The 2021-22 American Hockey Schedule has been released!
You already knew about our first game of the season at Hershey on Oct. 16 and our first home game of the season, also against Hershey, on Oct. 22. Now, we’re happy to fill in the blanks on our long, long, long awaited return to the ice at Bojangles’ Coliseum.
Options for viewing the schedule include
the schedule page on our website as well as printable versions in
list and
calendar form. We’ve also got
wallpapers, and you can import the whole thing into your personal calendar just by clicking the button on this page.
Season tickets and
group outings are on sale now. Mini plans will go on sale next week, and individual tickets will come later. Our promotions schedule should be out next month.
OPENING WEEKEND
After opening on the road for the 11th time in 11 AHL seasons, the Checkers will play their first home game in 583 days as they welcome Hershey to the Coliseum on Oct. 22 and 23. With our first games of the season coincidentally taking place in Hershey, these divisional opponents will be matched up three times in their first four games. Can a rivalry develop in one week? We’ll find out.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
As announced earlier, the Checkers are among teams that
will be playing fewer games this season – 72 instead of 76, to be exact. The effect on the home schedule is two fewer weekday games (10 instead of 12) than in 2019-20, while the number of Friday/Saturday/Sunday games remains the same (26 total). You’ll notice three Thursday games on the calendar this year, which matches our total from the previous four seasons combined.
THE DIVISIONAL RACE
Our schedule will primarily be made up of Atlantic Division opponents, per usual, with no changes to the group of eight since we last played in 2019-20. A twist this season is that four of those teams are playing 72 and the other four are still at 76, meaning that points percentage will be a huge factor in playoff positioning down the stretch. All nine of the Checkers’ April games are against divisional teams. Keep an eye on playoff qualification formats to be released later.
ONE NEW OPPONENT
The Checkers will cross conferences for one opponent, the Texas Stars. The teams will face off for the first time since April of 2017 to play a New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day series in Cedar Park. Just two weeks later, the Checkers’ southern “neighbor” returns the favor with a visit to Charlotte.
APRIL FOOLS GAME
If you’ve been paying attention to
how we operate around here, you might want to buckle up for our home game on Friday, April 1. Just saying.
OTHER PROMOTIONS
As mentioned earlier, we’ll have lots of fun stuff to attach to these games in the coming weeks. You can count on most of the usual things you know and love with just enough freshness mixed in. If you’d like to help us out, let us know on one of our social media channels if there’s anything specific you’d like to see.
