Falcons release 2006-07 Regular Season Schedule

Falcons Open Regular Season October 7th at Hartford

Springfield, MA – The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today their 2006-07 regular season schedule. The Falcons once again will play an 80-game schedule (40 home and 40 away) opening against the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, October 7 at the Hartford Civic Center. The Falcons home opener is Friday, October 20 when they host the Manchester Monarchs at the MassMutual Center.

The Falcons will open their 13th AHL season will three straight road games including back-to-back contests in Norfolk against the Admirals on Friday, October 13 and Saturday, October 14. Springfield will host an opening weekend starting on Friday, October 20 when they host the Monarchs, followed by a home game against the Binghamton Senators on Saturday, October 21.

“We are once again very pleased with our regular season schedule,” said Falcons President and General Manager Bruce Landon. “We will be hosting an exciting opening weekend at the MassMutual Center and we are anticipating an exciting year.”

Entering the 2006-07 campaign, the Falcons will play 31 of their 40 home games on either a Friday or Saturday night. Springfield will host 13 Friday games, 18 Saturday games, one Sunday contest, one Monday matinee and seven Wednesday games. Of the seven Wednesday contests, three will be played during school vacation weeks and the lone Monday home game will occur on Martin Luther King Day (Monday, January 15) when the Falcons host a special 4:05 PM starting time.

“With 13 Fridays, 18 Saturdays, one Sunday and four games during school vacation times it is certainly a fan friendly schedule,” said Landon. “We had too many Sunday games last year and going up against the New England Patriots was extremely difficult. We have eliminated that problem this year. I am also very pleased that we have reduced the number of three games in three nights which is much better from a competitive standpoint.”

The Falcons will compete in the AHL’s Atlantic Division along with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Lowell Devils, Manchester Monarchs, Portland Pirates, Providence Bruins and Worcester Sharks. Springfield will play each of their six divisional rivals 10 times each (five home and five away) and the Falcons will play 74 of their 80 regular season games within the Eastern Conference. The three Western Conference teams the Falcons will play during the 2006-07 season will be the Rochester Americans, Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch.

Home game starting times will remain 7:35 PM for Friday games and 7:05 PM for Saturday contests. Wednesday night games will begin at 7:05 PM and Sunday contests will start at 4:05 PM. The Falcons will host one special holiday starting time of 4:05 PM on Monday, January 15.

Falcons Schedule Dates To Remember:

• Falcons open regular season on Saturday, October 7 at Hartford.
• Falcons host opening weekend when they open their home schedule with back-to-back home games against Manchester on Friday, Oct. 20 and Binghamton on Saturday, Oct. 21.
• The Rochester Americans return to Springfield on Friday, November 3.
• The Worcester Sharks visit the Falcons for the first time on Saturday, November 4.
• The 2006 Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears visit Springfield on Wednesday, November 15.
• The Toronto Marlies make their Springfield debut on Friday, November 17.
• Falcons host the Wolf Pack on December 27 during school vacation week.
• AHL All-Star Game will be weekend of January 28 and 29.
• Springfield hosts Norfolk on February 21 during school vacation week.

Head coach Steve Stirling and assistant coach Darren Rumble will lead the Falcons behind the bench this season. The Falcons are currently accepting deposits on full, half, and 10-game season ticket packages for the 2006-07 season, in addition to 40 and 10-Flex Packs. For more information regarding season ticket information, contact the Falcons office at 413-739-3344.

• 2006-2007 Springfield Falcons Schedule (word.doc)