The St. John’s IceCaps will face the Syracuse Crunch in the opening round of the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs.

The second-seeded IceCaps were forced to wait until Syracuse’s final game of the season to determine their playoff opponent. The Crunch grabbed seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over the Albany Devils Sunday afternoon.

In order to retain home ice advantage in the 2-3 best-of-five series, St. John’s will start on the road against Syracuse, for the first two games. Game 1 will take place at the War Memorial Friday, April 20, with Game 2 going the next night.

St. John’s home playoff dates will start with Game 3 on Wednesday, April 25. If necessary, Game 4 will be held Friday, April 27, with Game 5 on Saturday, April 28. All home games start 7:30 NL time.

St. John’s finished the season with a 43-25-5-3 record for 94 points.

Catch all the action with broadcaster Brian Rogers online at www.stjohnsicecaps.com or on 930 AM This is Newfoundland Labrador with a 30-minute pre-game show and then the call of the game.

IceCaps’ First Round Playoff Schedule:

Friday, April 20: IceCaps at Crunch 9:00 p.m. (War Memorial Arena)
Saturday, April 21: IceCaps at Crunch 9:00 p.m. (War Memorial Arena)
Wednesday, April 25: Crunch vs. IceCaps 7:30 p.m. (Mile One Centre)
Friday, April 27: Crunch vs. IceCaps 7:30 p.m. (Mile One Centre) (if necessary)
Saturday, April 28: Crunch vs. IceCaps 7:30 p.m. (Mile One Centre) (if necessary)