# 2011 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2011 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 13, 2011. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for division semifinals, finals and conference finals. Then the Eastern Conference Champion Binghamton Senators defeated the Western Conference Champion Houston Aeros four games to two to win the Calder Cup, the first one in Binghamton franchise history.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2010–11 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top eight teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Portland Pirates – 103 points
* Manchester Monarchs – 98 points
* Connecticut Whale – 88 points

#### East Division

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 117 points
* Hershey Bears – 100 points
* Charlotte Checkers – 97 points
* Norfolk Admirals – 93 points
* Binghamton Senators – 92 points

### Western Conference
#### North Division

* Hamilton Bulldogs – 97 points
* Lake Erie Monsters – 96 points
* Manitoba Moose – 93 points

#### West Division

* Milwaukee Admirals – 102 points
* Houston Aeros – 98 points
* Peoria Rivermen – 92 points (36 Regulation/Overtime Wins)
* Texas Stars – 92 points (35 Regulation/Overtime Wins)
* Oklahoma City Barons – 91 points

### Bracket

| Division semifinals | Division semifinals | Division semifinals | | | Division finals | Division finals | Division finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | Conference finals | | Calder Cup final | Calder Cup final | Calder Cup final |
| A1 | Portland | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Connecticut | 2 | | | A1 | Portland | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | A1 | Portland | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | | | E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| A2 | Manchester | 3 | | | E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | | | E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E5 | Binghamton | 4 | | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E3 | Charlotte | 0 | | | | |
| E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 4 | | | | | | | | | E3 | Charlotte | 0 | | | | |
| E4 | Norfolk | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E4 | Norfolk | 2 | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 2 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E1 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 2 | | | | | | | |
| East Division | East Division | East Division | | | E3 | Charlotte | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E2 | Hershey | 2 | | | E3 | Charlotte | 4 | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Charlotte | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| E3 | Charlotte | 4 | | | | | | | | | | E5 | Binghamton | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 2 |
| N1 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 2 |
| W5 | Oklahoma City | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W5 | Oklahoma City | 2 | | | N1 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N1 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | | | | |
| North Division | North Division | North Division | | | N3 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Lake Erie | 3 | | | N3 | Manitoba | 3 | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| N3 | Manitoba | 4 | | | | | | N1 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | N1 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Houston | 4 | | | | |
| W1 | Milwaukee | 4 | | | | | | | | | W2 | Houston | 4 | | | | |
| W4 | Texas | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| W4 | Texas | 2 | | | W1 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W1 | Milwaukee | 3 | | | | | | | |
| West Division | West Division | West Division | | | W2 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W2 | Houston | 4 | | | W2 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | | |
| W3 | Peoria | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
In each round the team that earned more points during the regular season 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 due to arena scheduling conflicts and travel considerations.

## Division semifinals

    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
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Portland Pirates vs. (A3) Connecticut Whale

* Portland won series 4–2

##### (A2) Manchester Monarchs vs. (E5) Binghamton Senators

* Binghamton won series 4–3

#### East Division
##### (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E4) Norfolk Admirals

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won series 4–2

##### (E2) Hershey Bears vs. (E3) Charlotte Checkers

* Charlotte won series 4–2

### Western Conference
#### North Division
##### (N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (W5) Oklahoma City Barons

* Hamilton won series 4–2

##### (N2) Lake Erie Monsters vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

* Manitoba won series 4–3

#### West Division
##### (W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (W4) Texas Stars

* Milwaukee won series 4–2

##### (W2) Houston Aeros vs. (W3) Peoria Rivermen

* Houston won series 4–0

## Division finals
### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division
##### (A1) Portland Pirates vs. (E5) Binghamton Senators

* Binghamton won series 4–2

#### East Division
##### (E1) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (E3) Charlotte Checkers

* Charlotte won series 4–2

### Western Conference
#### North Division
##### (N1) Hamilton Bulldogs vs. (N3) Manitoba Moose

* Hamilton won series 4–3

#### West Division
##### (W1) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (W2) Houston Aeros

* Houston won series 4–3

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (E3) Charlotte Checkers vs. (E5) Binghamton Senators

* Binghamton won series 4–0

### Western Conference
#### (W2) Houston Aeros vs. (N1) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Houston won series 4–3

## Calder Cup finals
### Binghamton Senators vs. Houston Aeros

* Binghamton won series 4–2

## Playoff statistical leaders
### Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Ryan Potulny | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 14 | 12 | 26 | +6 | 12 |
| Ryan Keller | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 10 | 15 | 25 | +6 | 8 |
| Nigel Dawes | Hamilton Bulldogs | 20 | 14 | 8 | 22 | +4 | 8 |
| Kaspars Daugavins | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 10 | 10 | 20 | +8 | 8 |
| Zack Smith | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 8 | 12 | 20 | –5 | 36 |
| Aaron Palushaj | Hamilton Bulldogs | 19 | 7 | 12 | 19 | +2 | 14 |
| Patrick O'Sullivan | Houston Aeros | 24 | 4 | 14 | 18 | –5 | 16 |
| Andre Benoit | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 3 | 15 | 18 | +6 | 14 |
| Bobby Butler | Binghamton Senators | 23 | 13 | 4 | 17 | –1 | 6 |
| Marco Rosa | Manitoba Moose | 14 | 6 | 11 | 17 | +1 | 4 |

### Leading goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes)
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| Brad Thiessen | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 12 | 6 | 6 | 332 | 20 | 1.67 | .940 | 2 | 720 |
| Martin Gerber | Oklahoma City Barons | 6 | 2 | 3 | 145 | 10 | 1.79 | .931 | 1 | 335 |
| Drew MacIntyre | Hamilton Bulldogs | 20 | 11 | 9 | 603 | 42 | 1.95 | .930 | 1 | 1289 |
| Eddie Lack | Manitoba Moose | 12 | 6 | 5 | 369 | 25 | 1.99 | .932 | 2 | 752 |
| Robin Lehner | Binghamton Senators | 19 | 14 | 4 | 639 | 39 | 2.10 | .939 | 3 | 1112 |
| Jeremy Smith | Milwaukee Admirals | 13 | 7 | 6 | 462 | 32 | 2.28 | .931 | 0 | 843 |