Chirps from Center Ice

So another season is in the books in the American Hockey League. For a concept I cooked up on my couch in October, these 29 weeks of putting out Power Rankings have been a success.

You’ll notice this week that the Top 16 teams in this weeks Rankings are all playoff teams. You’ll also notice that all the division winners are in the Top 6. I felt it fitting that it be this way, with this being the final week of the Rankings.

I do plan on bringing these back for 2014-15 and appreciate everyone reading, commenting and spreading the word of these Rankings all throughout the internets.

No change at the top, as the Regular Season Champion Texas Stars reign supreme in this weeks Rankings. The Chicago Wolves, err, the Midwest Division Champion Chicago Wolves, are you biggest gainers this week, up 5 spots to 4th.

Biggest fall this week belong to the Hershey Bears, who will not be competing for the Calder Cup this Spring for the first time since 2005-06. The Bears were eliminated Friday.

You should know the drill by now. Click through the jump if you didn’t link in anywhere else direct.

Rank	Team	Last Week	Comment	Playoffs?
1		No change.	Calder Cup is going through Cedar Park. Regular Season Champions looking to continue their reign of terror all the way to a party in June.	Yes. vs. OKC (8 seed)
2		No change.	Calder Cup in the East goes through Manchester, New Hampshire. Monarchs led conference wire-to-wire but are probably mid to long shots to make it out of the East.	Yes. vs. NOR (8 seed)
3		No change.	Tidy 100 points this season. Got the lead and never looked back in the Northeast. A series with Albany would be fun, wouldn’t it?	Yes. vs. PRO (7 seed)
4		9th (+5)	Wolves shock some in claiming Midwest title from Grand Rapids on the last day. They always get hot at the right time in Chicago.	Yes. vs. RCH (7 seed)
5		7th (+2)	B-Sens nearly go wire-to-wire leading the East. You cannot make a mistake against this team. Home ice in Round 1 vs. the Penguins.	Yes. vs. WBS (6 seed)
6		10th (+4)	Marlies are the Chirps from Center Ice Politboro’s dark horse to represent the West in the Finals. Toronto looks like it’s going to be a tough out, as the lone representative from the North Division.	Yes. vs. MIL (6 seed)
7		4th (-3)	Griffs with home ice as a 4 seed, open the 2014 title defense on road against Abbotsford in the weird 2-3 format.	Yes. vs. ABB (5 seed)
8		6th (-2)	Devils surprised everyone by solidifying themselves as a 5 seed. They can likely go deep in playoffs.	Yes. vs. STJ (4 seed)
9		5th (-4)	Penguins enter playoffs losers of three straight. If that happens in their series against Binghamton, it’ll be another long summer on Coal Street.	Yes. vs. BNG (3 seed)
10		13th (+3)	IceCaps are the team no one wanted, with home ice in the first round. Devils come calling this postseason. This would be the first meeting of the season between the two clubs this season.	Yes. vs. ALB (5 seed)
11		No change.	Could surprise Grand Rapids in a five game series. Lame duck Heat with nothing to play for next season in Abbotsford. Rookie G Joni Ortio could steal this series.	Yes. vs. GR (4 seed)
12		8th (-4)	P-Bruins will need to work if they want to get by Springfield in a five game series. 1-3-0-2 vs. the Falcons this season. Not a bad season, otherwise.	Yes. vs. SPR (2 seed)
13		14th (+1)	Admirals with a great draw as a 6 seed in the West, get Toronto Round 1. Ads were 2-0 against the North Division Champion Marlies this season.	Yes. vs. TOR (3 seed)
14		15th (+1)	The Politboro is trying to convince each other that the Norfolk Admirals aren’t a dark horse to upset a few teams and, who knows?	Yes. vs. MCH (1 seed)
15		17th (+2)	Amerks are a playoff team and they are NOT facing Toronto in the first round like they have so many other times before.	Yes. vs. CHI (2 seed)
16		18th (+2)	Barons are one of a few teams with marginal success against the Texas Stars, whom they face in Round 1.	Yes. vs. TEX (1 seed)
17		16th (-1)	Hartford finishes a respectable 10th. Probably the best team amongst non-playoffs teams in the East.	No.
18		19th (+1)	If the Comets didn’t stumble out if the gate in October, we’d be talking about a playoff club. Fans in the Mohawk Valley hope the momentum from the last couple of months continues in the Fall.	No.
19		12th (-7)	“Shockingly unacceptable” should be what the epitaph reads on the 2013-14 Hershey Bears campaign. Out of playoffs for the first time in ages.	No.
20		21st (+1)	Another disappointing playoff run falls short in Rockford. After Brandon Pirri got traded to Florida it was all down hill from there.	No.
21		20th (-1)	Checkers were at the bottom of the a Western Conference, rose to a playoff position and flamed out at the end.	No.
22		26th (+4)	Monsters underachieved all season and finished 12th in the West. Another season without playoff hockey in one of the AHL’s oldest cities.	No.
23		22nd (-1)	I liked what I saw from Hamilton this year, but the Bulldogs weren’t ever serious contenders at any point in the season.	No.
24		23rd (-1)	A long offseason looms trying to answer the question of just what went wrong for the defending a Eastern Conference Champion Crunch. Bottom fell out early and Syracuse never recovered.	No.
25		24th (-1)	Phantoms now out of Glens Falls, moving on to Lehigh Valley. Are they going to be this bad in a new venue?	No.
26		27th (+1)	Another disappointing season for a Sharks team who may not be around much longer, if there is any smoke behind the AHL moving teams like Worcester West.	No.
27		25th (-2)	Rampage registered 69 points, good for bottom fifth of the league. San Antonio just couldn’t compete in their division.	No.
28		29th (+1)	Forgettable season ended with a shutout against the Wolf Pack Saturday.	No.
29		30th (+1)	Wild as Aeros go from playoff team last year to dead last in the West. Still, first year in Des Moines considered a success.	No.
30		29th (-1)	Season seemed over before it started for the Pirates, who finished dead last in the 30 team league. This team was a playoff team not too long ago.	No.

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Big week of writing here at the blog. Fourth Quarter Grades Monday, Western Conference Playoff Preview Tuesday, the Eastern Conference on Wednesday, Penguins / Senators Series Preview Thursday and then full service for Game 1 on Friday up in Binghamton.