Diving into the Hartford Wolf Pack’s 2023-24 Schedule
The American Hockey League released the 2023-24 schedule for their 88th season on July 12 and the Hartford Wolf Pack will open on the road for two straight games.
Hartford’s journey into their 27th season will begin on Friday, October 13th in Providence against the Bruins. The following night, the club will travel to Springfield to face the Thunderbirds. In the second week of the season, Hartford will begin their 36 game home-slate with two games. The first opponent to visit the XL Center will be the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday, October 20th. Opening weekend will conclude on Saturday, October 21st when the Lehigh Valley Phantoms visit.
The regular season concludes on April 21st.
Going through Pack’s 72 game slate, they have another good schedule with balance.
You can view it here.
Related: Recapping the Hartford Wolf Pack 2022-23 season
Hartford Wolf Pack 2023-24 Schedule
A deeper dive into the schedule shows their longest road-trip will be early in the season as the Wolf Pack are on the road for five games (October 28th – November 10th). On the docket are Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Lehigh Valley (2), Utica, and Bridgeport.
The second longest road-trip will be four games. In fact, Hartford will have two four-game trips, with the first in January (20th – 27th) facing Bridgeport, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Cleveland (2). The second four-game road slate is in March (17th – 24th). That trip contains battle versus Hershey, Rochester, Toronto, and Belleville, which is essentially a swing to the North Division.
The rest of the away trips are three games or less. From a home-stand perspective, Hartford has opportunities to produce points in February. From January 31st to February 16th, Hartford will have a six game home-stand. Zooming the picture out further, they would be home in nine of 12 games. The rest of the schedule has a good mix between home and away.
The schedule is favorable for players getting good rest time between games as the group will have four 3-in-3 matches. Compared to teams in the Atlantic Division, Hartford has one of the fewest of those grueling and grinding sets.
New on the docket is the return of the Cleveland Monsters, Both teams have not met since the 2008-09 season. The Laval Rocket and Belleville Senators return to the schedule as well (both clubs were not on the season schedule last year).
Unfortunately, opponents from the Western Conference are not on the schedule this upcoming season. The division as a whole reduced trips to the Central Division. The lone team in the Atlantic Division competing against the Central Division is the Hershey Bears. The Charlotte Checkers, have two opponents against the AHL’s Pacific Division.
Wolf Pack Schedule Breakdown
Hartford will face the same number of opponents as last season (14 teams). The Wolf Pack will face Bridgeport, Providence, and Springfield the most this upcoming season (10 times each). Rivals are once again important, especially winning these season series. Here is the schedule breakdown for the club:
- Belleville Senators (Ottawa) – 2
- Bridgeport Islanders (New York) – 10
- Charlotte Checkers (Florida) – 8
- Cleveland Monsters (Columbus) – 4
- Hershey Bears (Washington) – 4
- Laval Rocket (Montreal) – 4
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia) – 6
- Providence Bruins (Boston) – 10
- Rochester Americans (Buffalo) – 2
- Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis) – 10
- Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay) – 2
- Toronto Marlies (Maple Leafs) – 2
- Utica Comets (New Jersey) – 2
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) – 6
Here’s a scope at opponents by division (72 games total):
- Atlantic Division (54 games)
- Bridgeport, Providence, and Springfield – 10 each, 30 games
- Charlotte – 8
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton – 6 each, 12 games
- Hershey – 4
- North Division (18 games)
- Laval and Cleveland – 4 each, 8 games
- Belleville, Rochester, Syracuse, Toronto, and Utica – 2 each, 10 games
From a fans perspective, Hartford’s 36 home games consist of:
- 14 Fridays
- 12 Saturdays
- 2 Sundays
- 8 Wednesdays
Of the 36 contests, 28 games will be played on the weekends. The Wolf Pack will play 7pm on Wednesdays (excluding one), Fridays, most Saturdays, and Sundays at 3pm.
Additional wrinkles to the schedule include two7:30pm Saturday puck drops to accommodate UConn Basketball/Hockey for the afternoon time slot. The dates are 11/25 and 1/13. On Saturday, March 16th, game time is slated for 6pm. The School Day game on 11/15 will be held at 11am.
Here’s a look at Hartford’s 36 away games:
- 9 Fridays
- 12 Saturdays
- 9 Sundays
- 1 Tuesday
- 4 Wednesdays
- 1 Thursday
Month by Month Home & Away Breakdown
October
- 3 home, 4 away for 7 games.
November
- 5 home, 6 away for 11 games.
December
- 7 home, 3 away for 10 games.
January
- 3 home, 8 away for 11 games.
February
- 8 home, 3 away for 11 games.
March
- 6 home, 8 away for 14 games.
April
- 4 home, 4 away for 8 games.
The 2023-24 journey will begin in under 100 days. This summer is going by quick, especially with Hartford’s playoff run that lasted until May. Next up, training camp in September.
The goal for the upcoming season is return to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Last year’s run was great. Another deep playoff run would benefit the Rangers of tomorrow.
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