1976 Calder Cup playoffs

The 1976 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 3, 1976.[1] The top three teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The two division winners earned byes for the Division Semifinals while the other two teams in each division played best-of-seven series. The winners played best-of-seven series with the team that received the first round bye in their division. The winners of each Division Final played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on April 28, 1976 with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs defeating the Hershey Bears four games to one to win the Calder Cup for the second time in team history.[2] Coincidentally, the Voyageurs parent club, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in a four game sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers, making them the first pair of teams in history to win both the AHL's Calder Cup and NHL's Stanley Cup in the same season. Even more impressive is that these same two teams would accomplish this feat again the following year.

Playoff seeds

After the 1975–76 AHL regular season, the top three teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The Nova Scotia Voyageurs finished the regular season with the best overall record.[3] The two division champions earned byes to the Division Finals.[1]

Northern Division

  1. Nova Scotia Voyageurs - 104 points
  2. Rochester Americans - 93 points
  3. Providence Reds - 76 points

Southern Division

  1. Hershey Bears - 84 points
  2. Richmond Robins - 66 points
  3. New Haven Nighthawks - 66 points

Bracket

  Division Semifinals     Division Finals     Calder Cup Final
                           
  Northern Division     1  Nova Scotia 4  
  2  Rochester 3     2  Rochester 0    
  3  Providence 0         N1  Nova Scotia 4
      S1  Hershey 1
  Southern Division     1  Hershey 4    
  2  Richmond 3     2  Richmond 1  
  3  New Haven 0  

In each round, the team that earned more points during the regular season receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.[4]

Division Semifinals

Note: Home team is listed first.

Byes

Northern Division

(2) Rochester Americans vs. (3) Providence Reds

Rochester won series 3 - 0

Southern Division

(2) Richmond Robins vs. (3) New Haven Nighthawks

Richmond won series 3 - 0

Division Finals

Northern Division

(1) Nova Scotia Voyageurs vs. (2) Rochester Americans

Nova Scotia won series 4 - 0

Southern Division

(1) Hershey Bears vs. (2) Richmond Robins

Hershey won series 4 - 1

Calder Cup Final

(N1) Nova Scotia Voyageurs vs. (S1) Hershey Bears

Nova Scotia won series 4 - 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1976 AHL playoff results The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on May 11, 2008.
  2. ↑ Calder Cup champions caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 11, 2008.
  3. ↑ 1975–76 AHL standings The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved on May 11, 2008.
  4. ↑ Frequently asked questions theahl.com. Retrieved on May 12, 2008.
Preceded by
1975 Calder Cup playoffs		 Calder Cup Playoffs
1976 		Succeeded by
1977 Calder Cup playoffs