The Rochester Americans and the Albany Devils became the 12th and 13th teams to punch their tickets to the 2014 Calder Cup Playoffs with victories on Wednesday night.
The Amerks are off to the postseason for the third year in a row since resuming their affiliation with the Buffalo Sabres in 2011, and for the 44th time in franchise history. The six-time Calder Cup champions (1965, 1966, 1968, 1983, 1987, 1996) defeated Utica on Wednesday, 4-1, to improve to 6-0-0-1 in April after finishing March on a nine-game losing streak.
The Devils are playoff-bound for the first time since 2010, when the club was based in Lowell. Albany defeated Portland, 3-2 in a shootout, for its 39th win of the season to tie a franchise record.
With the regular season ending on Saturday, three teams (Providence, Norfolk, Hershey) remain in the hunt for the final two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference, while three clubs (Oklahoma City, Charlotte, Rockford) are vying for one remaining Western Conference spot.
