Ducks Announce AHL Changes

Published on July 9, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Cincinnati RailRaiders News Release


CINCINNATI, Ohio - The American Hockey League on Wednesday unveiled a new conference and division alignment and announced the Calder Cup playoff format for the 2003-2004 season. The announcement came from the AHL Board of Governors' annual meeting in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

The AHL has returned to a four-division, two-conference setup, with seven teams in each division. The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks will compete in the West Division of the AHL's Western Conference. Joining Cincinnati in the West Division will be the Chicago Wolves, Grand Rapids Griffins, Houston Aeros, Milwaukee Admirals, San Antonio Rampage and Utah Grizzlies.

At the conclusion of the regular-season, the top five teams in each of the four divisions will qualify for the Calder Cup 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 series. 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 Mighty Ducks, top affiliate of the 2003 Western Conference champion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, will begin their seventh season in October. Fans interested in Mighty Ducks Season Tickets can purchase them by calling (513) 351-3999. Tickets are available in several price ranges and plans.

Individual tickets will go on sale in September. An exact date and time will be announced when the information is available.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR)
Lowell Lock Monsters (CAR/CGY)
Manchester Monarchs (LA)
Portland Pirates (WSH)
Providence Bruins (BOS)
Springfield Falcons (PHX)
Worcester IceCats (STL)

East Division
Albany River Rats (NJ)
Binghamton Senators (OTT)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
Hershey Bears (COL/TB)
Norfolk Admirals (CHI)
Philadelphia Phantoms (PHI)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT)

Western Conference

North Division
Cleveland Barons (SJ)
Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL)
Manitoba Moose (VAN)
Rochester Americans (BUF)
St. John's Maple Leafs (TOR)
Syracuse Crunch (CBJ)
Toronto Roadrunners (EDM)

West Division
Chicago Wolves (ATL)
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (ANA)
Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)
Houston Aeros (MIN)
Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)
San Antonio Rampage (FLA)
Utah Grizzlies (DAL)

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from July 9, 2003


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.

OurSports Central