Outside of the NHL, hockey works slightly different at just about every level. And it can be a bit confusing for fans who don’t follow along closely, or maybe even only check in during the postseason.
With the Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning this past weekend, it comes several weeks after college hockey is already wrapped up. Most teams there finished their season in March, with only the top 16 advancing to the NCAA’s big dance.
Junior hockey is a little more straight forward. Each of the three major leagues in Canada — WHL, OHL, and QMJHL — crown a champion after a traditional playoff bracket. As an example, the OHL has already advanced to the point of narrowing the field to just four teams for their Conference Finals.
What about the AHL?
Well, it’s sort of like the NHL. Kinda. A little bit.
For starters, there are five rounds of playoff action. Right away, that already makes it different than the NHL’s four-round format.
Not all teams play in all five rounds, though. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Another major difference is the number of games played per round. In Round 1, the AHL goes with a quick, best-of-three format. For Rounds 2 and 3, they utilize a best-of-five format. Then, when it comes time for the Conference Final and Championship round, the AHL plays each series using a traditional best-of-seven.
Now, back to Round 1.
Each of the four AHL divisions does things a tad differently because the league isn’t set up with an equal number of teams in each division (like the NHL, where there is a perfect balance of eight teams in each division).
Considering most people reading this article are likely most interested in the Ontario Reign, we’re going to focus on the AHL’s Pacific Division. Even though it’s the newest division in the league (roughly created about 10 years ago when the migration west began, including the Kings and Ducks bringing their AHL affiliates to California), it’s the largest.
Comprised of 10 teams, seven of them qualify for postseason play. However, in something similar to the NFL, the top seed actually gets a bye directly into Round 2. This year, the Reign accumulated 99 points during the regular season and claimed the Pacific Division’s No. 1 seed. It was their first division title in 10 years, and their second one since moving to California.
The other six teams to qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs are scheduled to play in Round 1. Then, the three winners advance to Round 2.
So, who will the Reign play, you ask?
Well, that depends on which teams win in Round 1 because the bracket will re-seed, with the Reign getting the lowest seed to advance.
2026 Pacific Division seeds:
1. Ontario Reign
2. Colorado Eagles
3. Henderson Silver Knights
4. Coachella Valley Firebirds
5. Bakersfield Condors
6. San Jose Barracuda
7. San Diego Gulls
Round 1 Matchups:
No. 2 Colorado vs. No. 7 San Diego
No. 3 Henderson vs. No. 6 San Jose
No. 4 Coachella Valley vs. No. 5 Bakersfield
Round 2 Possibilities and Schedule:
By virtue of the pairings, Ontario can play one of four teams in the second-round: Coachella Valley, Bakersfield, San Jose, or San Diego.
The Reign will get the lowest seed available. Think of it in reverse order from No. 7 on up. Meaning, if San Diego wins their series, that’s who Ontario will play in Round 2. If not move on to No. 6 — if San Jose wins that series, they’ll play Ontario in Round 2. And so on.
As for how this impacts scheduling of home games, from what Mayor’s Manor has been able to gather through various sources, there are two separate scenarios.
If Ontario draws any of Coachella Valley, Bakersfield or San Diego, they’ll play Game 1 and 2 at Toyota Arena on Wednesday, April 29 and Friday, May 1. They would then travel to those markets for Game 3 and 4 (if needed). Being that Round 2 is a best-of-five format, if a Game 5 ends up being needed against any of those three teams, it would be played back in Ontario on Saturday, May 9.
If Ontario draws San Jose in Round 2, things will look quite a bit different. Games 1 and 2 are tentatively scheduled to be played in NoCal (on April 30 and May 2) before things then return to Toyota Arena for Games 3, 4, and 5. In this scenario, the Reign would host Game 3 on Thursday, May 7. If needed, Game 4 would be in Ontario on Saturday, May 9, followed by Game 5 on Sunday, May 10 (Mother’s Day at 5pm).
We’ll have more on this next week, along with our traditional playoff preview of Round 2.
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