# 1981 Calder Cup playoffs

The 1981 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 7, 1981. The eight teams that qualified played best-of-seven series for Division Semifinals and Division Finals. The division champions played a best-of-seven series for the Calder Cup. The Calder Cup Final ended on May 20, 1981, with the Adirondack Red Wings defeating the Maine Mariners four games to two to win the Calder Cup for the first time in team history.
Maine set an AHL record for the most goals allowed in one playoff with 81. What makes this more notable is that the AHL playoffs now consist of four rounds of best-of-7 series, whereas Maine set this record in only 20 games—where the playoffs consisted of only three rounds of best-of-7 series.

## Playoff seeds

After the 1980–81 AHL regular season, the top four teams from each division qualified for the playoffs. The Hershey Bears finished the regular season with the best overall record.

### Northern Division

* Maine Mariners - 97 points
* New Brunswick Hawks - 84 points
* Nova Scotia Voyageurs - 81 points
* Springfield Indians - 73 points

### Southern Division

* Hershey Bears - 103 points
* Adirondack Red Wings - 75 points
* Binghamton Whalers - 70 points
* New Haven Nighthawks - 69 points

## Bracket

| Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Division Finals | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final | Calder Cup Final |
| 1 | Maine | 4 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Springfield | 3 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Springfield | 3 | 1 | Maine | 4 | | | |
| Northern Division | Northern Division | Northern Division | 1 | Maine | 4 | | | |
| Northern Division | Northern Division | Northern Division | 2 | New Brunswick | 3 | | | |
| 2 | New Brunswick | 4 | 2 | New Brunswick | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 2 | | | | | | |
| 3 | Nova Scotia | 2 | | | | N1 | Maine | 2 |
| | | | | | | S2 | Adirondack | 4 |
| 1 | Hershey | 4 | | | | | | | S2 | Adirondack | 4 |
| 4 | New Haven | 0 | | | | | | |
| 4 | New Haven | 0 | 1 | Hershey | 2 | | | |
| Southern Division | Southern Division | Southern Division | 1 | Hershey | 2 | | | |
| Southern Division | Southern Division | Southern Division | 2 | Adirondack | 4 | | | |
| 2 | Adirondack | 4 | 2 | Adirondack | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Binghamton | 2 | | | | | | |
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: Home team is listed first.
    Note 2: The number of overtime periods played (where applicable) is not indicated

### Northern Division
#### (1) Maine Mariners vs. (4) Springfield Indians

* Maine won series 4 - 3

#### (2) New Brunswick Hawks vs. (3) Nova Scotia Voyageurs

* New Brunswick won series 4 - 2

### Southern Division
#### (1) Hershey Bears vs. (4) New Haven Nighthawks

* Hershey won series 4 - 0

#### (2) Adirondack Red Wings vs. (3) Binghamton Whalers

* Adirondack won series 4 - 2

## Division Finals
### Northern Division
#### (1) Maine Mariners vs. (2) New Brunswick Hawks

* Maine won series 4 - 3

### Southern Division
#### (1) Hershey Bears vs. (2) Adirondack Red Wings

* Adirondack won series 4 - 2

## Calder Cup Final
### (N1) Maine Mariners vs. (S2) Adirondack Red Wings

* Adirondack won series 4 - 2