Finally, the day all of us has waited for since early June (or in my case, mid-April) has arrived. This afternoon the AHL released the entire 2012-13 schedule. Now comes the fun part of planning out my life for oh, the next 7-8 months. First, the full schedule:
OCTOBER
13-MANCHESTER, 5:05 PM
19-SYRACUSE, 7:00 PM
20-at Worcester, 7:00 PM
24-CONNECTICUT, 7:00 PM
26-ADIRONDACK, 7:00 PM
27-at Hershey, 7:00 PM
NOVEMBER
2-CONNECTICUT, 7:00 PM
3-at Adirondack, 7:00 PM
9-at Providence, 7:05 PM
10-ADIRONDACK, 7:00 PM
12-NORFOLK, 2:00 PM
16-at St. John’s, 6:00 PM
17-at St. John’s, 6:00 PM
23-at Rochester, 7:05 PM
24-SYRACUSE, 5:00 PM
25-WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON, 4:00 PM*
30-ST. JOHN’S, 7:00 PM
DECEMBER
1-at Adirondack, 7:00 PM
8-BRIDGEPORT, 5:00 PM
9-at Connecticut, 3:00 PM
12-WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON, 7:00 PM
14-at Connecticut, 7:00 PM
15-PROVIDENCE, 7:00 PM
19-at Bridgeport, 7:00 PM
21-at Norfolk, 7:30 PM
22-at Norfolk, 7:15 PM
27-at Springfield, 7:00 PM
28-BINGHAMTON, 7:00 PM
29-at Hershey, 7:00 PM
JANUARY
5-SPRINGFIELD, 5:00 PM
6-BINGHAMTON, 4:00 PM
11-at Manchester, 7:00 PM
12-WORCESTER, 5:00 PM
13-BRIDGEPORT, 4:00 PM*
18-at Adirondack, 7:00 PM
19-at Springfield, 7:00 PM
20-ADIRONDACK, 4:00 PM*
23-SPRINGFIELD, 7:00 PM
25-at Adirondack, 7:00 PM
26-ADIRONDACK, 2:00 PM
FEBRUARY
1-at Providence, 7:00 PM
2-at Portland, 7:00 PM
5-at Connecticut, 7:00 PM
8-at Springfield, 7:00 PM
9-at Syracuse, 7:30 PM
10-at Binghamton, 5:05 PM
13-SYRACUSE, 7:00 PM
15-at Adirondack, 7:00 PM
17-BINGHAMTON, 3:00 PM
18-SYRACUSE, 2:00 PM
23-at Binghamton, 7:05 PM
24-HERSHEY, 4:00 PM*
MARCH
1-at Syracuse, 7:30 PM
2-at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:00 PM
3-at Adirondack, 3:00 PM
8-BRIDGEPORT, 7:00 PM
9-SPRINGFIELD, 5:00 PM
10-ADIRONDACK, 3:00 PM
15-at Rochester, 7:05 PM
16-at Syracuse, 7:30 PM
17-at Bridgeport, 3:00 PM
22-at Binghamton, 7:05 PM
23-at Syracuse, 7:30 PM
24-at Bridgeport, 3:00 PM
27-ST. JOHN’S, 7:00 PM
29-HERSHEY, 7:00 PM
30-PORTLAND, 7:00 PM
APRIL
5-PROVIDENCE, 7:00 PM
6-at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 PM
7-ROCHESTER, 4:00 PM
12-at Binghamton, 7:05 PM
13-BINGHAMTON, 5:00 PM
14-ROCHESTER, 3:00 PM
19-CONNECTICUT, 7:00 PM
20-NORFOLK, 5:00 PM
21-ADIRONDACK, 3:00 PM
(Home games in CAPS)
*at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City
Now a look inside the numbers:
-One complaint I had last year was less games within the division than outside. This year it’s better: 30 games against the Northeast Division, 28 games against the East, 14 games against the Atlantic. Only 4 games outside the conference, all against one opponent: Rochester.
-Not surprisingly, most games against Adirondack, a whopping 12 matchups (oh yay). Binghamton and Syracuse follow with 8 games, Connecticut, Bridgeport, and Springfield (all divisional) with 6, Hershey, Providence, Norfolk, St. John’s (new to the lineup…yay!), Rochester, WB/Scranton with 4, and Manchester, Worcester and Portland (back after a 1 year absence from the schedule) with 2. No Hamilton and Toronto this year…and of course no Charlotte (sorry River Rat loyalists).
-You may notice 4 home games back in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, just like back in 2010-11. I had no idea that this was planned for this season. As a full season ticket holder, I’m kind of hoping this will be addressed as the season gets closer. Naturally, there’s already a whole bunch of complaints. But since they’re all Sunday afternoon games (which has never been a big sell here anyway, especially during football season), there is a chance I may go to one of them. We shall see.
-March looks to be the toughest month, with 3-in-3s practically every weekend. But on the bright side, the furthest they would travel is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at the beginning of the month.
-2 6 game road trips during the 2nd half of the year (Feb. 1-10 and March 15-24) are the longest road stretches, while the longest homestand closes out the schedule (April 13-21).
-Breakdown by day: Sunday 15 games; Monday 2 games; Tuesday 1 game; Wednesday 6 games; Thursday 1 game; Friday 24 games; Saturday 27 games.
-As for possible road trips for me? I’m already eyeballing a few days. With the only Norfolk swing around Christmas this year, I can safely say no trip to the beach for me. But the annual Wilkes-Barre trip looks like a go, along with the usual stops in Adirondack, Springfield, Binghamton and Syracuse. Also possibly Worcester and maybe my first trip to Hartford since the ’06-’07 season.
-The All Star festivities will be in Providence on January 27th and 28th. I may finally be able to attend this year!
Now we sit back and wait for the rest of the summer to go by…just under 2 months to go…
