CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The Corpus Christi IceRays, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), have announced their 2017-18 regular season schedule that will showcase the 20th Anniversary of IceRays hockey in the Coastal Bend.
The 2017-18 schedule is a little different than in previous seasons, mainly with a large portion of the road schedule taking place in the first half of the season. Unlike previous seasons, the IceRays will not have their annual post-holiday road trip and will finish the season with 20 of their final 30 games at the American Bank Center. The IceRays will play the Topeka RoadRunners eight times (four home, four road) and the rest of the South Division 12 times (six home, six road).
The IceRays will begin the 20th Anniversary Season on Friday, Sep. 15 against the Topeka RoadRunners from the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan. for a two-game weekend before traveling to Blaine, Minn. for the 2017 NAHL Showcase at Schwan Super Rink from Wednesday, Sep. 20 to Saturday, Sep. 23. The IceRays will host their 2017-18 home opening weekend on Friday, Sep. 29 and Saturday, Sep. 30 against the Odessa Jackalopes at the American Bank Center.
Only two of the team’s first 18 games this upcoming season will come at home, meaning the IceRays will have their longest road trip of the season (10 games) through October and into the first weekend of November. During that road trip, the IceRays will play the Amarillo Bulls four times, revisit the site of the first two South Division Semifinal games in Louisiana against the Shreveport Mudbugs, make their second and final trip to Topeka, and play their first weekend series against the Lone Star Brahmas since the controversial 2017 South Division Final.
The next set of home games following home opening weekend will be Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11 against the RoadRunners. That begins a four-game homestand that continues into the next weekend for the first home rematch against the rival Brahmas. After spending Thanksgiving weekend in Odessa, the IceRays open December at home against the Mudbugs for their final home series of the first half of the season. The IceRays will head into the holiday break with four more road games, marking 22 of the first 30 games of the season away from the American Bank Center.
In the second half of the season, the IceRays will host 20 of their final 30 games on home ice beginning on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30 against Shreveport for their second-straight post-holiday series. The first of two weekday road games starts the 2018 calendar year on Tuesday, Jan. 2 in Shreveport before heading to North Richland Hills the following weekend.
From January 12 through March 3, the IceRays will play 12 of their next 14 games in the Coastal Bend. The IceRays will play four games at home through January 20 against Amarillo and Shreveport then make a quick trip to the Ector County Coliseum to face the Odessa Jackalopes for two games before their second-straight season with an eight-game homestand throughout February into March. The IceRays play every Friday and Saturday night in February at home, including weekends against Lone Star, Topeka, Amarillo and Odessa that finish on Saturday, Mar. 3. The final trip to Amarillo comes on March 9-10 before the second of two weekday games in Shreveport on Tuesday, Mar. 13. During Spring Break, the IceRays will be at home on March 16-17 against the Bulls before their final road trip of the season on March 23-24 in Shreveport.
The IceRays will conclude the 2017-18 regular season with four games at home beginning on Friday, Mar. 30 and Saturday, Mar. 31 against the Jackalopes. The IceRays end the season at home against the Lone Star Brahmas on Pack The House Weekend, April 6-7.
With the exception of two Tuesday games in Shreveport and the NAHL Showcase, all games in the 2017-18 season will take place on a weekend with only one Sunday game. All home games will begin at 7:05 p.m., and dates and times are subject to change in the coming weeks.
A tentative promotional schedule and NAHL Showcase schedule will be released at a later date.
View the full schedule and download a PDF version.
Season Tickets for the 20th Anniversary season are on sale now! Call the IceRays at 361-814-PUCK to reserve your season plan for the 2017-18 campaign. In addition, stay connected with the IceRays on Facebook (/CorpusChristiIceRays), Twitter (@goicerays), YouTube (IceRays TV), Instagram (CorpusChristiIceRays), Vine (@goicerays), and Periscope (@goicerays).
