The 2016 Calder Cup playoffs were held from April 20 to June 11, 2016, to determine the season champion of the American Hockey League (AHL). The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-five series in the division semifinals, then best-of-seven series for the division finals, conference finals, and Calder Cup finals. In the finals, the Lake Erie Monsters defeated the Hershey Bears in a four-game sweep to win the Calder Cup for the first time in franchise history. It was the 10th time the Calder Cup was won by a team representing Cleveland, as the Cleveland Barons won nine titles during their history (1937–1973).
Playoff seeds After the 2015–16 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top four teams in each division ranked by points percentage (points earned divided by points available) qualify for the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs, with one exception in each conference: if the fifth-place team in the Atlantic or Central Division finishes with a better points percentage than the fourth-place team in the North or Pacific Division, it would cross over and compete in the other division's bracket.
At the end of the regular season, the following teams qualified (with points percentage):
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division Hershey Bears – 98 points (.645) Providence Bruins – 95 points (.625) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 92 points (.605) Portland Pirates – 90 points (.592) Bridgeport Sound Tigers – 87 points (.572)
North Division Toronto Marlies – 114 points (.750) Albany Devils – 102 points (.671) Utica Comets – 88 points (.579)
Western Conference
Central Division Milwaukee Admirals – 101 points (.664) Lake Erie Monsters – 97 points (.638) Rockford IceHogs – 94 points (.618) Grand Rapids Griffins – 90 points (.592)
Pacific Division Ontario Reign – 93 points (.684) San Diego Gulls – 84 points (.618) Texas Stars – 91 points (.599) San Jose Barracuda – 73 points (.537)
Bracket
Division semifinals
Eastern Conference (A1) Hershey Bears vs. (A4) Portland Pirates
(A2) Providence Bruins vs. (A3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (A5) Bridgeport Sound Tigers
(N2) Albany Devils vs. (N3) Utica Comets
Western Conference
(C1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (C4) Grand Rapids Griffins
(C2) Lake Erie Monsters vs. (C3) Rockford IceHogs
(P1) Ontario Reign vs. (P4) San Jose Barracuda
(P2) San Diego Gulls vs. (P3) Texas Stars
Division finals Eastern Conference (A1) Hershey Bears vs. (A3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
(N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N2) Albany Devils
Western Conference (C2) Lake Erie Monsters vs. (C4) Grand Rapids Griffins
(P1) Ontario Reign vs. (P2) San Diego Gulls
Conference finals Eastern Conference (N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (A1) Hershey Bears
Western Conference (P1) Ontario Reign vs. (C2) Lake Erie Monsters
Calder Cup Finals Hershey Bears vs. Lake Erie Monsters
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
Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Toronto Marlies 15 7 11 18 12 Hershey Bears 21 6 11 17 2 Lake Erie Monsters 17 10 6 16 2 Lake Erie Monsters 17 9 7 16 18 Hershey Bears 21 8 6 14 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 10 5 9 14 0 Lake Erie Monsters 17 5 9 14 2 Lake Erie Monsters 17 3 10 13 8 Lake Erie Monsters 15 7 5 12 24 Lake Erie Monsters 17 7 5 12 4
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 180 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 (in minutes)
Player Team GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI Lake Erie Monsters 10 9 0 255 13 1.34 .949 2 583:58 Hershey Bears 20 11 9 567 44 2.13 .922 2 1242:20 Portland Pirates 5 2 3 146 12 2.13 .918 0 338:20 Ontario Reign 13 7 6 301 29 2.18 .904 0 799:38 San Diego Gulls 4 2 1 106 7 2.26 .934 0 185:28 San Diego Gulls 6 2 4 187 14 2.27 .925 1 369:33 San Jose Barracuda 4 1 3 146 10 2.59 .932 0 231:17
References
External links AHL official site