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.
2014/2015 Standings
y– indicates team has clinched division and a playoff spot
x– indicates team has clinched a playoff spot
e– indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention
Eastern Conference
| # | Eastern Conference | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y– Manchester Monarchs (LA) | AT | 76 | 50 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 109 | 241 | 176 |
| 2 | y– Hershey Bears (WSH) | ET | 76 | 46 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 100 | 218 | 181 |
| 3 | y– Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR) | NE | 76 | 43 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 95 | 221 | 214 |
| 4 | x– Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT) | ET | 76 | 45 | 24 | 3 | 4 | 97 | 212 | 163 |
| 5 | x– Syracuse Crunch (TB) | NE | 76 | 41 | 25 | 10 | 0 | 92 | 218 | 219 |
| 6 | x– Providence Bruins (BOS) | AT | 76 | 41 | 26 | 7 | 2 | 91 | 209 | 185 |
| 7 | x– Worcester Sharks (SJ) | AT | 76 | 41 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 88 | 224 | 198 |
| 8 | x– Portland Pirates (ARZ) | AT | 76 | 39 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 87 | 203 | 190 |
| 9 | e– Springfield Falcons (CBJ) | NE | 76 | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 86 | 192 | 209 |
| 10 | e– Albany Devils (NJ) | NE | 76 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 6 | 85 | 199 | 201 |
| 11 | e– Binghamton Senators (OTT) | ET | 76 | 34 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 76 | 242 | 258 |
| 12 | e– St. John's IceCaps (WPG) | AT | 76 | 32 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 75 | 183 | 235 |
| 13 | e– Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI) | ET | 76 | 33 | 35 | 7 | 1 | 74 | 194 | 237 |
| 14 | e– Norfolk Admirals (ANA) | ET | 76 | 27 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 64 | 168 | 219 |
| 15 | e– Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI) | NE | 76 | 28 | 40 | 7 | 1 | 64 | 213 | 246 |
Western Conference
| # | Western Conference | Div | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y– Utica Comets (VAN) | NO | 76 | 47 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 103 | 219 | 182 |
| 2 | y– Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) | MW | 76 | 46 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 100 | 249 | 185 |
| 3 | y– San Antonio Rampage (FLA) | WT | 76 | 45 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 98 | 248 | 222 |
| 4 | x– Rockford IceHogs (CHI) | MW | 76 | 46 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 99 | 222 | 180 |
| 5 | x– Texas Stars (DAL) | WT | 76 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 94 | 242 | 216 |
| 6 | x– Oklahoma City Barons (EDM) | WT | 76 | 41 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 90 | 224 | 212 |
| 7 | x– Toronto Marlies (TOR) | NO | 76 | 40 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 207 | 203 |
| 8 | x– Chicago Wolves (STL) | MW | 76 | 40 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 87 | 210 | 198 |
| 9 | e– Lake Erie Monsters (COL) | MW | 76 | 35 | 29 | 8 | 4 | 82 | 211 | 240 |
| 10 | e– Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) | NO | 76 | 34 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 81 | 201 | 208 |
| 11 | e– Milwaukee Admirals (NSH) | MW | 76 | 33 | 28 | 8 | 7 | 81 | 206 | 218 |
| 12 | e– Adirondack Flames (CGY) | NO | 76 | 35 | 33 | 6 | 2 | 78 | 233 | 240 |
| 13 | e– Charlotte Checkers (CAR) | WT | 76 | 31 | 38 | 6 | 1 | 69 | 172 | 231 |
| 14 | e– Rochester Americans (BUF) | NO | 76 | 29 | 41 | 5 | 1 | 64 | 209 | 251 |
| 15 | e– Iowa Wild (MIN) | WT | 76 | 23 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 50 | 172 | 245 |
Calder Cup Playoffs
Bracket
| Conference quarterfinals | Conference semifinals | Conference finals | Calder Cup Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Manchester Monarchs | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Portland Pirates | 2 |
| |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Hershey Bears | 2 | Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Worcester Sharks | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Hartford Wolf Pack | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Providence Bruins | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Syracuse Crunch | 0 |
| |||||||||||||||
| (Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Utica Comets | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Chicago Wolves | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Grand Rapids Griffins | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Toronto | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | San Antonio Rampage | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Oklahoma City Barons | 3 | Western Conference | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Rockford IceHogs | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Texas Stars | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
- During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.
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. The game drew a crowd of 30,715. This event broke record for the largest indoor crowd at a professional hockey game in the United States, which was previously 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 previous largest indoor attendance record for the AHL was 20,672 for a game between the Carolina Monarchs and the Kentucky Thoroughblades at the Greensboro Coliseum on January 18, 1997. There was also 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.
Major franchise shifts for 2015-16
Late in January 2015 the league annouced the league's Board of Gevernors approved 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. In March, the Winnipeg Jets annouced the were relocating their AHL affilliate from St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador to Winnipeg and the Montreal Canadiens purchased the Hamilton Bulldogs franchise and relocated them to St. John's. Both of the moves are believed to be temporary as Winnipeg may be relocating their affiliation to Thunder Bay, Ontario if and when a new arena opens there and the Canadiens are waiting for an arena to open in Laval, Quebec to move their affiliate. The former owner of the Hamilton AHL franchise purchased the Belleville Bulls and will relocate the team to Hamilton asuming the Bulldogs identity.