Full Breakdown of Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2016-17 Schedule

The countdown to AHL regular season hockey is heating up! Photo: Nina Weiss/Highland Park Hockey

It's finally here. The American Hockey League released its regular season schedule for the 2016-17 season this afternoon.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms open the regular season at home against the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday, October 15th at 7:05 p.m. ET in their third season in downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania.



To put it lightly, the Phantoms have a tough opening stretch to their schedule this fall. After opening the season with three straight games at home, 10 of their next 13 and 14 out of their next 20 games are on the road away from the friendly confines of the PPL Center.

The only silver lining to their schedule comes down the stretch. Seven of their final 11 games are at home and the four games away from PPL Center are all against their closest geographical rivals (W-B/Scranton twice, Hershey and Binghamton). If the Phantoms are within striking distance of a postseason berth in the final dozen games of the year, the light travel will certainly play to their advantage. But will it be another case of too little to late after a very challenging first third of the season?

This season, the roster looks as strong as it has since the team arrived to the Lehigh Valley. They'll be looking to end a seven year drought from the postseason when the season begins this fall, hoping to bring the first playoff hockey to the Lehigh Valley this spring.

How many times do the Phantoms play each opponent?

Atlantic Division

Bridgeport Sound Tigers: 4 home / 4 away
Hartford Wolf Pack: 4 home / 4 away
Hershey Bears: 6 home / 6 away
Providence Bruins: 3 home / 3 away
Springfield Falcons: 3 home / 3 away
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins: 6 home / 6 away

Total Atlantic Division Games: 26 home / 26 away = 52 games

North Division

Albany Devils: 1 home / 1 away
Binghamton Senators: 3 home / 3 away
Rochester Americans: 2 home / 2 away
St. John's IceCaps: 2 home / 2 away
Syracuse Crunch: 1 home/ 1 away
Toronto Marlies: 1 home / 1 away
Utica Comets: 2 home / 2 away

Total North Division Games: 12 home / 12 away = 24 games

Breakdown of Games by Day

Monday: 2 game (1 home & 1 road)
Tuesday: 3 game (0 home & 3 road)
Wednesday: 13 games (6 home & 7 road)
Thursday: 0 game (0 home & 0 road)
Friday: 24 games (14 home & 10 road)
Saturday: 25 games (15 home & 10 road)
Sunday: 9 games (2 home & 7 road)

Breakdown of Games by Month

October: 6 games (3 home & 3 road)
November: 13 games (5 home & 8 road)
December: 12 games (7 home & 5 road)
January: 12 games (6 home & 6 road)
February: 11 games (6 home & 5 road)
March: 14 games (7 home & 7 road)
April: 8 games (4 home & 4 road)

Other Important Dates

Season/Home Opener: Saturday, October 15th at 7:05 p.m. ET against the Springfield Thunderbirds.

Longest Home Stand: Six-game stretch (Dec. 9th - Dec. 26th)

Longest Road Trip: Five-game stretch (Oct. 28th - Nov. 4th and Mar. 5 - Mar. 18th)

School Day Games: Wednesday, November 2nd at Hartford - 11:00 a.m. ET
                                 Monday, January 16th at Springfield - 1:05 p.m. ET

Holiday Game: Lehigh Valley hosts Hershey Bears on Monday December 26th at 7:05 p.m. ET

First hockey game of the season at PPL Center: Wednesday, Sept. 28th between Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils - NHL Preseason Game

'Three-in-Threes'

The Phantoms have a total of eight 'three-in-threes' this season where they'll play three games in three nights, down one from the nine they played through last year. Some of these will be extra taxing on the players with the amount of travel between games, and oddly enough half of the team's three-game weekends end with a challenging third game in two and a half game on the road in Hershey:

• Fri. 10/28 at Hartford, Sat. 10/29 at Bridgeport and Sun 10/30 at Hershey
• Fri 11/11 at Utica, Sat. 11/12 vs. Toronto and Sun 11/13 at Hershey
• Fri. 12/2 vs. Hershey, Sat. 12/3 at Hershey and Sun 12/4 at Bridgeport
• Fri 1/6 at Hartford, Sat 1/7 vs. Albany and Sun 1/8 vs. Utica
• Fri 1/20 vs. W-B/Scranton, Sat 1/21 vs. Providence and Sun 1/22 at Hershey
• Fri 2/17 vs. Hartford, Sat 2/18 vs. Hartford and Sun 2/19 at Utica
• Fri 3/3 at Springfield, Sat 3/4 at Hartford and Sun 3/5 at Providence
• Fri 3/31 vs. Bridgeport, Sat 4/1 at W-B/Scranton and Sun 4/2 at Hershey

Notes

• Stay tuned here at Highland Park Hockey all season long - the ONLY source of daily coverage of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms year-round, complete with live coverage of both home and road games. No one brings you closer to the pulse of the Phantoms!
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  For up to the minute breaking news in real time, be sure you are following @TonyAndrock on Twitter. For extended coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers prospects here at Highland Park Hockey, make sure you add Tim Riday (@TimRiday) on Twitter for some great content to supplement the daily Phantoms coverage.

• I'll be linking to this often, but for those interested in helping me continue to travel across the east coast covering the AHL in the upcoming 2016-17 can do so by sharing/donating to my GoFundMe page. Every little bit helps, and sharing the page to others who might be interested is just as important. Help spread the word!

Here's the link to the Phantoms' full season schedule for 2016-17.