2003 Calder Cup playoffs

2003 Calder Cup playoffs
Tournament details
DatesApril 9 – June 12, 2003
Teams16
Final positions
ChampionsHouston Aeros
Runner-upHamilton Bulldogs
← 2002
2004 →

The 2003 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 9, 2003. Twenty teams, the top ten from each conference, qualified for the playoffs. The seventh-, eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-placed teams in each conference played best-of-three series in the qualifying round. The four winners, in addition to the other twelve teams that qualified, played best-of-five series for conference quarterfinals. The remaining 8 teams played best-of-seven series for conference semifinals and conference finals.[1] The conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on June 12, 2003 with the Houston Aeros defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs four games to three to win the first Calder Cup in team history.[2]

Houston's Johan Holmqvist won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP and also set a record for most minutes played by a goaltender in a single playoff with 1498.[3][4] Jarret Stoll of the Hamilton Bulldogs set an AHL playoff record for the fastest goal from the start of a period by scoring 4 seconds into the 3rd period on May 22, 2003 against Binghamton.[4] Hamilton's Michael Ryder ended the longest game in AHL history when he scored at 14:56 of the fourth overtime in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Final.[5] However, this record was eclipsed during the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.[6]

  1. ^ 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs caldercup.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008
  2. ^ Calder Cup champions Archived 2008-05-26 at the Wayback Machine caldercup.com. Retrieved on April 28, 2008
  3. ^ Jack A. Butterfield Trophy Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine AHL Hall of Fame. Retrieved on May 6, 2008
  4. ^ a b Calder Cup record book: Players caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008
  5. ^ Important dates in Hamilton Bulldogs history hamiltonbulldogs.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008
  6. ^ Phantoms win longest game in AHL history caldercup.com. Retrieved on May 6, 2008