championship - Utica Comets
- Nichushkin Recalled by Dallas Stars - Texas Stars
- Konrad Abeltshauser Named Worcester Sharks 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Worcester Sharks
- Derek Hulak Named Texas Stars' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Texas Stars
- Admirals Return Home Friday vs. Texas - Milwaukee Admirals
- Syracuse Crunch Eric Neilson Named Crunch's 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Syracuse Crunch
- Jon Blum Named Iowa's 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Iowa Wild
- Gervais Named Monsters Man of the Year - Cleveland Monsters
- Justin Florek Named Providence Bruins' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Providence Bruins
- Moore Named Bears' IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Hershey Bears
- John Kurtz Named Norfolk Admirals 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year - Norfolk Admirals
- Szwarz Named Pirates' 2014-2015 IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year - Portland Pirates
- Ryan Bourque Named Wolf Pack's 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Kevin Raine Named Monarchs' Man of Year - Manchester Monarchs
- Hagel Named Checkers' Man of the Year - Charlotte Checkers
- Quinton Howden Named San Antonio Rampage 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year - San Antonio Rampage
- Aaron Ness Named Bridgeport Sound Tigers' 2014-15 Ioa/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Bridgeport Islanders
- Alex Biega Named Utica Comets' IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Utica Comets
- Zack Stortini Named Phantoms' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Shane Harper Named Chicago Wolves' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Chicago Wolves
- Budish Named Admirals Man of the Year - Milwaukee Admirals
- Mike Sdao Named Binghamton Senators 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Binghamton Senators
- Barry Goers Named Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- O'Neill Named IceCaps 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - St. John's IceCaps
- McCollum Named Griffins' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Grand Rapids Griffins
- IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year Team Award Winners Announced - AHL
- Corey Cowick Named Springfield Falcons' 2014-15 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Springfield Falcons
- Davis Drewiske Named Bulldogs' IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Kings Sign Forward Jonny Brodzinski to Entry-Level Contract - Manchester Monarchs
- Sharks, Barracuda Networks Agree to Revolutionary Multi-Year Presenting Partnership - San Jose Barracuda
- Islanders Sign Goaltender Stephon Williams to Entry-Level Contract - Bridgeport Islanders
- Comets Announce Playoff Ticket Information - Utica Comets
- Lightning Sign Goaltender Adam Wilcox to Two-Year Contract - Syracuse Crunch
- Dea Reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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