A few thoughts and factoids in drips on the schedule (that didn’t make the story (link updated)):
–There are no AHL games scheduled on the final Sunday, April 12, which is Easter. (Catholic Easter, I guess. #Filioque)
–There are eight games on League-opening night, Oct. 4, but none involving an Atlantic Division team.
–Nov. 24-29 is a fun little stretch: A little three-game series with Springfield, home-away-home. (It is, indeed, the same for the T-birds.)
–A few of other back-to-backs with the same opponent: Oct. 11-12 in Charlotte; a home-and-home with Hartford, Oct. 25-26; Lehigh Valley sticks around for two, Nov. 2-3 (the second one at 5 p.m., a little extra rest at the end of three-in-three that includes an opener at Syracuse); a stretched-out home-and-home with Utica, Dec. 9-13 (the Comets have a home game in the middle); a back-to-back at Hershey, Jan. 4-5; home-and-home with Providence, Jan. 17-18, then again Feb. 8-9; and one more home-and-home with Hartford, April 5-8, to cap the home schedule.
–Nine three-in-threes, as noted, one more than last year’s team-record-low. Another 17 back-to-backs is highish but not painfully so.
–No scheduled Saturdays off.
–Only six scheduled Fridays off. No Sunday games in December.
–All scheduled Thursdays off.
–Monday home game to avoid another three-in-three. March 20 at 7:30 to test the later start time, traffic-wise. Remember in Year 1 when Fridays were 8 p.m. starts? Those were times. (So to speak.)
–Lone Visits: Belleville, Nov. 10; Laval, Jan. 12; Binghamton, March 1; Toronto, March 11; Rochester, March 29. All Sundays except Toronto, a Wednesday.
–Stunning that they’ll face Syracuse and Utica as many times as Charlotte, but hey, still no Cleveland, so.
–OK, time for everybody’s least-favorite and -anticipated feature, RestWatch ™. Mostly about even rest for Bridgeport and its opponents to end three-in-threes this season. In the second, where Bridgeport is coming from Syracuse on Nov. 1 to face Lehigh Valley back-to-back, the Phantoms are coming from Allentown; a little edge to them time-wise, but they will be coming to a hotel. In the third, which includes a Veterans Day matinee in Providence, both teams will be home on Sunday to face teams wrapping up a three-in-three; call that one even. In the fourth, Hershey is off Friday, Nov. 22, while the Sound Tigers play in Providence. Springfield comes in Sunday off two home games. That one’s a tiny edge to the visitors on the whole, maybe.
In the fifth, while Bridgeport is at Binghamton on Jan. 3, Hershey is at Wilkes-Barre. Edge to the Bears getting and coming home. But probably edge to Bridgeport in the sixth: Charlotte plays Jan. 8 at Wilkes-Barre and Jan. 10 at Hartford before coming to Bridgeport, and Laval is at Syracuse and at Lehigh Valley before finishing the three-in-three. And edge again to Bridgeport in the seventh, where Hartford will be coming from Binghamton to play here on Leap Day, and where Binghamton will be coming from Binghamton to play here on March 1.
Coincidentally, Bridgeport’s opponents will also be coming from Binghamton on the eighth three-in-three. But the Sound Tigers will be on the road: At Lehigh on March 6 (while Hershey visits Binghamton, so maybe Bridgeport beats them home), then at Hershey on March 7 (while LEHIGH visits Binghamton, so maybe Bridgeport beats THEM home), then back in Allentown to finish it.
The capper, March 27-29, is even enough for two days. Rochester comes in for the Sunday not playing three-in-three but road-wearyish: The Amerks will have played Wednesday at home, then Saturday at Wilkes-Barre.
So that’s probably one huge edge for Bridgeport, two slight edges for Bridgeport and three slight edges for the opponents. Check my math if you’d like and/or have time.