The Checkers have won the Atlantic Division championship, giving them the rights to home ice-advantage for at least the first two rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

This is the first division title in nine AHL seasons for the Checkers, who clinched the honor by way of Bridgeport’s 3-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier today. The league-leading Checkers, who became the first team to clinch a playoff spot on March 22, still have six games remaining in the regular season.

The Checkers, who have already set a new franchise record for points earned in a single season with 100 by way of their 46-14-8 record, will have an opportunity to win the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the league’s regular-season champion over the next two weeks.

Charlotte will begin the home portion of its first-round playoff schedule with Game 3 of the Atlantic Division Semifinal on Wednesday, April 24, at 7 p.m. before going on to host Games 4 and 5 of the best-of-five series, if necessary, on Friday, April 26 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 27 at 6 p.m., respectively.

Individual tickets for all first-round home playoff games will go on sale via Ticketmaster and the Bojangles’ Coliseum box office at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3. “Pay-as-we-Play” Packages requiring no money up front and guaranteeing tickets throughout the playoffs are available now by visiting gocheckers.com/playoffs, calling (704) 342-4423 or emailing [email protected].