AHL releases Pacific Division tournament schedule; Roadrunners set to defend division title

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The American Hockey League announced the format and schedule for the Pacific Division playoff tournament.

2021 PACIFIC DIVISION PLAYOFFS
Play-In Series (May 18-19; all times MST) Game 1 – Tue., May 18 – #4 vs. #7, 1 p.m. (at Irvine, Calif.) Game 2 – Tue., May 18 – #5 vs. #6, 7:30 p.m. (at Irvine, Calif.) Game 3 – Wed., May 19 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. (at Irvine, Calif.)
Semifinal “A” (best-of-3; to conclude by May 24) Game 1 – #1 vs. Play-In winner (at higher seed) Game 2 – #1 vs. Play-In winner (at higher seed) *Game 3 – #1 vs. Play-In winner (at higher seed)
Semifinal “B” (best-of-3; to conclude by May 24) Game 1 – #2 vs. #3 (at higher seed) Game 2 – #2 vs. #3 (at higher seed) *Game 3 – #2 vs. #3 (at higher seed)
Pacific Division Finals (best-of-3; to conclude by May 29) Game 1 – Semifinal winners (at higher seed) Game 2 – Semifinal winners (at higher seed) Game 3 – Semifinal winners (at higher seed) if necessary

All seven teams will participate in the tournament, which begins in Irvine, California, with single-elimination play-in games featuring the fourth- through seventh-place clubs in the regular-season standings. The winning play-in club will face the No. 1 seed in the semifinals.

The semifinal winners will advance to the best-of-three final round, with that winner being awarded the John D. Chick Trophy as champions of the Pacific Division. The Chick Trophy has been presented to an AHL division champion annually since 1961-62.

The Roadrunners will be defending their Pacific Division Championship from 2019-2020. They have been crowned Pacific Division Champions in two of the past three seasons.

All Pacific Division playoff games will be available for viewing on AHLTV. All Roadrunners games will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1450 AM and the iHeartRadio app as well.

The AHL has served as the top development league for the National Hockey League since 1936. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.