# 2002 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2002 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 9, 2002. 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 3, 2002 with the Chicago Wolves defeating the Bridgeport Sound Tigers four games to one to win the first Calder Cup in team history.
Chicago's Pasi Nurminen won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL playoff MVP. Teammate Rob Brown recorded 26 assists, tying an AHL playoff record. The Chicago Wolves as a team also set three AHL playoff records during their Calder Cup run by playing 25 games, winning 17 games in one playoff, and winning 12 home games in one playoff.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2001–02 AHL regular season, 20 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top ten teams from each conference qualified for the playoffs. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers were the Eastern Conference regular season champions as well as the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners with the best overall regular season record. The Syracuse Crunch were the Western Conference regular season champions. Division champions were automatically ranked 1-3.

### Eastern Conference

* Bridgeport Sound Tigers – East Division and Eastern Conference regular season champions; Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners, 98 points
* Lowell Lock Monsters – North Division champions, 96 points
* Quebec Citadelles – Canadian Division champions, 88 points
* Hartford Wolf Pack – 95 points
* Manchester Monarchs – 90 points
* Hamilton Bulldogs – 87 points
* St. John's Maple Leafs – 87 points
* Worcester IceCats – 86 points
* Manitoba Moose – 86 points
* Providence Bruins – 82 points

### Western Conference

* Syracuse Crunch – Central Division and Western Conference regular season champions, 96 points
* Grand Rapids Griffins – West Division champions, 95 points
* Norfolk Admirals – South Division champions, 92 points
* Houston Aeros – 93 points
* Utah Grizzlies – 91 points
* Hershey Bears – 89 points
* Chicago Wolves – 86 points
* Philadelphia Phantoms – 86 points
* Rochester Americans – 82 points
* Cincinnati Mighty Ducks – 80 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 | Bridgeport | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Manitoba | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Manitoba | 1 | 1 | Bridgeport | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | St. John's | 0 | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Lowell | 2 | 7 | St. John's | 0 | | | | |
| 7 | St. John's | 2 | 7 | St. John's | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 7 | St. John's | 2 | 7 | St. John's | 3 | | | | 1 | Bridgeport | 4 | |
| 10 | Providence | 0 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | 1 | Bridgeport | 4 | |
| 10 | Providence | 0 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | 6 | Hamilton | 3 | |
| | | | 3 | Quebec | 0 | | | | 6 | Hamilton | 3 | |
| 8 | Worcester | 1 | 6 | Hamilton | 3 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Worcester | 1 | 6 | Hamilton | 3 | 4 | Hartford | 1 | | | | |
| 9 | Manitoba | 2 | | | | 4 | Hartford | 1 | | | | |
| 9 | Manitoba | 2 | | | | 6 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Hartford | 3 | 6 | Hamilton | 4 | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Manchester | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Manchester | 2 | | | | | | | E1 | Bridgeport | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | W7 | Chicago | 4 |
| | | | 1 | Syracuse | 3 | | | | | | | W7 | Chicago | 4 |
| | | | 8 | Philadelphia | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Philadelphia | 0 | 1 | Syracuse | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 2 | Grand Rapids | 2 | 7 | Chicago | 4 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Chicago | 2 | 7 | Chicago | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Chicago | 2 | 7 | Chicago | 3 | | | | 4 | Houston | 1 | | | |
| 10 | Cincinnati | 1 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | 4 | Houston | 1 | | | |
| 10 | Cincinnati | 1 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | 7 | Chicago | 4 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Norfolk | 1 | | | | 7 | Chicago | 4 | | | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 2 | 6 | Hershey | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Philadelphia | 2 | 6 | Hershey | 3 | 4 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Rochester | 0 | | | | 4 | Houston | 4 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Rochester | 0 | | | | 6 | Hershey | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston | 3 | 6 | Hershey | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Utah | 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) St. John's Maple Leafs vs. (10) Providence Bruins

* St. John's won series 2 – 0
$^1$ – at Toronto $^2$ – at Brampton, Ontario

#### (8) Worcester IceCats vs. (9) Manitoba Moose

* Manitoba won series 2 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (7) Chicago Wolves vs. (10) Cincinnati Mighty Ducks

* Chicago won series 2 – 1

#### (8) Philadelphia Phantoms vs. (9) Rochester Americans

* Philadelphia won series 2 – 0

## Conference Quarterfinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (9) Manitoba Moose

* Bridgeport won series 3 – 1

#### (2) Lowell Lock Monsters vs. (7) St. John's Maple Leafs

* St. John's won series 3 – 2

#### (3) Quebec Citadelles vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Hamilton won series 3 – 0

#### (4) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (5) Manchester Monarchs

* Hartford won series 3 – 2

### Western Conference
#### (1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (8) Philadelphia Phantoms

* Syracuse won series 3 – 0

#### (2) Grand Rapids Griffins vs. (7) Chicago Wolves

* Chicago won series 3 – 2

#### (3) Norfolk Admirals vs. (6) Hershey Bears

* Hershey won series 3 – 1

#### (4) Houston Aeros vs. (5) Utah Grizzlies

* Houston won series 3 – 2

## Conference semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (7) St. John's Maple Leafs

* Bridgeport won series 4 – 0

#### (4) Hartford Wolf Pack vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Hamilton won series 4 – 1

### Western Conference
#### (1) Syracuse Crunch vs. (7) Chicago Wolves

* Chicago won series 4 – 3

#### (4) Houston Aeros vs. (6) Hershey Bears

* Houston won series 4 – 0

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (6) Hamilton Bulldogs

* Bridgeport won series 4 – 3

### Western Conference
#### (4) Houston Aeros vs. (7) Chicago Wolves

* Chicago won series 4 – 1

## Calder Cup Final
### (E1) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (W7) Chicago Wolves

* Chicago won series 4 – 1