2007-08 AHL regular season schedule released

The American
Hockey League released the complete schedule of regular-season games for the
2007-08 season, the league’s 72nd year of operation. The season, comprising an
all-time high of 1,160 games, begins on Wed., Oct. 3 and concludes on Sun.,
Apr. 13. Each of the league’s 29 clubs will play 80 games, 40 at home and 40 on
the road.

With a
divisional format again in place for the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, more than
two-thirds of this year’s schedule (782 of 1,160) will feature games between
division rivals. The top four teams in each division will qualify for the 2008
postseason, with one possible exception: if the fifth-place team in the West
Division finishes with more points than the fourth-place team in the North
Division, it would cross over and compete in the North Division playoffs.

For the
eighth year in a row, the AHL’s regular season opens with a game at the
Wachovia Arena at

Casey

Plaza, as the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins play host to the two-time defending Eastern
Conference champion Hershey Bears on Oct. 3 at 7:05 p.m. ET.

The AHL
returns to

Cleveland
in 2007-08 as the Lake Erie Monsters hit the ice as the top development
affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. The Monsters open at the Quicken
Loans Arena vs.

Grand Rapids
on Oct. 6. The AHL also begins play in two other new markets, as the Rockford
IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks) and Quad City Flames (Calgary Flames) join the
circuit this fall. The Flames host
Rockford in
both teams’ season opener on Oct. 6; the IceHogs play their first nine games of
the season on the road before hosting

San
Antonio at the newly renovated Rockford MetroCentre on
Nov. 2.

The Hamilton
Bulldogs begin defense of their 2007 Calder Cup championship in

Rochester on Oct. 7, with
their home opener at Copps Coliseum set for Fri., Oct. 12, against the same
Americans.

The Binghamton
Senators and the city of

Binghamton,
N.Y., will host the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic at the Broome County Veterans
Memorial Arena, Jan. 27-28.

In
operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league
for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 83 percent of today’s NHL
players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the sixth year in a row,
more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across
North
America in 2006-07.

The entire
2007-08 AHL regular season schedule is available for viewing at theahl.com.