# 2012 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2012 Calder Cup playoffs of the American Hockey League began on April 19, 2012, with a slightly different playoff format than in other recent years. The sixteen teams that qualified, eight from each conference, will play a best-of-five series in the conference quarterfinals, and the playoffs will then continue with best-of-seven series for the conference semifinals, conference finals and Calder Cup finals.
The Norfolk Admirals defeated the Toronto Marlies in four games to win the Calder Cup for the first time in Norfolk's history.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2011–12 AHL regular season, 16 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top eight teams from each conference qualifies for the playoffs.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* St. John's IceCaps – 94 points
* Manchester Monarchs – 83 points

#### Northeast Division

* Bridgeport Sound Tigers – 91 points
* Connecticut Whale – 86 points

#### East Division

* Norfolk Admirals – 113 points
* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 95 points
* Hershey Bears – 88 points
* Syracuse Crunch – 84 points

### Western Conference
#### North Division

* Toronto Marlies – 96 points
* Rochester Americans – 86 points (30 regulation and overtime wins, 1−1 in season series against Houston, +3 goal difference)

#### Midwest Division

* Chicago Wolves – 91 points
* Milwaukee Admirals – 87 points (36 regulation and overtime wins, 3−1 in season series against San Antonio)

#### West Division

* Oklahoma City Barons – 99 points
* Abbotsford Heat – 92 points
* San Antonio Rampage – 87 points (36 regulation and overtime wins, 1−3 in season series against Milwaukee)
* Houston Aeros – 86 points (30 regulation and overtime wins, 1−1 in season series against Rochester, −4 goal difference)

## Bracket

| 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 | Norfolk | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Manchester | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Manchester | 1 | 1 | Norfolk | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | |
| 2 | St. John's | 3 | 6 | Connecticut | 2 | | | | | | |
| 2 | St. John's | 3 | | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | |
| 7 | Syracuse | 1 | | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | |
| 7 | Syracuse | 1 | | | | 1 | Norfolk | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | St. John's | 0 | | | |
| 3 | Bridgeport | 0 | | | | 2 | St. John's | 0 | | | |
| 6 | Connecticut | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Connecticut | 3 | 2 | St. John's | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 3 | | | | | | |
| 4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 3 | 4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 3 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Hershey | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Hershey | 2 | | | | | | | E1 | Norfolk | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | | W2 | Toronto | 0 |
| 1 | Oklahoma City | 3 | | | | | | | W2 | Toronto | 0 |
| 8 | Houston | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Houston | 1 | 1 | Oklahoma City | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | San Antonio | 1 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Toronto | 3 | 6 | San Antonio | 1 | | | | | | |
| 2 | Toronto | 3 | | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | |
| 7 | Rochester | 0 | | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | |
| 7 | Rochester | 0 | | | | 1 | Oklahoma City | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | | 2 | Toronto | 4 | | | |
| 3 | Chicago | 2 | | | | 2 | Toronto | 4 | | | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 3 | | | | | | |
| 6 | San Antonio | 3 | 2 | Toronto | 4 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Abbotsford | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | Abbotsford | 3 | 4 | Abbotsford | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Milwaukee | 0 | | | | | | |

## Conference quarterfinals

    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
#### (1) Norfolk Admirals vs. (8) Manchester Monarchs

* Norfolk won series 3–1

#### (2) St. John's IceCaps vs. (7) Syracuse Crunch

* St. John's won series 3–1

#### (3) Bridgeport Sound Tigers vs. (6) Connecticut Whale

* Connecticut won series 3–0

#### (4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (5) Hershey Bears

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won series 3–2

### Western Conference
#### (1) Oklahoma City Barons vs. (8) Houston Aeros

* Oklahoma City won series 3–1

#### (2) Toronto Marlies vs. (7) Rochester Americans

* Toronto won series 3–0

#### (3) Chicago Wolves vs. (6) San Antonio Rampage

* San Antonio won series 3–2

#### (4) Abbotsford Heat vs. (5) Milwaukee Admirals

* Abbotsford won series 3–0

## Conference semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Norfolk Admirals vs. (6) Connecticut Whale

* Norfolk won series 4–2
* Game five was played at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.

#### (2) St. John's IceCaps vs. (4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

* St. John's won series 4–3

### Western Conference
#### (1) Oklahoma City Barons vs. (6) San Antonio Rampage

* Oklahoma City won series 4–1

#### (2) Toronto Marlies vs. (4) Abbotsford Heat

* Toronto won series 4–1

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (1) Norfolk Admirals vs. (2) St. John's IceCaps

* Norfolk won series 4–0

### Western Conference
#### (1) Oklahoma City Barons vs. (2) Toronto Marlies

* Toronto won series 4–1

## Calder Cup Finals
### Norfolk Admirals vs. Toronto Marlies

* Norfolk wins series 4–0

## 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 |
| Alexandre Picard | Norfolk Admirals | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 48 |
| Trevor Smith | Norfolk Admirals | 18 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 20 |
| Cory Conacher | Norfolk Admirals | 18 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 28 |
| Tyler Johnson | Norfolk Admirals | 14 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 6 |
| Philippe Dupuis | Toronto Marlies | 17 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 20 |
| Matt Frattin | Toronto Marlies | 13 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 6 |
| Jerry D'Amigo | Toronto Marlies | 17 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 12 |
| Colin McDonald | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 12 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 2 |
| Mark Arcobello | Oklahoma City Barons | 14 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 |
| Jon Matsumoto | San Antonio Rampage | 10 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 8 |

### 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 with at least 360 minutes played. 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 |
| Dustin Tokarski | Norfolk Admirals | 14 | 12 | 2 | 373 | 21 | 1.46 | .944 | 3 | 865 |
| Ben Scrivens | Toronto Marlies | 17 | 11 | 6 | 509 | 33 | 1.92 | .935 | 3 | 1029 |
| Cam Talbot | Connecticut Whale | 9 | 5 | 4 | 327 | 20 | 2.10 | .939 | 2 | 571 |
| Brad Thiessen | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 12 | 6 | 6 | 292 | 27 | 2.14 | .908 | 0 | 756 |
| Danny Taylor | Abbotsford Heat | 7 | 4 | 3 | 192 | 16 | 2.26 | .917 | 0 | 425 |
| Edward Pasquale | St. John's IceCaps | 15 | 7 | 8 | 482 | 37 | 2.42 | .923 | 0 | 917 |

## Broadcasting

Leafs TV, as the main broadcaster of the Toronto Marlies, aired the first three games of the Calder Cup Final in Canada. While the channel is normally restricted to the home market of the Toronto Maple Leafs (which includes most of Ontario), Leafs TV allowed television providers outside of the Leafs' market to carry the channel during the Calder Cup on a "preview" basis to allow nationwide coverage of the games. Sportsnet One would replace Leafs TV to air Game 4. In the United States, CBS Sports Network picked up the broadcast rights in the United States beginning with game 3, while Norfolk-area CW affiliate WGNT aired the games in simulcast with their Canadian broadcaster. The series was also carried by ESPN America, and on the NHL Home Ice channel on Sirius XM.