AHL ANNOUNCES DIVISIONAL ALIGNMENT

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league's Board of Governors has approved the following division alignment for the 2014-15 AHL season (National Hockey League affiliates in parentheses):Eastern ConferenceAtlantic DivisionManchester Monarchs (Los Angeles)Portland Pirates (Arizona)Providence Bruins (Boston)St. John's IceCaps (Winnipeg)Worcester Sharks (San Jose)Northeast DivisionAlbany Devils (New Jersey)Bridgeport Sound Tigers (N.Y. Islanders)Hartford Wolf Pack (N.Y. Rangers)Springfield Falcons (Columbus)Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay)East DivisionBinghamton Senators (Ottawa)Hershey Bears (Washington)Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia)Norfolk Admirals (Anaheim)Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh)Western ConferenceNorth DivisionAdirondack Flames (Calgary)Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal)Rochester Americans (Buffalo)Toronto Marlies (Toronto)Utica Comets (Vancouver)Midwest DivisionChicago Wolves (St. Louis)Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit)Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado)Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville)Rockford IceHogs (Chicago)West DivisionCharlotte Checkers (Carolina)Iowa Wild (Minnesota)Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton)San Antonio Rampage (Florida)Texas Stars (Dallas)Changes from last season include:• Calgary's affiliate relocating from Abbotsford, B.C., to Glens Falls, N.Y., and playing in the North Division• Philadelphia's affiliate relocating from Glens Falls, N.Y. to Allentown, Pa., and playing in the East Division• Syracuse moving from the East Division to the Northeast Division• Lake Erie moving from the North Division to the Midwest Division• Iowa moving from the Midwest Division to the West DivisionThe format for the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs has also been approved by the Board of Governors and remains the same as 2014: Eight teams in each conference will qualify for the postseason, with the three division winners earning the top three seeds and the next five best teams in order of regular-season points seeded fourth through eighth. The conference quarterfinals will be best-of-five series; the conference semifinals, conference finals and Calder Cup Finals will be best-of-seven series. Teams will be re-ordered after the first round so that the highest-remaining seed plays the lowest-remaining seed.The playing schedule for the 2014-15 regular season, which begins Oct. 10, will be announced later this summer.In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 13th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2013-14.