2011–12 AHL season

The 2011–12 AHL season will be the 76th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 7, 2011 and is scheduled to conclude on April 15, 2012. The 2012 Calder Cup playoffs will follow the conclusion of the regular season.^[1]

Regular Season

The 2011-12 season will feature scheduling changes in the regular season and post season. The major change will be the elimination of four games and extending the season by a week. The reasoning behind the change is to eliminate teams having to play four games in five nights. This will bring the total number of games for each team to 76. To accomplish that, the league has decided to add an additional week to the season.^[2]

On July 5, 2011, the league's new realignment was revealed. The league moved from having four divisions of seven/eight teams to six even divisions of five teams, similar to that of the NHL. The Western Conference consists of the West, Midwest, and North divisions; the Eastern Conference consists of the Atlantic, Northeast, and East divisions. As a result of the Manitoba Moose relocating to St. John's, they have switched to the Eastern Conference, while the Charlotte Checkers have moved to the Western Conference.

The third installment of the AHL Outdoor Classic will take place in Canada, with the Hamilton Bulldogs hosting the Toronto Marlies in a regional rivalry game at Ivor Wynne Stadium. This marks the first time the event has been played in Canada, and the event will be moved up to the third weekend in January, instead of the third weekend in February as it has been in previous years. In addition to this game, another outdoor AHL game, between the Hershey Bears and the Adirondack Phantoms, will take place as part of the 2012 NHL Winter Classic festivities on January 6, 2012.

Playoff format

The 2011-12 playoff format will change as a result of the scheduling changes. The first round of the playoffs will now be a best of five series and the following rounds will continue to be best of seven game series'.^[2]

Eight teams per conference will qualify for the playoffs. The three division winners will earn the top three seeds. Seeds four through eight will be determined by regular season points out of the remaining teams in the division. Team will be re-seeded after the first round so that the highest remaining seed plays the lowest remaining seed.

Team and NHL affiliation changes

Team Changes

• The Manitoba Moose relocated to St John's, Newfoundland due to the Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL relocating to Winnipeg, Manitoba as the Winnipeg Jets. They became the St. John's IceCaps, affiliating as the Jets' farm club.

Affiliation changes

Standings

  y–  indicates team has clinched division and a playoff spot
  x–  indicates team has clinched a playoff spot
  e–  indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. Updated as of games played on January 1, 2012.^[3]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus-minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 600 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. Updated as of January 1, 2012.^[4]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

Calder Cup Playoffs

Milestones

• On December 10 2011, Chicago Wolves forward Darren Haydar recorded his 700th career AHL point. He became the 22nd player in league history to reach this milestone.

See also

• List of AHL seasons
• 2011 in ice hockey
• 2012 in ice hockey

References

1. ^ http://theahl.com/stats/schedule.php?view=month&month=2011-10
2. ^ ^{a b} http://theahl.com/ahl-announces-schedule-modification-plan-p170643
3. ^ "Top Scorers - 2011-12 Regular Season - All Players". AHL. http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_scorers&season_id=37. 
4. ^ "Top Goalies - 2011-12 Regular Season - Goals Against Average". AHL. http://theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.php?type=top_goalies&season_id=37. 

External links

• AHL official site