RoadRunners Unveil 2006-07 Schedule
Published on July 17, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners News Release
PHOENIX, Ariz. - The Phoenix RoadRunners of the ECHL have announced their 72-game schedule for the upcoming 2006-07 season. The entire 900-game league schedule was released earlier this afternoon at the ECHL offices in Princeton, N.J.
For a second consecutive year, the RoadRunners will commence their season with a three-game opening weekend series against West Division rival Utah. Unlike last year though, the entire series will take place at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix with the season opener scheduled for 7:11PM on Friday, Oct. 20. The RoadRunners defeated the Grizzlies 4-1 on opening night last season at the "E"-Center in West Valley City, Utah in the first ever game for both teams as members of the ECHL.
The RoadRunners will play 19 of their 36 home games on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, an increase of three games from the 16 weekend home dates offered in 2005-06. The RoadRunners will also host five additional Saturday home games at US Airways Center and five Saturday home games during the second half of the season. Starting times will remain the same as last year. Home games Monday through Saturday will begin at 7:11PM while Sunday games will begin at 5PM.
The 2006-07 schedule features primarily National Conference opponents with 67 of the 72 games inside the conference and 39 of those 67 games inside the current West Division. The RoadRunners will play every team in the National Conference at least six times, while facing off against Idaho a total of 10 times and Las Vegas and Long Beach nine times each. The 2006 ECHL Kelly Cup Champion Alaska Aces will make their first visit to US Airways Center at 7:11PM on Friday, February 16.
Outside the National Conference, the RoadRunners and Texas Wildcatters will meet five times in a home-and-home series. Phoenix will head to Beaumont on Thursday, Dec. 14 to begin a three-game series with the Wildcatters at Ford Arena. Texas will then return to US Airways Center on Tuesday, Mar. 6 for a two-game series with the RoadRunners. The Wildcatters return to the ECHL following a one-year absence due to the repercussions caused by Hurricane Rita. They are coached by former Long Beach Ice Dogs Head Coach Malcolm Cameron.
The ECHL welcomes the Cincinnati Cyclones and the Texas Wildcatters back to the ice in 2006-07 and will play 900 games, beginning Oct. 20 and ending Apr. 7, with 25 teams in 16 states and British Columbia.
The division and conference alignments and the format for the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be announced following the Preseason Board of Governors Meeting in September.
The ECHL raised its average attendance for the third straight year in 2005-06 drawing 3,934,794 for 900 games which is an average of 4,372 per game, an increase of more than nine percent from 2004-05 and the largest per-game average since 1999-2000. Six teams surpassed 200,000 and nine teams averaged 5,000 per game for the first time since 1999-2000 as the league welcomed 39 sellout crowds and 13 of the 22 returning teams raised their average attendance from a year ago.
The ECHL takes its annual midseason break in January for the Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 17 and Rbk Hockey Skills Competition on Jan. 16 hosted by the Idaho Steelheads at Qwest Arena in Boise.
The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League and 21 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2005-06. There have been 303 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 158 in the past five seasons, and there were 13 former ECHL coaches behind the benches of NHL teams in 2005-06. The ECHL had 416 call ups to the AHL, involving 263 players, in 2005-06. The ECHL has had more players called up to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined each of the past four seasons with 1,646 call ups involving almost 1,000 players.
The RoadRunners return to the ice at US Airways Center in October 2006. Information on season tickets, half-season packages, flex plans, and group outings are available by calling (602) 462-GOAL.
2006-07 PHOENIX ROADRUNNERS SCHEDULE
(All dates and times subject to change)
OCTOBER
Fri. 20 UTAH 7:11
Sat. 21 UTAH 7:11
Sun. 22 UTAH 5:00
Tue. 24 @ Las Vegas 7:05
Fri. 27 FRESNO 7:11
Sat. 28 FRESNO 7:11
NOVEMBER
Fri. 3 @ Fresno TBA
Sat. 4 @ Stockton 8:30
Tue. 7 STOCKTON 7:11
Wed. 8 @ Long Beach 8:00
Fri. 10 LAS VEGAS 7:11
Sat. 11 @ Long Beach 8:00
Tue. 14 LAS VEGAS 7:11
Sat. 18 @ Long Beach 8:00
Sun. 19 LONG BEACH 5:00
Sat. 25 LONG BEACH 7:11
Tue. 28 UTAH 7:11
Thu. 30 UTAH 7:11
DECEMBER
Sat. 2 @ Fresno TBA
Wed. 6 @ Idaho 7:10
Fri. 8 @ Idaho 7:10
Sat. 9 @ Idaho 7:10
Tue. 12 VICTORIA 7:11
Thu. 14 @ Texas 6:05
Fri. 15 @ Texas 6:30
Sat. 16 @ Texas 6:05
Thu. 21 VICTORIA 7:11
Fri. 22 @ Long Beach 8:30
Sat. 23 VICTORIA 7:11
Sat. 30 LONG BEACH 7:11
JANUARY
Tue. 2 IDAHO 7:11
Thu. 4 IDAHO 7:11
Fri. 5 @ Long Beach 8:30
Sat. 6 LAS VEGAS 7:11
Wed. 10 IDAHO 7:11
Fri. 12 IDAHO 7:11
Sat. 13 IDAHO 7:11
Fri. 19 @ Idaho 7:10
Sat. 20 @ Idaho 7:10
Fri. 26 @ Fresno TBA
Tue. 30 STOCKTON 7:11
Wed. 31 @ Utah 7:05
FEBRUARY
Fri. 2 @ Utah 7:05
Sat. 3 @ Utah 7:05
Fri. 9 @ Alaska 9:15
Sat. 10 @ Alaska 9:15
Sun. 11 @ Alaska 7:05
Fri. 16 ALASKA 7:11
Sat. 17 ALASKA 7:11
Sun. 18 LONG BEACH 5:00
Tue. 20 ALASKA 7:11
Fri. 23 BAKERSFIELD 7:11
Sat. 24 @ Bakersfield TBA
Tue. 27 @ Bakersfield TBA
MARCH
Thu. 1 LAS VEGAS 7:11
Fri. 2 @ Las Vegas 8:05
Sat. 3 @ Las Vegas 8:05
Tue. 6 TEXAS 7:11
Thu. 8 TEXAS 7:11
Tue. 13 BAKERSFIELD 7:11
Thu. 15 BAKERSFIELD 7:11
Fri. 16 @ Las Vegas 7:05
Sat. 17 LAS VEGAS 7:11
Sat. 24 FRESNO 7:11
Wed. 28 @ Bakersfield TBA
Fri. 30 @ Stockton 7:30
Sat. 31 @ Fresno TBA
APRIL
Sun. 1 @ Stockton 4PM
Wed. 4 @ Victoria 7:05
Fri. 6 @ Victoria 7:05
Sat. 7 @ Victoria 7:05
Home games in CAPS
All Times Local Arizona Time
ECHL Stories from July 17, 2006
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- RoadRunners Unveil 2006-07 Schedule - Phoenix RoadRunners
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