SPRINGFIELD, Mass… The American Hockey League today released the full game schedule for the 2022-23 regular season, the league’s 87th year of operation. The season, with a record 32 teams playing 72 games each, a total of 1,152 games, begins on Friday, October 14 and concludes on Sunday, April 16.
The 2022-23 calendar should be highlighted:
🏒 The 2022-23 regular season begins with 10 games on October 14 and a total of 29 games during the first weekend.
🏒 The AHL’s two newest clubs, the Coachella Valley Firebirds and the new affiliate of the Calgary-based Calgary Flames, open the season with a two-game back-to-back at the Scotiabank Saddledome on the 16th and October 17 The Firebirds start at home. part of their schedule with four games in the Seattle area before opening at Acrisure Arena in Thousand Palms, Calif., on Dec. 18 against the Tucson Roadrunners.
🏒 The San Jose Barracuda play their first game in their new facility, Tech CU Arena, on October 22 against the Henderson Silver Knights.
🏒 The Chicago Wolves begin the defense of their 2022 Calder Cup championship on October 15 when the Milwaukee Admirals visit Allstate Arena.
🏒 The Lehigh Valley Phantoms franchise plays its 2,000th regular season game on Dec. 10 at home against the Charlotte Checkers. The Phantoms, who began play in Philadelphia in 1996, will become the ninth team in AHL history to reach 2,000 games played.
🏒 The Laval Rocket will host the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Bell, scheduled for Sunday, February 5 and Monday, February 6 at Place Bell in Laval, Que.
🏒 There are two days this season when all 32 teams in the league are in action: Saturday 29 October and Saturday 19 November.
🏒 Matches scheduled for days of the week: Monday (16), Tuesday (70), Wednesday (203), Thursday (28), Friday (321), Saturday (369), Sunday (145).
The AHL Board of Governors has also approved the rules and qualifying format for the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. For the second consecutive season, a total of 23 teams will qualify for the AHL postseason, with five playoff days to crown a Calder Cup champion.
The playoff field will include the top six teams from the eight-team Atlantic Division, the top five teams each from the seven-team North and Central Divisions and the top seven teams from the 10-team Pacific Division. The first round matches will be best-of-three series; the top two seeds from the Atlantic, the top three seeds from each of the North and Central, and the top seed from the Pacific will receive a bye into the best-of-five Divisional Semifinals, with the winners of the First Round reclassified. in each division. The division finals will also be best-of-five series, followed by best-of-seven conference finals and a best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals series.
With this format, more than 500 players were able to experience the Calder Cup Playoff competition in 2022.
The American Hockey League was officially born in 1936 when the Canadian-American Hockey League and the International Hockey League merged to form the American International-American Hockey League (the “International” would be dropped from the name of the league in 1940). The AHL continues to serve as the top developmental league for all 32 National Hockey League teams; Nearly 90 percent of current NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 Hockey Hall of Fame honorees spent time in the AHL during their careers.