This is the 2014-15 American Hockey League season. This will be the league's 79th season.
Franchise changes
The Glens Falls, New York based Adirondack Phantoms relocated to Allentown, Pennsylvania and were renamed the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, moving into the newly opened PPL Center.
The Abbotsford Heat relocated to Glens Falls to replace the Phantoms in the arena, the team was renamed the Adirondack Flames and will play in the Glens Falls Civic Center. As a tribute to the Calgary Flames past the team's logo will the the old Atlanta Flames logo sllightly updated to the organizations present color scheme.
Late in January 2015 the league annouced the formation of a Pacific Division for the 2015-16 season with the Norfolk Admirals being relocated to San Diego, California; the Manchester Monarchs being relocated to Ontario, California, the Worcester Sharks being relocated to San Jose, California, the Adirondack Flames being relocated to Stockton, California. The ownership of the Oklahoma City Barons announced previously that they were ceasing operations after losing their affiliation with the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers purchased the Bakersfield Condors franchise in the ECHL and were making Bakersfield, California the home of their AHL affiliate.
2014/2015 Standings
Eastern Conference
| Atlantic Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence Bruins (BOS) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Portland Pirates (PHX) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Manchester Monarchs (LA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Worcester Sharks (SJ) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's IceCaps (WPG) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northeast Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Falcons (CBJ) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Albany Devils (NJ) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| East Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse Crunch (TB) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Binghamton Senators (OTT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hershey Bears (WSH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Norfolk Admirals (ANA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Western Conference
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Marlies (TOR) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rochester Americans (BUF) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lake Erie Monsters (COL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Utica Comets (VAN) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midwest Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chicago Wolves (STL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Iowa Wild (MIN) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Stars (DAL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlotte Checkers (CAR) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oklahoma City Barons (EDM) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adirondack Flames (CGY) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| San Antonio Rampage (FLA) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Special Games/events
The Syracuse Crunch announced on June 11, 2014 that they will play the Utica Comets at the Carrier Dome, on the campus Syracuse University in an event called the "Frozen Dome Classic". The ice surface will be setup in the basketball configuration which will give it a capacity of over 30,000. This event could break record for the largest indoor crowd at a professional hockey game in the United States, which is presently a crowd of 28,183 on April 23, 1996 for a Stanley Cup Playoffs game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers. The existing largest indoor attendance record is 20,672 for a game between the Carolina Monarchs and the Kentucky Thoroughblades at the Greensboro Coliseum on January 18, 1997. There will also be a NCAA Division III game between the Utica College Pioneers and the Oswego State Lakers, as well as a game between law enforcement officials from Syracuse and Utica as part of the day long event.
Possible major franchise shifts for 2015-16
Published reports during the first half of 2014 indicated that all the the members of the National Hockey League's Pacific Division have indicated they would be interested in moving their AHL affiliates to cities closer to them. This could lead to a Pacific Division being formed possibly as early as the 2015-16 season. A report in the Portland Press Herald from April 12 indicated that the Manchester Monarchs, Worcester Sharks, Portland Pirates, the then Abbotsford Heat, Utica Comets, and Norfolk Admirals as likely candidates for relocation to out west. Several other sources speculated that the teams may simply shift around the location of their affliliated teams between the AHL, ECHL and Central Hockey League. This scenario could also add the affilates of the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnipeg Jets into the equation. Any relocations would have to be approved the AHL Board of Governors.