SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The Utica Comets have won the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the American Hockey League’s Western Conference champions for 2014-15, claiming the title with a 2-0 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, N.Y., on Tuesday night.
The Comets are heading to the Calder Cup Finals in just their second season of existence. Guided by head coach Travis Green, the Comets, the top development affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, won the North Division with a regular-season record of 47-20-7-2 (103 points) before defeating the Chicago Wolves (3-2) in the conference quarterfinals, the Oklahoma City Barons (4-3) in the conference semifinals and the Griffins (4-2) in the conference finals.
The 2015 Calder Cup Finals – the AHL’s 79th championship series – will pit the Comets against the Eastern Conference champion Manchester Monarchs, affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, beginning Saturday evening in Manchester, N.H. The complete series schedule is below.
Established in 1990, the AHL’s Western Conference championship trophy honors the late Robert W. Clarke. Mr. Clarke served as the Chairman of the AHL’s Board of Governors from 1967-94, and in 1956 he played an instrumental role in the formation of the Rochester Americans, one of the most successful franchises in AHL history and themselves a seven-time recipient of the Clarke Trophy.
2015 Calder Cup Finals (best-of-seven)
E1-Manchester Monarchs vs. W1-Utica Comets
Game 1 – Sat., June 6 – Utica at Manchester, 6:00
Game 2 – Sun., June 7 – Utica at Manchester, 5:00
Game 3 – Wed., June 10 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., June 12 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., June 13 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 16 – Utica at Manchester, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 17 – Utica at Manchester, 7:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
