The Abbotsford Heat will meet the Toronto Marlies in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
The match-up was confirmed on Friday evening, when the San Antonio Rampage knocked off the Chicago Wolves 3-2 in double overtime of Game 5 of their best-of-five first round series.
The Wolves, the Vancouver Canucks' affiliate who came into the playoffs as the third seed in the Western Conference, are done.
The No. 5 Rampage move on to face the No. 1 Oklahoma City Barons in the second round, while the No. 2 Marlies clash with the No. 4 Heat.
Abbotsford split four head-to-head meetings with the Toronto Maple Leafs farm team during the regular season, with each team winning their two home games. The Marlies beat the Heat 5-0 on Oct. 26, and 5-2 on Feb. 4 at Ricoh Coliseum. The Heat swept a two-game set at the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre to wrap up the regular season, 3-0 on April 13 and 5-4 in overtime on April 15.
Abbotsford and Toronto are two of the AHL's best defensive teams. The Marlies were the stingiest squad in the league during the regular season, surrendering just 175 goals in 76 games, while the Heat were sixth-best in that department, allowing 201.
Both teams are coming off first-round sweeps. The Marlies beat the Rochester Americans in three straight games, while the Heat broke out the brooms against the Milwaukee Admirals to extend their overall winning streak to 10 games.
The complete series schedule is as follows (all times Pacific):
Game 1 – Tuesday, May 1, Abbotsford at Toronto, 4 p.m.
Game 2 – Thursday, May 3, Abbotsford at Toronto, 4 p.m.
Game 3 – Saturday, May 5, Toronto at Abbotsford, 7 p.m.
Game 4 – Tuesday, May 8, Toronto at Abbotsford, 7 p.m.
*Game 5 – Wednesday, May 9, Toronto at Abbotsford, 7 p.m.
*Game 6 – Saturday, May 12, Abbotsford at Toronto, 12 p.m.
*Game 7 – Sunday, May 13, Abbotsford at Toronto, 12 p.m.
*if necessary