2005 Calder Cup playoffs


The 2005 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 2005. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-7 series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. The conference champions played a best-of-7 series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 10, 2005 with the Philadelphia Phantoms defeating the Chicago Wolves four games to none to win the second Calder Cup in team history. Philadelphia's Antero Niittymaki won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.
Philadelphia set an AHL record by winning 11 consecutive home games in a single playoff. By playing the postseason in the Wachovia Center, the team also managed to settle postseason attendance records, with 20,103 spectators in the cup-clinching game 4 against Chicago.
As the National Hockey League was in the midst of a lockout that canceled that league's entire 2004–05 season, the 2005 playoffs featured a higher amount of players from the NHL.

Playoff seeds

After the 2004–05 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The Rochester Americans were the Western Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Manchester Monarchs were the Eastern Conference regular season champions.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

  1. Manchester Monarchs – Eastern Conference regular season champions, 110 points
  2. Hartford Wolf Pack – 106 points
  3. Lowell Lock Monsters – 100 points
  4. Providence Bruins – 90 points

    East Division

  5. Binghamton Senators – 106 points
  6. Philadelphia Phantoms – 103 points
  7. Norfolk Admirals – 93 points
  8. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 92 points

    Western Conference

North Division

  1. Rochester Americans – Western Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 112 points
  2. St. John's Maple Leafs – 98 points
  3. Manitoba Moose – 98 points
  4. Hamilton Bulldogs – 89 points

    West Division

  5. Chicago Wolves – 105 points
  6. Milwaukee Admirals – 103 points
  7. Cincinnati Mighty Ducks – 93 points
  8. Houston Aeros – 92 points

    Bracket

In each round the higher seed receives home ice advantage, meaning they can play a maximum of four home games if the series reaches seven games. There is no set series format for each series due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

Division Semifinals

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

(A1) Manchester Monarchs vs. (A4) Providence Bruins
(A2) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (A3) Lowell Lock Monsters

East Division

(E1) Binghamton Senators vs. (E4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E3) Norfolk Admirals

Western Conference

North Division

(N1) Rochester Americans vs. (N4) Hamilton Bulldogs
(N2) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

West Division

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W4) Houston Aeros
(W2) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (W3) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

Division Finals

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

(A3) Lowell Lock Monsters vs. (A4) Providence Bruins

East Division

(E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (E4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Western Conference

North Division

(N1) Rochester Americans vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

West Division

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (W3) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(E2) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (A4) Providence Bruins

Western Conference

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

Calder Cup Final

(W1) Chicago Wolves vs. (E2) Philadelphia Phantoms

Playoff statistical leaders

Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
PlayerTeamGPGAPts+/–PIM
Philadelphia Phantoms21121123+1012
Philadelphia Phantoms2181321+920
Providence Bruins1771421+327
Providence Bruins1741418–518
Philadelphia Phantoms2110717+744
Providence Bruins168715–123
Philadelphia Phantoms147815+828
Manitoba Moose149514–126
Manitoba Moose1410313+423
Philadelphia Phantoms1921113+56

Leading goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 420 minutes played. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice
PlayerTeamGPWLSAGAGAASV%SOTOI
Kari LehtonenChicago Wolves16106457281.71.9392983
Antero NiittymakiPhiladelphia Phantoms21155648371.75.94331269
Wade FlahertyManitoba Moose1284329292.42.9122720
Hannu ToivonenProvidence Bruins17107547422.43.92301038
Andy ChiodoWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins954244232.48.9061556
Cam WardLowell Lock Monsters1156340282.53.9182664
Brian FinleyMilwaukee Admirals734229202.62.9131458