Wildcatters Release Schedule for 5th Anniversary Season

May 23, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Texas Wildcatters News Release


Beaumont, TX (May 23, 2007) The Texas Wildcatters in conjunction with the ECHL have released the schedule for the 2007-08 season which will be the 5th Anniversary for the Wildcatters in Southeast Texas. The Wildcatters will be spending the weekends at home as 34 of the 36 games on the home schedule take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with the other two occurring on Thursdays. Texas will open the season on Friday, October 19 in Augusta and will then travel to Charlotte to take on the Checkers Saturday, October 20.

A rematch of the South Division Finals takes place as the Wildcatters home opener will be Saturday, October 27 against the rival Florida Everblades at 7:05 p.m. It is a two game series against Florida as the ‘Catters will take on the Everblades the following day on Sunday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. Following one of two season long six game road trips, Texas will play host to the expansion Elmira Jackals for three games on November 16, 17 and 18.

The Wildcatters finish the home portion of the 2007-08 season taking on the Charlotte Checkers on Friday, March 28 and Saturday, March 29. The regular season concludes in Florida against the Everblades on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.

Texas' longest home stand is six games and it will occur three times throughout the season. Between November 30 and January 13, the Wildcatters will be home for 14 out of 19 games.

The Wildcatters will face the Mississippi Sea Wolves 13 times this season (6 home, 7 away). The Sea Wolves are returning after a two year absence due to Hurricane Katrina. Texas will take on Florida 10 times (5 home, 5 away) and Pensacola 10 times (6 home, 4 away). The Wildcatters will get reacquainted with the Gwinnett Gladiators 7 times this season (3 home, 4 away). Texas defeated Gwinnett in the South Division Semifinals. Texas will also play Charlotte 7 times (4 home, 3 away) while meeting South Carolina, Columbia and Augusta for 6 games (3 home, 3 away). Texas will make a trip outside of the division to battle North Division opponents Trenton, Elmira, Johnstown and Reading. It will be the first trip up north for the ‘Catters since making a seven game journey to open the 2003 season. This will be one of two six game road trips this season. It begins on February 8 at Columbia and ends on February 16 at Reading. The other six gamer is from November 2 till November 10. The Wildcatters will play at Gwinnett on Thanksgiving Day, November 22.

Head Coach Malcolm Cameron feels the home schedule will be beneficial for families in Southeast Texas. "The schedule is very favorable for the Wildcatters as it maximizes our weekend dates. It allows more families to attend games without having conflicts with school," said Cameron. "It will be exciting to see Mississippi back for the 2007-08 season. Having Florida in for the home opener will be thrilling as a great rivalry was created last season. We will be announcing player transactions for the upcoming season in the near future."

The Wildcatters home schedule consists of two Thursday dates, 12 Friday games, 13 Saturday dates and nine Sunday games. Thursday and Saturday games will start at 7:05 p.m. while Friday start times are at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday afternoon games this season begin at 4:05 p.m.

Opening Day for the 20th Anniversary Season of the ECHL will be Oct. 18 when the Johnstown Chiefs host the Wheeling Nailers at Cambria County War Memorial in a rematch of Game 7 from the first-ever ECHL Finals.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary as the Premier 'AA' Hockey League in 2007-08, the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that will have 25 teams in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08. The 25 teams include the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals.

The ECHL will play 900 games beginning Oct. 18 and concluding Apr. 5. The conference and division alignments and the format for the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be determined and approved at a later date by the ECHL Board of Governors. Wildcatters' 2007-08 season tickets are also now on sale. They start at just $9 per game and feature numerous benefits including free parking and discounted merchandise. Don't miss any hard-hitting Wildcatters hockey action. To purchase season tickets and ticket packages, call the Wildcatters at (409) 951-5500. Visit www.wildcattershockey.com for more information. The Texas Wildcatters are the ECHL affiliate for the AHL's Houston Aeros.



ECHL Stories from May 23, 2007


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