AHL Calder Cup Division Semifinals Betting Picks May 7-9, 2025
The AHL postseason is well underway as the Calder Cup Semifinals continue this week. Several teams are fighting off elimination as we head to the deciding games for the round. The Laval Rocket and the Rochester Americans have moved on to the finals having swept their opponents to advance. These AHL Calder Cup Division Semifinals Betting Picks take aim at netting you some great value from the remaining contests.
Wednesday features a pair of pivotal matchups which could end two team’s hopes at the Calder Cup. The Providence Bruins hope to stay alive against the Charlotte Checkers to open the action. Shortly after that, the Milwaukee Admirals will try to take one from the Rockford IceHogs to avoid an end to their season. Later, the Coachella Firebirds attempt to take a 2-1 series lead against the Abbotsford Canucks.
Friday night, the Hershey Bears square off against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms looking to keep their season afloat.
AHL Calder Cup Division Semifinals Betting Picks May 7-9, 2025
Charlotte Checkers -1.5 Over Providence Bruins (+240 via ESPN BET)
Wednesday, May 7th, 4:00 P.M. Pacific
The Checkers are holding a 2-0 series advantage heading into Wednesday night’s Game 3 matchup. They have outscored the Bruins 7-1 so far in their Atlantic Division Semifinals contests. Charlotte will return home after winning the first two games of the series on the road. The friendly confines of Bojangles Coliseum has been good to the Checkers as they went 21-13-2 on their home ice during the regular season.
Back-to-back shorthanded goals from John Leonard and Justin Sourdif🔂@CheckersHockey | #CLTvsPRO | #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/Na2QtKybJc
— American Hockey League (@TheAHL) May 2, 2025
Providence had to fight back after dropping the first game of their First Round matchup against the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Bruins would go on to win the next two games to advance to the semifinals. However, that momentum would not sustain as they found themselves in a 0-2 hole heading into Wednesday night’s game. It’s been rough for Providence away from Rhode Island with a winning percentage of just 0.542 on the road during the regular season.
Charlotte won four of the last five regular season head-to-head matchups against Providence. The Checkers have won by at least two goals in four of their five previous victories against the Bruins including the playoffs.
Rockford IceHogs Over Milwaukee Admirals (+105 via Hard Rock)
Wednesday, May 7th, 5:00 P.M. Pacific
Rockford is swinging a hot stick rolling into their Game 3 meeting with the Admirals. The IceHogs have won all four of their playoff matchups so far this postseason. They sent the Chicago Wolves packing in the First Round of the playoffs in two straight games. The last of which was a 5-0 manhandling in front of Rockford’s home fans.
The IceHogs have outscored the Admirals 9-3 so far this series and have done so on the road. Rockford returns to Illinois Wednesday night where they have won their last four home games including the last three in the regular season.
DACH WITH A VENGEANCE 👊#GoHogs #CalderCup pic.twitter.com/HlZlRvcgR2
— x – Rockford IceHogs (@goicehogs) May 2, 2025
Milwaukee earned a first round bye collecting the most points in the Central Division during the regular season. However, they stumbled out of the gates dropping a 3-2 loss in overtime at home to open their semifinal round. The Admirals would go on to surrender six goals two nights later in a 6-1 loss to close out their early home advantage.
Rockford has defended its home ice winning three of the last four games against the Admirals in the BMO Harris Bank Center. The IceHogs will send their visitors packing for the season with another one.
Abbotsford Canucks Over Coachella Valley Firebirds (-125 via ESPN BET)
Wednesday, May 7th, 7:00 P.M. Pacific
Abbotsford secured their spot in the semifinals by way of a 2-1 series win against the Tucson Roadrunners in the First Round of the playoffs. In that round, the Canucks split the first two games before ending the series 5-0 at home. Now, they find themselves tied 1-1 with Coachella Valley and heading home for a Game 3 matchup.
KHAIRA IS ON FIRE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dvuNg4el7Q
— X – Abbotsford Canucks (@abbycanucks) May 4, 2025
The Firebirds limped into the playoffs losing five of their final six regular season matchups. This includes a 4-1 loss to Abbotsford in the final game before the postseason. They haven’t spent much time on the road over the last month playing only three games away from home in April. However, they did end up losing two of those three.
Coachella Valley has won five of their last seven head-to-head matchups against the Canucks. However, you can expect to see the team that had the most wins in the Pacific Division fight back to live at least one more night.
Hershey Bears Over Lehigh Valley Phantoms (-105 via Hard Rock)
Wednesday, May 9th, 4:05 P.M. Pacific
Hershey enters Wednesday night’s matchup on the verge of elimination down 2-1 to the Phantoms. The Bears are hoping to avoid squandering their first round bye and stay on the path to defending their 2024 AHL Championship. An early exit this season would be a disappointing outcome for the top team in the Atlantic Division.
We’re thinking *THAT* is why the guys play sewer ball during pre-game⚽🤔 pic.twitter.com/sr6fvZp3qM
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) May 1, 2025
The Bears will find plenty of resistance as they play the second game in Allentown, Pennsylvania of the series this Friday. Lehigh Valley has won four straight home games including the playoffs. The Phantoms earned their trip to the semifinals with a 2-0 series sweep against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the First Round.
This series is a rematch of the 2024 Calder Cup Semifinals in which the Bears sent the Phantoms home in a 3-1 series. While they won’t be able to do it again this year, look for them to keep this series alive and into a Game 5 shootout.
