The Kitchener Rangers will open next season with the division-rival Erie Otters paying a visit to the Aud on Sept. 28 before heading to Owen Sound the next day for their first road contest against the Attack
The Rangers released their full season schedule on Tuesday, with highlights including the Remembrance Day Game on Nov. 8 against the Soo Greyhounds.
The Brantford Bulldogs will make their sole visit to Kitchener on Dec. 3 for the Teddy Bear Toss. The annual event sees fans toss new teddy bears onto the ice to be collected for charity ahead of Christmas.
The Rangers will square off against the Guelph Storm for the first time on Oct. 6, while the two rivals will also play a home and home on Oct. 19 and 20.
The squad’s other main rival, the London Knights, is not on Kitchener’s schedule until Nov. 19, with the two sides set to battle six times this season.
The team will be on home ice for five of eight games in March, with two of those three road games taking place in Owen Sound. The Attack will also be in town for another matchup during the final month of the regular season as well.
The Rangers’ 34 games at home will see 22 Friday night contests, while there will also be seven games on Tuesdays and five others on Sundays.
The road schedule will be much more varied but they will only play once on a Monday and once on a Thursday. The Monday game will be a matinee encounter in Peterborough vs. the Petes, while the Thursday game will see Kitchener pay its lone visit to Brantford to face the Bulldogs on Jan. 2.
Kitchener will look to build on last year’s solid campaign where a young squad of Rangers finished second in the Midwest Division despite playing eight rookies, including six who received regular playing time in the playoffs.