Nailers Announce 2013-14 ECHL Season Schedule
June 19, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV - The Wheeling Nailers, ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens, are excited to announce the 2013-14 ECHL schedule. The 22nd season of professional hockey will open at WesBanco Arena on Friday, October 18th.
The 2013-14 schedule has a heavy taste of local rivals, as 52 of Wheeling's 72 games will be played against the Elmira Jackals (7 home, 8 away), the Kelly Cup Champion, Reading Royals (7 home, 8 away), Cincinnati Cyclones (6 home, 6 away), and Toledo Walleye (6 home, 4 away). However, the Nailers will also be playing at least one game against all twelve Eastern Conference opponents - Evansville IceMen (3 home, 1 away), Fort Wayne Komets (1 home, 3 away), Kalamazoo Wings (2 home, 1 away), Greenville Road Warriors (1 home, 2 away), Florida Everblades (2 home), Gwinnett Gladiators (2 away), Orlando Solar Bears (1 home), South Carolina Stingrays (1 away).
Weekend and holiday play will be a large part of the Nailers' schedule this coming season, especially at WesBanco Arena, as 29 of the club's 36 home contests will take place on a weekend or holiday. Saturday is the most popular day for home games, featuring 13 dates on the schedule. That is followed by ten home games on Fridays, five Sunday home games, four Wednesdays, three Thursdays, and New Year's Eve as the lone Tuesday game of the campaign. In addition, there are only two months with multiple weekday games (2 in December, 2 in January).
The month-by-month breakdown starts with just one home game in October, opening night on the 18th (1 home, 2 away), before jumping right into November, which turns out to be the team's busiest month of the year (6 home, 9 away). December is the most lopsided home month (9 home, 2 away), as the Nailers won't play a road game for a span of 27 days. January's slate of 14 games starts to even things out (6 home, 8 away), while February will feature four games in Wheeling (4 home, 8 away) for the first time since the 2009-10 season. The team will be relying on strong performances at home down the stretch, as ten of the final 17 games will be played at WesBanco Arena, including seven in March (7 home, 5 away), and three in April (3 home, 2 away).
From a historical perspective, the 27 consecutive days without a road game will be a team record, while April 12th will be the latest date for a regular season game in team history, beating the previous mark by three days.
All Monday through Saturday home games will begin at 7:00, with the exception of the New Year's Eve game which begins at 6:00, along with February 1st's contest, which starts at 8:00. Sunday home games will be played at 3:00 this season.
The Wheeling Nailers begin the 2013-14 season on Friday, October 18th, when they battle their division rival the Elmira Jackals at 7:00 PM.
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