Inaugural (AHL) Flames Sked A Great Improvement
By Ryan Pike
9 years agoThe American Hockey League released its schedule for the 2014-15 season today, and in a great big shocker, the schedule of the Calgary Flames’ AHL farm team was greatly improved by taking all that money from the city of Abbotsford and moving closer to the rest of the league’s teams.
The Adirondack Flames play the same 76-game schedule that the Abbotsford Heat did in 2013-14, though the composition of the season has been tweaked to a large degree.
| Team | NHL Parent | 2014-15 Games | 2013-14 Games |
| Albany Devils | NJ | 2 (1H/1A) | 0 |
| Binghamton Senators | OTT | 2 (1H/1A) | 0 |
| Charlotte Checkers | CAR | 0 | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Chicago Wolves | STL | 2 (1H/1A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Grand Rapids Griffins | DET | 2 (1H/1A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Hamilton Bulldogs | MTL | 8 (4H/4A) | 8 (4H/4A) |
| Iowa Wild | MIN | 2 (1H/1A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Lake Erie Monster | COL | 4 (2H/2A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Lehigh Valley Phantoms | PHI | 2 (1H/1A) | 0 |
| Milwaukee Admirals | NSH | 2 (1H/1A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Oklahoma City Barons | EDM | 4 (2H/2A) | 8 (4H/4A) |
| Rockford Ice Hogs | CHI | 4 (2H/2A) | 4 (2H/2A) |
| Rochester Americans | BUF | 12 (6H/6A) | 0 |
| San Antonio Rampage | FLA | 4 (2H/2A) | 8 (4H/4A) |
| Syracuse Crunch | TB | 4 (2H/2A) | 0 |
| Texas Stars | DAL | 2 (1H/1A) | 10 (6H/4A) |
| Toronto Marlies | TOR | 8 (4H/4A) | 2 (0H/2A) |
| Utica Comets | VAN | 12 (6H/6A) | 12 (6H/6A) |
The Baby Flames don’t play (and didn’t in 2013-14 either): Bridgeport (NYI), Hartford (NYR), Hershey (WSH), Manchester (LA), Norfolk (ANA), Portland (ARI), Providence (BOS), Springfield (CBS), St. John’s (WPG), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (PIT) and Worcester (SJ).
Goodbye Charlotte, a team it didn’t make sense to visit anyway. And say hello to Lehigh Valley (who played in Adirondack last year), Albany, Binghamton, Rochester (12 times!) and Syracuse. For the most part, trips to Texas and Oklahoma have been replaced with trips to New York State. The Heat played 16 games in San Antonio, Cedar Park and Oklahoma City in 2013-14; they visit them a combined 5 times in 2014-15.
As you’d expect, and I’ll bold this for emphasis: TRAVEL IS A LOT BETTER THAN IN ABBOTSFORD.
The Adirondack Flames still play 38 road games, but they’re organized in a less crazy way. The biggest gap between home games for the Baby Flames this season will be 18 days, corresponding with a 5-game road trip in November. They have another 5-gamer in March/April that spans 14 days, and a 4-game road trip in February that spans 17 days. That’s it. In 2013-14, they were away from home once for 20 days (6 games) and three times for 19 days (7, 6 and 5 game trips).
In short: more, shorter road trips for the Adirondack Flames that will take them less frequently to the American Southwest and more frequently to New York State (and Ontario). For our friends in Ontario, be prepared for a bunch of visits from the Baby Flames in 2014-15, including a very convenient three-game sojourn through southern Ontario that runs March 4-7.
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