The San Antonio Rampage and Grand Rapids Griffins clinched berths in the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs on Thursday night, while the Utica Comets secured the North Division title.
The Rampage set a franchise record with their 43rd victory of the season and will head to the postseason for the second time in four years thanks to a 5-4 win over Adirondack. Tom Rowe, in his first full season as head coach, has San Antonio atop the Western Conference with 92 points (43-20-5-1) heading into the weekend.
The Griffins were idle on Thursday but still secured their third consecutive trip to the playoffs under head coach Jeff Blashill. Grand Rapids, the Calder Cup champion in 2013, is 41-19-6-2 (90 points) and currently first in the Midwest Division, bidding for its fifth division crown in 14 AHL seasons.
A day after clinching their first-ever playoff berth, the Comets captured the Sam Pollock Trophy as champions of the North Division when Hamilton and Adirondack lost on Thursday. Utica (42-19-6-1, 91 points) is guaranteed one of the top three seeds in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage in its first-round playoff series. This is the fourth AHL division title in nine years for a Vancouver Canucks affiliate, following first-place finishes by Manitoba in 2007 and 2009 and by Chicago in 2012.
Eight teams in each conference will qualify for the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs. For more information and daily updates on the playoff races, check out the official AHL Playoff Primer.
