Nobody’s clinched anything yet in AHL Central Division

By Jim den Hollander

Entering its final two weeks, the battle for playoff positions in the American Hockey League’s Central Division seems to have been narrowed to a six-way battle for four spots.

The Iowa Stars, who battled for second in the division a month ago have sunk to sixth and while it still has an outside shot with five games to play it certainly falls into the longshot category. It’s difficult to figure out the math as – while the league does still keep track of points – the position deciding factor is based on winning percentage.

With just nine days remaining in the regular season, not one team has an ‘x’ beside it in the Standings – symbolic of having clinched a playoff spot and only the 23-38-7-3 Cleveland Monsters are mathematically eliminated out of the seven-team group that includes all six of the American Midwest entries.

The Chicago Wolves hold a slim lead in points with its 38-21-7-4 record and 87 points along with a winning percentage of .621 heading into the penultimate weekend of the season.

The Wolves have picked up points in its past four games but have also dropped shootouts in the last two against the Texas Stars last Saturday and at Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

The Wolves and Admirals will square off again on Saturday night at AllState Arena in Rosemont. First the Admirals will make the trip to Des Moines to face the Stars on Friday night.

The 37-29-4-1 Admirals currently sit fifth overall in points with 79 and percentage-wise .556 is also fifth behind the .592 (38-25-4-4) Rockford Ice Hogs.

The Admirals have five games remaining while the Wolves have six to play.

The Manitoba Moose (39-24-4-4) and Grand Rapids Griffins (39-24-1-7 both sit one point behind the Wolves with a .606 winning percentage and both have five games remaining.

The Griffins have a tougher schedule with four of five games on the road, including a trip west this weekend for Friday and Saturday clashes with the Tucson Roadrunners – currently the top team in the Pacific Division. The Griffins will take the long way home stopping for midweek games against the Texas Rangers and San Antonio Rampage before wrapping it up at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids against the Monsters.

The Moose seemed a shoo-in to wrap up top spot in the Division, holding down the lead position for most of the campaign and at one time, with a big margin on the rest of the pack. However, the team has fallen off of late and is hoping to hold on for home ice in the opening playoff round.

The Moose will host its final two home games of the season Friday and Saturday as the Bakersfield Condors pay a visit.

After a pair in Cleveland, the Moose will play the Wolves in the season finale at AllState Arena in what could be a battle for any one of four positions.

The IceHogs who have been in almost every position in the division this season are looking for a final push to reach the post season, but it will take some big road efforts.

The road begins in Texas as the IceHogs play the Stars on both Friday and Saturday. The Stars are as desperate as the IceHogs as they currently cling to the fourth and final playoff spot in the Pacific Division, so expect these to both be hard fought battles.

The Ice Hogs will stop in Des Moines for a Tuesday night contest against the Iowa Wild and then wraps up the season with home and away matches against the Wolves April 13-14.

Technically, the Wild who sat second behind only the Moose as recently as early March, still have a shot at reaching the post season, but the team would pretty much have to win all five remaining games.

The Wild will play three at home beginning with a visit for the current division leading Wolves on Friday. The only other weekend game will be one of two in Milwaukee on Sunday and the Wild will host the IceHogs on Tuesday, setting up its final weekend – a home and away set with the Admirals.

The Monsters, just a couple seasons away from its Calder Cup Championship have had its share of troubles this season with a primarily young lineup. The Monsters still have five to play beginning with a pair on home ice at Quicken Loans Arena against the Rampage on Friday and Sunday.

The Monsters will play host to the Moose for its final two home games Thursday and Friday and then wraps up the schedule at Grand Rapids April 14.

Depending on results from games this weekend, the races for playoff spots in the Central Division could come down to the final games of the season.