Here's what you need to know about the schedule for the Savannah Ghost Pirates hockey team

Fans of Savannah's first professional ice hockey team know the franchise's name and home rink, and on Thursday they learned the schedule for the inaugural season.

The Savannah Ghost Pirates will open their 2022-23 slate on the road Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Greenville (S.C.) Swamp Rabbits, and the same teams will play Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. in Savannah's home debut at Enmarket Arena.

"I wish we could open tomorrow," Ghost Pirates team president Bob Ohrablo said Thursday. "I'm so excited about this and just can't wait to get to that opening night."

The regular-season finale is slated for Savannah hosting the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m.

"We're thrilled. We love the schedule, We think the league treated us well in the schedule," Ohrablo said.

"We'd like to open up a little sooner than Nov. 5, but it just didn't work out that way," Ohrablo continued. "That way, it'll give the team a chance to go on the road. One of the things teams do on early road trips is use those as an early bonding experience. We should be well-bonded by the time we open up at home for the big Nov. 5 opener."

The Ghost Pirates will play a 72-game regular-season schedule (36 home, 36 away) in the ECHL, a minor league comparable to Double-A in baseball. The ECHL has 27 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 34th season in 2021-22.

The team will play a weekend-heavy home schedule comprised of 14 Friday night games, 13 Saturday evening games, four Sunday afternoon contests, and five Thursday night matches.

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All Thursday and Saturday games will begin at 7 p.m. while Friday games will start at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoon games are set to begin at 3 p.m. The lone exception will be Dec. 31, which is slated for a 5 p.m. start time.

"I was pretty excited to see a good mix of weekend games," season-ticket holder John Robertson said. "It looks like it'll be easy for us to attend and make a family night out of it, or nights out with the guys."

Robertson, a native of Erie, Pennsylvania, played ice hockey as a youth through his college years, and has taken up roller hockey in Savannah. The general manager of Hargray Fiber in Savannah, where he's lived about 20 years, Robertson is one of four friends who bought a block of season tickets.

Another friend in the group is Heath Moyer, who was raised in Atlanta and attended games of the former Atlanta Knights minor-league team. He called the schedule "fantastic" and family friendly.

Moyer, a senior sales representative for Behr Paint, said he's not the biggest hockey fan but wanted to support Savannah's new sports franchise.

"I think it's something different for Savannah," said Moyer, 54. "I'm just a sports fan in general. It's something a little bit new. Hockey's fast and exciting. I like soccer. It's basically soccer on a smaller scale with a lot more contact."

Having dates locked in allows the organization to start planning promotional nights and send information to season-ticket holders, some of whom have half-season packages and will select games.

"It gives us some finality to the fact that we're playing and we know now when we're going to play," Ohrablo said.

A deep South Division

The Ghost Pirates will compete in the ECHL’s South Division, which is comprised of the Jacksonville Icemen, Atlanta Gladiators, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Florida Everblades, Orlando Solar Bears and South Carolina Stingrays.

"The South Division may be the hardest division in the ECHL," said Ohrablo, also team president of the Jacksonville team, which will play Savannah seven times, with two at Enmarket Arena. "Players, especially free agents, tend to like to play in places where there is sunshine and beaches, so they sign with those teams. Our fans are going to get treated. I think 84% of our games are against South Division teams. That's pretty exciting. That's going to create some nice rivalries, some fireworks at the arena, and a lot of great competition."

In addition to hosting all of their South Division foes, the Ghost Pirates also will host games against the Utah Grizzlies, Cincinnati Cyclones and Fort Wayne Komets out of the Western Conference, while also entertaining the Worcester Railers from the North Division. The Ghost Pirates will travel for a three-game set at Allen in April 2023.

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For ticket information and more, go to www.ghostpirateshockey.com.

The timetable now moves to the announcement of the team's NHL and American Hockey League affiliations, which Ohrablo expects to be finalized in the next two weeks, and hiring the head coach.

The unveiling of player jerseys is expected by the end of June, with player signings after July 15. Training camp is due to start around Oct. 5 or 6 based on ice rink availability at Enmarket Arena and the Savannah Civic Center, with some practices free and open to the public, Ohrablo said.

One step closer to the season

When the creation of the ECHL expansion club for Savannah was first announced in January 2021, Robertson said the then-unnamed team's inaugural season seemed a long time off.

"Now you're looking at the schedule and realize that it's going to be upon us before we know it," Robertson said. "With every announcement, it gets a little bit more real and the excitement gets larger."

Spencer Luke, CEO of Gastroenterology Consultants of Savannah, said the practice has been buying tickets for years to the Savannah Hockey Classic, which features club teams from the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida and Florida State. The annual event will move from the Savannah Civic Center to Enmarket Arena in January.

"It's just a lot of fun," said Luke, estimating he's attended about 10 times. "It's just something different you don't get to see a lot of around here. I wouldn't consider myself a really big hockey fan, but it's a fun experience.

The practice also purchases reserved tickets to the Savannah Bananas collegiate summer league games at Grayson Stadium.

So when the opportunity came for Savannah's first pro hockey team, his company purchased a block of eight season tickets for the 36 home games.

"We're really excited about it," said Luke, 45. "To be able to offer that for our team members and other physicians and offices in the community, and to support the community through this, I think is a really cool venture."

Ghost Pirates' 2022-23 regular-season schedule

(Schedule is subject to change. All times Eastern)

October

Saturday, Oct. 22 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 28 at Fort Wayne, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29 at Fort Wayne, 7:30 p.m.

November

Friday, Nov. 4 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 5 vs. Greenville, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 11 vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 12 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 13 at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 18 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 19 vs. Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 24 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26 at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

December

Thursday, Dec. 1 vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 2 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 3 at South Carolina, 3:05 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 8 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 9 vs. Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 10 vs. Florida, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 14 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 16 at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 17 at South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 18 at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 21 at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 22 vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 23 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 28 at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 30 vs. Greenville, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 31 vs. Jacksonville, 5 p.m.

January

Sunday, Jan. 1 at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 7 vs, South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 8 at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 13 vs. South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 14 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 20 at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 21 at Florida, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 26 at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 27 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 28 at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

February

Friday, Feb. 3 vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 4 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 5 at Atlanta, 3 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 10 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 11 vs, South Carolina, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 17 vs. Utah, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. Greenville, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 19 at Greenville, 3:05 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 24 vs. Fort Wayne, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 25 vs. Fort Wayne, 7 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 26 vs. Worcester, 3 p.m.

March

Thursday, March 2 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 4 vs. Florida, 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 5 vs. Florida, 3 p.m.

Friday, March 10 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 11 at. Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 12 vs. Greenville, 3 p.m.

Thursday, March 16 vs. Greenville, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 17 at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Saturday March 18 at South Carolina, 6:05 p.m.

Thursday, March 23 at Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 24 vs. South Carolina, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 25 vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Friday, March 31 vs. Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

April

Saturday, April 1 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, April 2 vs. Greenville, 3 p.m.

Wednesday, April 5 at Allen, 8:05 p.m.

Friday, April 7 at Allen, 8:05 p.m.

Saturday, April 8 at Allen, 8:05 p.m.

Wednesday, April 12 at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, April 13 at Greenville, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, April 15 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m.

Nathan Dominitz is the Sports Content Editor of the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow.com. Email him at ndominitz@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @NathanDominitz

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Ghost Pirates: ECHL ice hockey team schedule 2022-23 revealed