Amerks clinch final Calder Cup playoff berth, Utica comeback falls short

Rochester did just enough to stay alive, and that was enough to end Utica’s dream. The Americans forced overtime in Hershey on Sunday, collected the single point they needed in a 5-4 loss to the Bears, and locked up the final playoff berth in the North Division on the last day of the AHL regular season.

It was a brutal finish for the Comets, who spent months staring up from the bottom of the race and somehow turned it into a sprint. Utica was 18 points out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break and still eight back as recently as Friday, then closed with an 8-1-1-1 run over its final 11 games. That surge pulled the Comets level with Rochester in the chase, but the Americans controlled their own fate. A regulation loss in Hershey would have sent Utica through.

Instead, Rochester got the result it needed and Utica’s run stopped one step short of the bracket. The AHL confirmed 23 teams for the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, which begin Tuesday, with Rochester claiming the fifth and final spot in the North Division. The top three clubs in the division, Laval, Syracuse and the winner of Cleveland-Toronto for third, receive byes into the division semifinals.

For the Amerks, the payoff is immediate. Rochester is headed to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the 51st time in franchise history, in the middle of its 70th anniversary season. The club has reached the Calder Cup Finals 16 times and won six championships, and this postseason trip extends its run to five straight appearances and two in a row under head coach Michael Leone.

The first test is Toronto. Rochester opens a best-of-three North Division First Round series against the Marlies on Wednesday, April 22, with Game 2 set for April 24 and Game 3, if necessary, on April 26. Because Rochester finished fifth, it enters the play-in round instead of getting a bye, which means the margin for error disappears immediately.

The bracket now has its shape, and Rochester’s defining moments are clear: the third-period push in Hershey, the one point that saved the season, and the ability to survive a game that could have flipped the entire North Division race. The Americans will also have a guaranteed home first-round game, with tickets starting at $20 and sales scheduled to open Monday at 10 a.m.