AHL preseason to begin Sept. 28

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today its composite 2010 preseason schedule, which comprises 36 games to be played between Tue., Sept. 28 and Tue., Oct. 5.

The AHL enters its historic 75th anniversary season with an all-time high of 30 teams including a pair of new entries: the Charlotte Checkers (top development team of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes) and the Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton Oilers). In addition, the Albany Devils hit the ice as the new affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, the Springfield Falcons begin an affiliation with the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Syracuse Crunch are now the top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

All told, 21 of the 36 games on the AHL’s preseason schedule are set to be played at local community and neutral-site rinks.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 85 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the ninth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2009-10.

The 2010-11 regular season begins on Fri., Oct. 8. 

2010 AHL PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Tue., 9/28	Syracuse vs. W-B/Scranton	Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza Wilkes-Barre, Pa.	7:05 ET
	Peoria vs. Rockford	Rockford MetroCentre Rockford, Ill.	6:35 CT
Wed., 9/29	Albany vs. Hartford	Koeppel Community Sports Center Hartford, Conn.	7:00 ET
	W-B/Scranton vs. Syracuse	Campus Center Ice Arena Oswego, N.Y.	7:00 ET
	Worcester vs. Providence	New England Sports Center Marlborough, Mass.	7:05 ET
	Rockford vs. Chicago	West Meadows Ice Arena Rolling Meadow, Ill.	7:00 CT
Thu., 9/30	Binghamton vs. Hamilton	Pepsi Centre Corner Brook, N.L.	7:30 NT/ 6:00 ET
	Texas vs. San Antonio	Ice & Golf Center at Northwoods San Antonio, Texas	7:00 CT
Fri., 10/1	Bridgeport vs. Hartford	TD Bank Sports Center Hamden, Conn.	7:00 ET
	Rochester vs. Toronto	Bob Fallis Sports Centre Bradford, Ont.	7:00 ET
	Hershey vs. W-B/Scranton	Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza Wilkes-Barre, Pa.	7:00 ET
	Albany vs. Adirondack	Glens Falls Civic Center Glens Falls, N.Y.	7:30 ET
	Charlotte vs. Norfolk	Scope Norfolk, Va.	7:30 ET
	Worcester vs. Springfield	MassMutual Center Springfield, Mass.	7:30 ET
	Peoria vs. Chicago	Hoffman Estates Park District Ice Arena Hoffman Estates, Ill.	7:00 CT
	San Antonio vs. Houston	Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center Sugar Land, Texas	7:00 CT
	Milwaukee vs. Rockford	Rockford MetroCentre Rockford, Ill.	7:05 CT
	Abbotsford vs. Manitoba	MTS Centre Winnipeg, Man.	7:30 CT
Sat., 10/2	Binghamton vs. Hamilton	Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L.	2:00 NT/ 12:30 ET
	Toronto vs. Rochester	Gaylord Powless Arena Ohsweken, Ont.	6:00 ET
	Adirondack vs. Albany	Houston Field House Troy, N.Y.	7:00 ET
	Hartford vs. Bridgeport	The Rinks at Shelton Shelton, Conn.	7:00 ET
	W-B/Scranton vs. Hershey	Giant Center Hershey, Pa.	7:00 ET
	Manchester vs. Portland	Portland Ice Arena Portland, Maine	7:00 ET
	Providence vs. Springfield	MassMutual Center Springfield, Mass.	7:00 ET
	Abbotsford vs. Manitoba	PCU Centre Portage la Prairie, Man.	7:00 CT
	Chicago vs. Milwaukee	Kern Center Milwaukee, Wis.	7:00 CT
	Rockford vs. Peoria	Carver Arena Peoria, Ill.	7:00 CT
	Oklahoma City vs. Texas	Cedar Park Center Cedar Park, Texas	7:00 CT
Sun., 10/3	Binghamton vs. Hamilton	Mile One Centre St. John’s, N.L.	2:00 NT/ 12:30 ET
	Norfolk vs. Charlotte	Extreme Ice Center Indian Trail, N.C.	1:30 pm ET
	Worcester vs. Hartford	Champions Skating Center Cromwell, Conn.	2:00 ET
	Bridgeport vs. Hershey	Giant Center Hershey, Pa.	5:00 ET
	Houston vs. Texas	Cedar Park Center Cedar Park, Texas	5:00 CT
	Adirondack vs. Syracuse	War Memorial at Oncenter Syracuse, N.Y.	7:00 ET
Tue., 10/5	Portland vs. Manchester	Conway Arena Nashua, N.H.	8:00 ET