# 2003 Calder Cup playoffs

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. 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.
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. 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. 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. However, this record was eclipsed during the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2002–03 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top ten teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The Hamilton Bulldogs were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Grand Rapids Griffins were the Western Conference regular season champions. Division champions were automatically ranked 1-3.

### Eastern Conference

* Hamilton Bulldogs – Canadian Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 110 points
* Providence Bruins – North Division champions, 104 points
* Binghamton Senators – East Division champions, 97 points
* Manchester Monarchs – 97 points
* Bridgeport Sound Tigers – 94 points
* Worcester IceCats – 88 points
* Hartford Wolf Pack – 86 points
* Portland Pirates – 85 points
* Manitoba Moose – 84 points
* Springfield Falcons – 76 points

### Western Conference

* Grand Rapids Griffins – Central Division and Western Conference regular season champions, 106 points
* Houston Aeros – West Division champions, 104 points
* Norfolk Admirals – South Division champions, 91 points
* Chicago Wolves – 98 points
* Hershey Bears – 89 points
* San Antonio Rampage – 87 points
* Milwaukee Admirals – 85 points
* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 84 points
* Utah Grizzlies – 83 points
* Rochester Americans – 81 points

## Bracket

| Conference Qualifiers | Conference Qualifiers | Conference Qualifiers | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final |
| | | | 1 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Springfield | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | Springfield | 1 | 1 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 9 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Providence | 1 | 9 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | |
| 7 | Hartford Wolf Pack | 0 | 9 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Hartford Wolf Pack | 0 | 9 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | 1 | Hamilton | 4 | |
| 10 | Springfield Falcons | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | 1 | Hamilton | 4 | |
| 10 | Springfield Falcons | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | 3 | Binghamton | 1 | |
| | | | 3 | Binghamton | 3 | | | | 3 | Binghamton | 1 | |
| 8 | Portland Pirates | 1 | 6 | Worcester | 0 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Portland Pirates | 1 | 6 | Worcester | 0 | 3 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | |
| 9 | Manitoba Moose | 2 | | | | 3 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | |
| 9 | Manitoba Moose | 2 | | | | 5 | Bridgeport | 2 | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Manchester | 0 | 5 | Bridgeport | 2 | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Bridgeport | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Bridgeport | 3 | | | | | | | E1 | Hamilton | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 4 |
| | | | 1 | Grand Rapids | 3 | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 4 |
| | | | 8 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 1 | 1 | Grand Rapids | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Chicago | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Houston | 3 | 4 | Chicago | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Milwaukee Admirals | 2 | 7 | Milwaukee | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Milwaukee Admirals | 2 | 7 | Milwaukee | 0 | | | | 1 | Grand Rapids | 3 | | | |
| 10 | Rochester Americans | 1 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | 1 | Grand Rapids | 3 | | | |
| 10 | Rochester Americans | 1 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | 2 | Houston | 4 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Norfolk | 3 | | | | 2 | Houston | 4 | | | |
| 8 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 2 | 6 | San Antonio | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 2 | 6 | San Antonio | 0 | 2 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Utah Grizzlies | 0 | | | | 2 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Utah Grizzlies | 0 | | | | 3 | Norfolk | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Chicago | 3 | 3 | Norfolk | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Hershey | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
The top 6 teams in each conference receive byes to the Conference Quarterfinals. In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. In the qualification round, all games are played at the arena of the higher seed. In each round the higher seed receives home ice advantage, meaning they receive the "extra" game on home-ice if the series reaches the maximum number of games. There is no set series format for each series after the Qualification Round due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

## Conference Qualifiers

    Note 1: All times are in Eastern Time (UTC−4).
    Note 2: Game times in italics signify games to be played only if necessary.
    Note 3: Home team is listed first.

### Eastern Conference
#### (7) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (10) Springfield Falcons

* Springfield won series 2 – 0

#### (8) Portland Pirates vs. (9) Manitoba Moose

* Manitoba won series 2 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (7) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (10) Rochester Americans

* Milwaukee won series 2 – 1

#### (8) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (9) Utah Grizzlies

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won series 2 – 0

## Conference Quarterfinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (10) Springfield Falcons

* Hamilton won series 3 – 1

#### (2) Providence Bruins vs. (9) Manitoba Moose

* Manitoba won series 3 – 1

#### (3) Binghamton Senators vs. (6) Worcester IceCats

* Binghamton won series 3 – 0

#### (4) Manchester Monarchs vs. (5) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

* Bridgeport won series 3 – 0

### Western Conference
#### (1) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (8) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

* Grand Rapids won series 3 – 1

#### (2) Houston Aeros vs. (7) Milwaukee Admirals

* Houston won series 3 – 0

#### (3) Norfolk Admirals vs. (6) San Antonio Rampage

* Norfolk won series 3 – 0

#### (4) Chicago Wolves vs. (5) Hershey Bears

* Chicago won series 3 – 2

## Conference semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (9) Manitoba Moose

* Hamilton won series 4 – 3

#### (3) Binghamton Senators vs. (5) Bridgeport Sound Tigers

* Binghamton won series 4 – 2

### Western Conference
#### (1) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (4) Chicago Wolves

* Grand Rapids won series 4 – 0

#### (2) Houston Aeros vs. (3) Norfolk Admirals

* Houston won series 4 – 2

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (3) Binghamton Senators

* Hamilton won series 4 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (1) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (2) Houston Aeros

* Houston won series 4 – 3

## Calder Cup Final
### (E1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (W2) Houston Aeros

* Houston won series 4 – 3