By Bob Phillips
SPRINGFIELD,
Mass. – Isn’t it ironic that the American Hockey League would release its
2017-18
schedule in the middle of a heat/humidity wave (in the Northeast, at
least)? But that’s exactly what the top minor league in hockey did this week,
and as such, Connecticut’s two AHL teams—the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and the
Hartford Wolf Pack—have announced their respective schedules. They are as
follows:
Sound
Tigers:
The
Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, have
announced their 2017-18 regular-season schedule, which features several new
matchups including the home opener on Sat., Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. against the Laval
Rocket. The Rocket, the new AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, are based
in Laval, Que.
This year’s
schedule is fan-friendly insofar as 31 of the team’s 38 home games will be
played on weekends. Bridgeport's home schedule will feature 17 Saturday night
games, 12 Sunday afternoons and two Friday night contests.
The Sound Tigers
will begin the 2017-18 season with four road games, including their inaugural
matchup against the Binghamton Devils on Oct. 7. The club then heads to North
Carolina for a two-game slate against the Charlotte Checkers on Oct. 13 and 14,
followed by their first meeting of the season against the Lehigh Valley
Phantoms on Oct. 20.
“We worked diligently
to provide a winning combination of dates for our team and fans, and I am
thrilled that more than 80-percent of our home games are on the weekend yet
again,” said Sound Tigers president Michael Picker. “There's a lot to look
forward to including a look at some new opponents, not to mention our
promotions and theme-night activities continue to grow every year.”
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| The Bridgeport Sound Tigers will open the season on the road with a four-game road trip before their home opener on |
The team's full
promotional schedule with details on Opening Night and all other theme nights
will be released later this summer. Single-game tickets will go on sale next Friday,
Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com , by
phone at (800) 745-3000
or at the Webster Bank Arena box office. Executive suites & premium seat
packages are also available by calling (203) 345-2300 ext 8.
The team’s most
common opponent this season will be the Providence Bruins, who will battle the Sound
Tigers 12 times. The Tigers will take on their closest division rivals, the
Springfield Thunderbirds and Hartford Wolf Pack, 10 times each. The first home
game vs. Hartford will be on Sun., Oct. 22. First puck drops at 3 p.m.
Other
intra-division highlights include six games each against the Hershey Bears and
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and eight games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms
and the Charlotte Checkers.
The annual “Cool
Fun 101” school-day game will take place on Wed., Nov. 8. when the Phantoms
visit Webster Bank Arena at 10:30 a.m. In addition, the Sound Tigers will host
the “Spring Fun 102” game at 10:30 a.m. on Tue., Apr. 3, against the P-Bruins.
Season tickets
and flex plans are on
sale now for the 2017-18 campaign—including full-season, 20-game, 15-game or
10-game plans. Each include benefits, including the ticket holder exchange
policy. Any unused tickets by plan holders can be traded for future games. For
more info, contact Brad Dworin at 203-345-4813 or via brad.dworin@harboryardse.com.
Other
Notables
- Longest homestand: Three games (four times)
- Longest road trip: Four games (two times)
- Bridgeport will face 14 different opponents at Webster Bank Arena this year, including first-time matchups against the Laval Rocket (Oct. 21), Belleville Senators (Feb. 3) and Binghamton Devils (Dec. 30).
- The Sound Tigers will face every Eastern Conference opponent at least twice.
- Each of the team’s first four games will take place on the road, but four of the last seven will be at Webster Bank Arena.
- 60 of the 76 games (79 percent) are against Atlantic Division opponents.
Get
Social: Follow the
Sound Tigers throughout the offseason and get behind-the-scenes coverage like
never before on the team's official Facebook and Twitter pages. For
further information on ticket or sponsorship opportunities, call (203) 345-2300 or e-mail info@soundtigers.com.
For more information, visit soundtigers.com.
To view the full
2017-18 Sound Tigers schedule—or do download it in PDF format—click HERE. To
purchase tickets through Tickemaster, click HERE.
Founded in 2001,
the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Hockey Club is the top minor league affiliate of
the New York Islanders.
Wolf Pack:
 |
| The Hartford Wolf Pack will open the 2017-18 season at home vs. the Charlotte Checkers. |
Connecticut’s other AHL team, the Hartford Wolf Pack, also
released their 2017-18 American Hockey League schedule this week. The Wolf Pack, the top minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers,
will open the season this year at home on Fri., Oct. 6, vs. the Charlotte
Checkers. Faceoff is at 7:15 p.m. at the XL Center. It is the first of 76 games
in the regular season for the ’Pack.
Including the home opener, the Wolf Pack schedule will
feature 12 Friday-night dates, and 13 more home games will be on
Saturdays. The Wolf Pack will play nine Sundays at home, and four
Wednesdays. One of those Wednesday dates, Feb. 7 vs. Bridgeport, will be the
Wolf Pack’s fourth annual “Sonar’s Edu-skate” school-day home game, with an 11
a.m. faceoff.
First puck for all Friday-night home games will be 7:15 p.m.,
and the rest of the non-Sunday home games will have 7 p.m. start times, except
for Sat., Dec. 23, Sat., Mar. 3, and Sat., March 24, which will start at 3
p.m., as well as Sat., Nov. 4 and Sat., Jan. 27, which will start at 7:30 p.m.
All Sunday home games will start at 5 p.m. except for Mar. 4, which will have a
3 p.m. faceoff.
The most familiar opponent on the Wolf Pack schedule will be
their close regional rivals—the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Wolf Pack and
T-Birds will square off 12 times (six at home; six away) this season. The ’Pack
will have 10 games (five-and-five) each vs. divisional foes Bridgeport and
Providence, and will take on new Atlantic Division rival Charlotte eight times
(four-and-four). The Wolf Pack will play the rest of their divisional
opponents—the Hershey Bears, Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins—six times each (three home; three away).
Outside of the North Division, Wolf Pack have four games
(two home, two away) vs. the Rochester Americans and the Utica Comets, and play
each of the remaining North Division teams, the Belleville Senators, Binghamton
Devils, Laval Rocket, Syracuse Crunch and Toronto Marlies, twice (home-and-home).
For season ticket information, visit www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s ticketing options,
call (855) 762-6451, or
click here to request more info.
For a complete 2017-18 Wolf Pack schedule, please click HERE.
—with staff reports
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