The Utica Comets have won the Robert W. Clarke Trophy as the American Hockey League’s Western Conference champions for 2014-15, claiming the title with a 2-0 victory over the Grand Rapids Griffins in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series at the Utica Memorial Auditorium in Utica, N.Y., on Tuesday night.

The Comets are heading to the Calder Cup Finals in just their second season of existence against the Eastern Conference champion Manchester Monarchs, affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, beginning Saturday evening in Manchester, N.H. 

Guided by head coach Travis Green, the Comets, the top development affiliate of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, won the North Division with a regular-season record of 47-20-7-2 (103 points) before defeating the Chicago Wolves (3-2) in the conference quarterfinals, the Oklahoma City Barons (4-3) in the conference semifinals and the Griffins (4-2) in the conference finals.

The Manchester Monarchs are heading to the Calder Cup Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 14-year history.  Led by head coach Mike Stothers, the team finished with the best record in the AHL during the regular season (50-17-6-3, 109 points), then defeated the Portland Pirates (3-2) in the conference quarterfinals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (4-1) in the conference semifinals and the Hartford Wolf Pack (4-0) in the conference finals to earn the right to play for the Calder Cup.

The best-of-seven 2015 Calder Cup Finals will begin at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., on Sat., June 6 (6 p.m. ET)

2015 Calder Cup Finals (best-of-seven)
Manchester Monarchs vs. Utica Comets
Game 1 – Sat., June 6 – Utica at Manchester, 6:00
Game 2 – Sun., June 7 – Utica at Manchester, 5:00
Game 3 – Wed., June 10 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
Game 4 – Fri., June 12 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sat., June 13 – Manchester at Utica, 7:00
*Game 6 – Tue., June 16 – Utica at Manchester, 7:00
*Game 7 – Wed., June 17 – Utica at Manchester, 7:00
    *if necessary… All times Eastern