Key dates, changes in Hartford Wolf Pack 2024-25 AHL schedule

The 2024-25 Hartford Wolf Pack schedule contains some pleasant surprises and notable changes from the past for the New York Rangers affiliate in the American Hockey League.

The upcoming season marks Hartford’s 28th in the AHL, and the 89th for the League itself. As they seek to make the Calder Cup Playoffs for the third straight season, the Wolf Pack will begin on the the road for the third consecutive year, playing their season opener at Lehigh Valley on Saturday, Oct. 12.

Six days later, the Wolf Pack play their home opener at XL Center against Springfield on Friday, Oct. 18. The 72-game schedule concludes for the Wolf Pack at home against Bridgeport on April 18.

The Wolf Pack have a balanced schedule from a logistical and fan perspective. There are a couple of notable changes, too.

The Rangers affiliate will play the Islanders affiliate, Bridgeport, 10 times in 2024-25. That’ll give the Wolf Pack plenty of time to digest those new (retro?) fisherman jerseys Bridgeport will be wearing next season.

Related: Rangers hire Grant Potulny as new Wolf Pack coach

Notable changes to Wolf Pack 2024-25 AHL schedule

Photo courtesy of Hartford Wolf Pack

The most important change on the schedule is the continued reduction of playing three games in three nights. A fixture in the AHL, clubs navigate playing three games in three nights on weekends since Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the prime days to do so from an attendance and revenue perspective. Last season’s schedule featured four three-in-three dates for the Wolf Pack, which was on the low end in the range of the schedule as teams could go up as high as eight. For 2023-24, teams have seen another reduction. The Wolf Pack will have three sets of three games in three days, a welcome change for the players and coaches.

• Set 1: October 18 vs Springfield, October 19 vs Bridgeport, October 20 at Bridgeport
• Set 2: January 10 at Lehigh Valley, January 11 vs Lehigh Valley, January 12 vs Springfield
• Set 3: January 24 vs Laval, January 25 vs Rochester, January 26 at Springfield

Another welcome change to the schedule is the return of games against Western Conference opponents from the Central Division. The Grand Rapids Griffins, Milwaukee Admirals, and Rockford IceHogs will each play a two-game series against Hartford after being off the schedule last season.

As a result of the three returning opponents, the Wolf Pack elected to not schedule games against the Cleveland Monsters and Toronto Marlies.

From a business perspective, the schedule allows Hartford to play 28 of their 36 home games on the weekend, which best helps them continue to grow attendance at XL Center. The school-day game returns once again to connect with the community. The puck will drop at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19 for that special game.

Another new wrinkle is the adjustment of game times. Saturday home games begin at 6 p.m. (hour earlier than last season, except for two games) and Sundays begin at at 4 p.m. (hour later for two games) or 5 p.m. (two hours later for two games).

Balanced AHL schedule in 2024-25

Hartford’s stretch away from XL Center is four games Dec. 31- Jan. 10, at Springfield (Dec. 31), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Jan. 4), Bridgeport (Jan. 5) and Lehigh Valley (Jan. 10). The remaining road trips are between 1-3 games, which stands out considering the Wolf Pack will have one trip to the Central Division (March 12-15) for three games and a Canadian trip (January 26-31).

At home, the Wolf Pack will have a six-game homestand Nov. 15-27. The remaining homestands are between 2-3 games.

Each month features a balanced schedule between home and away, which has been uncommon in the past for the Wolf Pack.

Key dates on Wolf Pack 2024-25 schedule

There are a couple of games to keep an eye on to see how the Wolf Pack performs:

• Rematches from last year’s playoffs:
  • November 11 vs Providence (2nd round)
  • November 15 vs Charlotte (1st round)
  • December 11 vs Hershey (3rd round)
• Midwest trip: March 12-15.
• March 5th (before) and 7th (post) 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.

Hartford Wolf Pack 2024-25 s chedule breakdown

By Month:

• October: 7 games (5 home, 2 away)
• November: 12 games (7 home, 5 away)
• December: 11 games (6 home, 5 away)
• January: 13 games (4 home, 9 away)
• February: 10 games (5 home, 5 away)
• March: 12 games (6 home, 6 away)
• April: 7 games (3 home, 4 away)

By Division:

• Atlantic Division (54 games)
  • Bridgeport, Springfield, Providence – 10 each, 30 games
  • Charlotte – 8
  • Lehigh Valley, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – 6 each, 12 games
  • Hershey – 4
• North Division (12 games)
  • Laval – 4
  • Belleville, Rochester, Syracuse, and Utica – 2 each, 8 games
• Central Division (6 games)
  • Grand Rapids, Milwaukee Admirals, and Rockford – 2 each, 6 games

By day:

• Tuesday: 2 games (1 home, 1 away)
• Wednesday: 14 games (7 home, 7 away)
• Friday: 19 games (13 home, 6 away)
• Saturday: 24 games (11 home, 13 away)
• Sunday: 13 games (4 home, 9 away)

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