ECHL Releases 2017-18 Schedule
LEAGUE’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON OPENS ON FRIDAY, OCT. 13
ECHL Media Release
The ECHL announced on Tuesday that its 30th Anniversary Season will begin on Friday, Oct. 13 with eight games and continues on Saturday, Oct. 14 with 12 games. Opening Weekend concludes on Sunday, Oct. 15 with one game.
The conference and divisional alignment for the 2017-18 season will be announced following the Annual Board of Governors Meeting next month.
The 30th ECHL season opens on Oct. 13 with Florida hosting Atlanta, Greenville home against Wheeling, Toledo visiting Quad City, Kansas City at Tulsa, Wichita hosting Indy, Allen travelling to Rapid City, Colorado home against Utah and Norfolk visiting Idaho.
Among the six teams opening their home schedules on Oct. 14 are the ECHL’s two newest teams. The Worcester Railers play their first-ever game at DCU Center against Manchester while the Jacksonville IceMen host Orlando at Veterans Memorial Arena. Other teams hosting their home openers on Saturday are Adirondack taking on Brampton, Cincinnati hosting Kalamazoo, Fort Wayne entertaining Toledo in a rematch of the 2017 Central Division Finals and Utah hosting Colorado.
Opening Weekend wraps up on Oct. 15 with Brampton hosting Manchester in a rematch of the 2017 North Division Finals.
Oct. 20 sees one home opener with Atlanta taking on Florida before seven teams take the home ice for the first time on Oct. 21 including Reading hosting Adirondack, Wheeling taking on Cincinnati, Toledo entertaining Quad City, Kalamazoo hosting Brampton, Indy meeting Tulsa, Allen hosting Orlando and Manchester entertaining Worcester.
After opening the season with a five-game western road trip, Norfolk plays its first home game on Oct. 27 against South Carolina while on Oct. 28, Kansas City hosts Wichita and Orlando takes on Orlando. The final home opener for the 2017-18 season is set for Nov. 5 when South Carolina takes on Jacksonville.
Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 27 teams in 21 states and one Canadian province playing 972 games from Oct. 13, 2017 to April 8, 2018.
The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,251 fans per game in 2016-17, marking the 13th consecutive season and the 25th time in the last 27 years that the ECHL has averaged over 4,000 fans.