The 2002 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 9, 2002. Twenty teams, the top ten from each conference, qualified for the playoffs. The seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-placed teams in each conference played best-of-three series in the qualifying round. The four winners, in addition to the other twelve teams that qualified, played best-of-five series for conference quarterfinals. The remaining 8 teams played best-of-seven series for conference semifinals and conference finals.2002 Calder Cup Playoffs caldercup.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 3, 2002 with the Chicago Wolves defeating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers four games to one to win the first Calder Cup in team history.Wolves team awards and honors chicagowolves.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008
Chicago's Pasi Nurminen won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP.Jack A. Butterfield Trophy ahlhalloffame.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008 Teammate Rob Brown recorded 26 assists, tying an AHL playoff record.Calder Cup record book: Players caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008 The Chicago Wolves as a team also set three AHL playoff records during their Calder Cup run by playing 25 games, winning 17 games in one playoff, and winning 12 home games in one playoff.Calder Cup record book: Teams caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008
Playoff seeds After the 2001–02 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top ten teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Syracuse Crunch were the Western Conference regular season champions.2001-02 AHL Standings The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on April 28, 2008 Division champions were automatically ranked 1-3.
Eastern Conference Bridgeport Sound Tigers – East Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 98 points Lowell Lock Monsters – North Division champions, 96 points Quebec Citadelles – Canadian Division champions, 88 points Hartford Wolf Pack – 95 points Manchester Monarchs – 90 points Hamilton Bulldogs – 87 points St. John's Maple Leafs – 87 points Worcester IceCats – 86 points Manitoba Moose – 86 points Providence Bruins – 82 points
Western Conference Syracuse Crunch – Central Division and Western Conference regular season champions, 96 points Grand Rapids Griffins – West Division champions, 95 points Norfolk Admirals – South Division champions, 92 points Houston Aeros – 93 points Utah Grizzlies – 91 points Hershey Bears – 89 points Chicago Wolves – 86 points Philadelphia Phantoms – 86 points Rochester Americans – 82 points Cincinnati Mighty Ducks – 80 points
Bracket
The top 6 teams in each conference receive byes to the Conference Quarterfinals. In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In the qualification round, all games are played at the arena of the higher seed. In each round the higher seed 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 for each series after the Qualification Round due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.Frequently asked questions theahl.com. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Conference Qualifiers 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 (7) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (10) Providence Bruins
1 – at Toronto 2 – at Brampton, Ontario
(8) Worcester IceCats vs. (9) Manitoba Moose
Western Conference (7) Chicago Wolves vs. (10) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
(8) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (9) Rochester Americans
Conference Quarterfinals Eastern Conference (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (9) Manitoba Moose
(2) Lowell Lock Monsters vs. (7) St. John's Maple Leafs
(3) Quebec Citadelles vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs
(4) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (5) Manchester Monarchs
Western Conference (1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (8) Philadelphia Phantoms
(2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (7) Chicago Wolves
(3) Norfolk Admirals vs. (6) Hershey Bears
(4) Houston Aeros vs. (5) Utah Grizzlies
Conference semifinals Eastern Conference (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (7) St. John's Maple Leafs
(4) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs
Western Conference (1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (7) Chicago Wolves
(4) Houston Aeros vs. (6) Hershey Bears
Conference finals Eastern Conference (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs
Western Conference (4) Houston Aeros vs. (7) Chicago Wolves
Calder Cup Final (E1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (W7) Chicago Wolves
See also 2001–02 AHL season List of AHL seasons
References