For those curious, there is a pretty good breakdown of how the AHL playoffs work on a post regarding the Texas Stars (not super recent, but still very relevant):
http://www.100degreehockey.com/p/faqglossary.html
You have to scroll down a ways on this page, but here is an excerpt:
AHL Playoff Format
Due to travel costs, teams meeting in the playoffs that are further than 300 highway miles apart play seven game series in a 2-3-2 format. This means that two games are played at the home arena of the higher seeded team, followed by three straight at the lower seeded team and closing with two at the higher seed, if necessary. Teams that are close still play the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format of the NHL and MLB.
In 2011-12, the league changed the length of all opening round series to five games instead of seven. This had no change for 'close' teams. They simply changed to a 2-2-1 format. For teams that would have played 2-3-2 format, this meant a big change.
In order to guarantee that every team in the playoffs gets at least one home game, the series cannot go 3-2 because it is possible for one team to sweep and never make it to the lower seeded teams' home arena. Instead, teams play a 2-3 format, where the higher seeded team comes home for games 3, 4 and 5. This means that the higher seeded team could be facing elimination coming home for their first home game.
Hope this helps. Let's Go Wranglers!