Charlotte Checkers will open 2023-24 AHL season on home ice
The Charlotte Checkers will open their 2023-24 American Hockey League season at home for the second straight year.
The Checkers will launch their campaign Oct. 13 and 14 at Bojangles Coliseum, with Friday and Saturday evening games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Those are the first of 36 home games on the Checkers’ 72-game regular-season schedule.
Charlotte is opening its season at home for the second consecutive year after playing its first game on the road in the team’s initial 10 AHL seasons.
The Checkers are the top-level farm team of the Florida Panthers, who reached the NHL’s Stanley Cup finals in June before losing to the Las Vegas Knights.
Charlotte reached the second round of the AHL playoffs this spring, falling to eventual AHL champion Hershey.
Some highlights of the Checkers’ 2023-24 schedule:
▪ Charlotte will face a pair of Pacific Division teams at home and away, for the first time in recent memory. The Checkers will host San Diego in November and San Jose in January and will travel to San Diego and San Jose in November.
▪ The Checkers will play an outdoor game for the first time, facing the Rochester Americans in the Queen City Outdoor Classic on Jan. 13 at Truist Field, home of the baseball Charlotte Knights.
▪ Charlotte will have six home games in every month of the season except October and April.
▪ The Checkers will be home for four games on Thanksgiving week, facing Cleveland on the Monday and Wednesday (Nov. 20 and 22) before the holiday, then hosting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the Friday and Saturday (Nov. 24-25) of Thanksgiving weekend.
▪ There will be two home games shortly before Christmas, with Charlotte facing Lehigh Valley on Dec. 21-22. But the Checkers will play New Years Eve at Lehigh Valley.
▪ The Checkers will have a tough finishing schedule, with 10 of their final 12 contests on the road.
Checkers’ 2023-24 schedule
OCTOBER
Friday, 13: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7
Saturday, 14: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 6
Saturday, 21: at Toronto, 4
Sunday, 22: at Toronto, 4
Wednesday, 25: at Rochester, 7:05
Friday, 27: Bridgeport, 7
Saturday, 28: Bridgeport, 6
NOVEMBER
Friday, 3: San Diego, 7
Saturday, 4: San Diego, 6
Friday, 10: at San Jose, 10
Sunday, 12: at San Jose, 6
Wednesday, 15: at San Diego, 10
Friday, 17: at San Diego, 10
Monday, 20: Cleveland, 7
Wednesday, 22: Cleveland, 7
Friday, 24: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 4
Saturday, 25: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 4
DECEMBER
Friday, 1: Hershey, 7
Saturday, 2: Hershey, 6
Friday, 8: at Rochester, 7:05
Saturday, 9: at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
Sunday, 10: at Hershey, 5
Wednesday, 13: at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
Friday, 15: Bridgeport, 7
Saturday, 16: Bridgeport, 6
Thursday, 21: Lehigh Valley, 7
Friday, 22: Lehigh Valley, 6
Friday, 29: at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05
Saturday, 30: at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 6:05
Sunday, 31: at Lehigh Valley, 7:05
JANUARY
Wednesday, 3: at Hershey, 7
Saturday, 6: at Bridgeport, 7
Sunday, 7: at Bridgeport, 3
Friday, 12: Rochester, 7
Saturday, 13: Rochester, 7
Tuesday, 16: San Jose, 7
Wednesday, 17: San Jose, 7
Saturday, 20: Toronto, 4
Sunday, 21: Toronto, 1
Friday, 26: at Springfield, 7:05
Saturday, 27: at Springfield, 7:05
Sunday, 28: at Providence, 3:05
Wednesday, 31: at Hartford, 7
FEBRUARY
Friday, 2: Providence, 7
Saturday, 3: Providence, 6
Friday, 9: at Cleveland, 7
Sunday, 11: at Cleveland, noon
Saturday, 17: Springfield, 4
Sunday, 18: Springfield, 4
Saturday, 24: Lehigh Valley, 4
Sunday, 25: Lehigh Valley, 1
Wednesday, 28: at Hartford, 7
MARCH
Friday, 1: at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05
Saturday, 2: at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 6:05
Friday, 8: Hershey, 7
Saturday, 9: Hershey, 6
Tuesday, 12: Hartford, 7
Wednesday, 13: Hartford, 7
Saturday, 16: Springfield, 4
Sunday, 17: Springfield, 1
Friday, 22: at Springfield, 7:05
Saturday, 23: at Springfield, 7:05
Wednesday, 27: at Hartford, 7
Friday, 28: at Bridgeport, 7
Saturday, 29: at Bridgeport, 7
APRIL
Saturday, 6: Hartford, 4
Sunday, 7: Hartford, 1
Saturday, 13: at Springfield, 7:05
Sunday, 14: at Hartford, 3
Wednesday, 17: at Hershey, 7
Saturday, 20: at Hershey, 7
Sunday, 21: at Lehigh Valley, 3:05
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
