ECHL releases schedule
By Jim den Hollander
Midwesthockey.info
When the dust settles on a hockey season, the short period in between campaigns is usually pumped up with excitement of new teams being added or unfortunate news of teams moving or leaving the league.
The ECHL gave a great indication of status quo with earliest release of a new schedule in recent memory — at least for this writer.
The post season battles will rage on for at least another 4-6 weeks in the ECHL, but teams and arenas can already move ahead with planning for 2016-17 season as the league released its schedule for next season with a press release on April 28.
Here are some key dates: The league will faceoff on eight fronts Oct. 14 with seven of nine Midwest based teams facing off on the opening night. There will be one less Midwest-based team next season as the Evansville Icemen announced during the season it will move to Owensboro, Kentucky in 2017-18 and sit out the 2016-17 season in preparation for the move.
A couple of all-Midwest battle in the Western Conference will see the Indy Fuel hosting Cincinnati Cyclones while the Fort Wayne Komets travel to Quad City to play the Mallards. Rapid City Rush will also open on home ice in South Dakota against the Colorado Eagles. Eastern Conference play will see the Kalamazoo Wings heading to Norfolk to play the Admirals while the Toledo Walleye will be in Atlanta to play the Gladiators.
That leaves the Missouri Mavericks who open the following night in Texas against the Allen Americans, the same team it is currently battling in the Western Conference semi-finals and the Wichita Thunder which opens on the 15th as well at home to the Tulsa Oilers.
All but one of the 27 league teams will wrap up the season on April 8.
The Adirondack Thunder will host the 2017 ECHL All Star Game with festivities running Jan. 17-19.
Below is a link to the ECHL website press release which includes a couple of versions of the 2016-17 schedule. Copy and paste it into your browser
http://www.echl.com/echl-releases-2016-17-schedule-p202365
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About Author
jimmerdenhollander@gmail.com
Born and raised in Ontario, Canada and moved to the state of Wisconsin in my late 30's. I worked at various newspapers and magazines in various sports positions for 25 years before changing careers five years ago. Now I am streamlining my focus on hockey only and in particular, all levels of hockey in the American Midwest.