Barracuda, Griffins to meet for West title

Photo: D. Scott Dinn

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced the following schedule for the Western Conference Finals in the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs:

Western Conference Finals – Series “N” (best-of-7)
P1-San Jose Barracuda vs. C2-Grand Rapids Griffins
Game 1 – Sat., May 20 – Grand Rapids at San Jose, 9:00
Game 2 – Sun., May 21 – Grand Rapids at San Jose, 8:00
Game 3 – Wed., May 24 – San Jose at Grand Rapids, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., May 26 – San Jose at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., May 27 – San Jose at Grand Rapids, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., May 30 – Grand Rapids at San Jose, 10:00
*Game 7 – Wed., May 31 – Grand Rapids at San Jose, 10:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern

The two Western Conference division finals both ended tonight with the Grand Rapids Griffins eliminating the Chicago Wolves four games to one in the Central Division, and the San Jose Barracuda defeating the San Diego Gulls four games to one in the Pacific Division.

The Griffins, top development team of the Detroit Red Wings, have reached the Western Conference Finals for the third time in five years (2013, 2015, 2017), while the Barracuda are making the first Calder Cup conference finals appearance by a San Jose Sharks affiliate since the Kentucky Thoroughblades joined the league in 1996.

In the Eastern Conference, the Syracuse Crunch have a 3-2 series lead over the Toronto Marlies in the North Division Finals, and the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins are even at 2-2 in the Atlantic Division Finals.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 16th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2016-17.