Rays announce 2008-09 schedule
Posted 05:56 p.m., April 30, 2008
Ask and Ye Shall Receive.
This just in from the Stingrays. ... The full schedule for next season!
Here's what the Stingrays release:
Enjoy.
The South Carolina Stingrays today released the team’s 2008-09 ECHL regular season schedule. The 2007-08 season marks the 16th season of hockey in the Low Country for the Stingrays.
The Stingrays will open up the season with a home-and-home against the Augusta Lynx in a rematch of the first round of this year’s Kelly Cup Playoffs when the Rays came back from a two games to none deficit to win the series and move on to the second round. The Rays will open up the season in Augusta on Friday, October 17 and play their first home game on Saturday, October 18.
The 2008-09 season is highlighted once again with home games against North Division foes as Dayton comes down on November 22nd, Elmira visits the Coliseum for the first time since coming over from the UHL on December 19th and 20th and Trenton makes a late-season trek to South Carolina on March 6th. In return, for the second season in a row, the Stingrays travel up north. This time, the Rays have to pack their warm clothes in February when they take their longest road trip of the season, playing four games in five days against Trenton, Johnstown and Reading in late February.
Come spend your holidays this season with the Stingrays and the team plays on Halloween night against Florida, the night before Thanksgiving against Charlotte and New Year’s Eve against Mississippi.
This year’s Pack the House night will take place on Saturday, January 17th against the Augusta Lynx. Last year, the Stingrays welcomed a record-breaking, sell-out crowd of 10,565 to the Coliseum for the event and look once more to sell out the night for the 2008-09 season.
This season will feature just one three-night home-stand toward the end of the season when the Rays play Augusta on Friday, March 20th, Charlotte on Saturday, March 21st, and Florida on Sunday, March 22nd. Following that, the Stingrays will have just one home game remaining when the team finishes off their home regular season against the Mississippi Sea Wolves on March 29th.
Once again, the Stingrays play 36 of their 72 games at home, including 28 weekend dates, up from 26 last season. The team has ten Friday games, twelve Saturday games and six Sunday games this year. The Stingrays will be without two Southern Division foes from this season as both the Columbia Inferno and Texas Wildcatters will not be members of the ECHL next season. Due to their absence, South Carolina will match up against teams like Mississippi and Pensacola more often, playing them nine times and ten times respectively.
Stingrays Season Tickets and mini plans are now on sale for the 2008-09 Season! For more information, including benefits, pricing, and package options, please call the Stingrays front office at 744-2248 or view the information online at www.stingrayshockey.com. Stingrays Hockey – A Whole Lot Cooler.
The ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Nineteen of the 24 teams have played at least five years in their current city.
The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans.
The Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League welcomed 3,756,191 fans, marking the fifth straight season and the 11th time in the last 12 years that it has exceeded 3.75 million fans. The 51 sold out crowds are the most in the last five seasons and mark the fourth time in the last five years that the ECHL has had at least 40 sellouts.
The conference and division alignments and the format for the 2009 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be determined and approved at a later date by the ECHL Board of Governors.
October
17 -- at Augusta
18 -- Augusta
21 -- Charlotte
24 -- atPensacola
25 -- at Pensacola
31 -- Florida
November
2 -- Florida
6 -- at Charlotte
7 -- Charlotte
8 -- Gwinnett
13 -- at Charlotte
14 -- at Gwinnett
15 -- at Charlotte
18 -- Gwinnett
21 -- Mississippi
22 -- Dayton
26 -- Charlotte
28 -- at Mississippi
29 -- at Mississippi
December
2 -- Pensacola
4 -- Pensacola
5 -- at Charlotte
6 -- Gwinnett
12 -- at Florida
13 -- at Florida
16 -- at Augusta
19 -- Elmira
20 -- Elmira
26 -- at Gwinnett
27 -- at Gwinnett
28 -- Mississippi
31 -- Mississippi
January
2 -- at Pensacola
3 -- at Pensacola
6 -- Augusta
9 -- at Augusta
10 -- at Charlotte
16 -- Florida
17 -- Augusta
23 -- at Mississippi
25 -- at Mississippi
27 -- Gwinnett
30 -- Augusta
31 -- Charlotte
February
3 -- at Florida
4 -- at Florida
6 -- Florida
7 -- Augusta
13 -- at Gwinnett
14 -- Pensacola
15 -- Pensacola
18 -- at Trenton
20 -- at Johnstown
21 -- at Trenton
22 -- at Reading
27 -- Mississippi
28 -- Charlotte
March
6 -- Trenton
7 -- at Augusta
8 -- Pensacola
12 -- at Charlotte
14 -- Gwinnett
17 -- at Augusta
20 -- Augusta
21 -- Charlotte
22 -- Florida
24 -- at Pensacola
25 -- at Pensacola
27 -- at Gwinnett
29 -- Mississippi
31 -- at Augusta
April
4 -- at Gwinnett
Comments
Posted by RaysFan34 on April 30 at 6:20 p.m.
Thanks Andrew!!!
Posted by Hockeyfan2629 on April 30 at 7:29 p.m.
Hey how come on the stingrays website it doesnt show the full schedule it only goes up to Jan? Also how come they put the schedule out so early this year normally it at least another month or so? It all good but will probably have to change some games with Charlotte like normal.
Posted by rayshockeynut on April 30 at 10:44 p.m.
I just want to take a minute to thank Andrew and all of the fans who post on this blog. I am currently working in Kuwait and have missed most of the end of the season. I hope to be home before the playoffs end so I can catch a few games. The time difference makes it difficult to watch or listen to games on-line, so the info I pick here really makes some of the home sickness go away. Again, THANK-YOU and keep this great blog going.
LETS GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by TejasRaysFan on May 1 at 10:06 a.m.
Until Andrew informed me about his blog, I have had a hard time keeping up with the ECHL. So pardon my ignorance, but I noticed in the press release that Texas and Columbia are not coming back...are those franchises folding or moving to another league?
Posted by apmiller24 ( Andrew Miller ) on May 1 at 11:06 a.m.
TejasRaysFan,
Texas is moving to California just outside of L.A. Columbia is taking a "one year" voluntary suspension to work out their lease with the Carolina Coliseum. But my feeling is that the Inferno are done! We'll have to wait and see what happens this summer.
APM
Posted by smv8618 on May 1 at 12:36 p.m.
The schedule for next year is quite interesting. We are playing some teams that we didn't play or played only one game or so during the reqular season, more next year.
Posted by hattrik on May 1 at 2:47 p.m.
Hockeynut,
Hope you make it back to see the Rays. Best lookin team that we have put on the ice in years. I agree that Andrew's blog is the best thing to happen to the website all year. Hope he continues it after the season is over.
Posted by rayshockeynut on May 1 at 8:40 p.m.
thanks hattrik, lookin at about 2 more weeks. I feel confident that the Rays are going all the way, so I should be home in time.
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