Thunder Announce 25th Anniversary Schedule

Wichita, KS (April 28th) - The Wichita Thunder, proud member of the ECHL and powered by Toyota, are excited to announce their full schedule for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Entering their third year in the ECHL, the Thunder will play a 72-game schedule with 36 games on the road and 36 games at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Wichita will begin its 25th Anniversary season on Saturday, October 15th, which is also the team's home opener, against the Tulsa Oilers. The Thunder will then host the Missouri Mavericks on the following Friday, October 21st, before heading out to the east coast for four-straight games. Wichita will make its first-ever trips to South Carolina, Atlanta and Greenville to close out October.

An early test will come around Thanksgiving, when the Thunder plays six games in nine days with three against Alaska and three against Tulsa. The Aces come in for three-straight on November 18th, 19th and 20th. Wichita will host the Oilers on Wednesday, November 23rd, which is the night before Thanksgiving. The Oilers make a return on Black Friday before the Thunder close out a busy week the following day at the BOK Center on Saturday, November 26th.

Besides making their first-ever trip to three new opponents early in the season, the Thunder will travel to Cincinnati and Fort Wayne in February. It will be the first time the Thunder will play at War Memorial Coliseum since the 2011-12 CHL Finals. Making their first appearance in Wichita will be the Toledo Walleye, who visit for a pair of games in mid-February. Rapid City will also travel to Wichita after not making a trip to the Air Capital last season.

The longest stretch of road games takes place at the end of January as the Thunder heads to Utah and closes out their six-game road trip with three straight at Missouri on February 7th. Wichita's busiest month will be November with nine home games.

Wichita will play 12 home games on a Friday, nine home games on a Saturday and five home games on a Sunday. Once again, the schedule will be heavy with divisional opponents as the Thunder play Missouri, Allen and Tulsa 14 times each. Wichita will play a total of 15 different teams and host 12 different opponents. The Thunder will play a two-game set at Tulsa on News Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Wichita will also be home the day after Valentine's Day against Rapid City on February 15th.

Monday through Saturday home games will start at 7:05 p.m. while Sunday home games will now start at 4:05 p.m.

A full breakdown of the Thunder's 2016-17 schedule is listed below: (home games in bold)

October 15th vs. TulsaOctober 21st vs. MissouriOctober 25th at South CarolinaOctober 26th at AtlantaOctober 28th at GreenvilleOctober 30th at Greenville

November 4th vs. UtahNovember 5th vs. UtahNovember 11th vs. TulsaNovember 12th at TulsaNovember 13th vs. Fort WayneNovember 18th vs AlaskaNovember 19th vs. AlaskaNovember 20th vs. AlaskaNovember 23rd vs. TulsaNovember 25th vs. TulsaNovember 26th at Tulsa

December 2nd at Rapid CityDecember 3rd at Rapid CityDecember 9th vs. AllenDecember 10th vs. AllenDecember 11th vs. MissouriDecember 16th at AllenDecember 18th vs. AllenDecember 23rd vs. MissouriDecember 28th vs. AllenDecember 30th vs. AllenDecember 31st at Tulsa

January 1st at TulsaJanuary 4th vs. CincinnatiJanuary 6th at MissouriJanuary 7th at MissouriJanuary 10th vs. IndyJanuary 13th at AllenJanuary 14th vs. MissouriJanuary 20th at AllenJanuary 21st at AllenJanuary 22nd vs. AllenJanuary 25th at UtahJanuary 27th at ColoradoJanuary 28th at Colorado

February 3rd at MissouriFebruary 4th at MissouriFebruary 7th at MissouriFebruary 8th vs. ColoradoFebruary 10th vs. ColoradoFebruary 11th vs. ColoradoFebruary 15th vs. Rapid CityFebruary 17th vs. ToledoFebruary 18th vs. ToledoFebruary 19th at TulsaFebruary 22nd at CincinnatiFebruary 24th at CincinnatiFebruary 25th at Fort WayneFebruary 26th at Quad City

March 3rd vs. TulsaMarch 4th vs. TulsaMarch 8th vs. AllenMarch 14th at MissouriMarch 17th at AllenMarch 18th at AlenMarch 22nd vs. Quad CityMarch 24th vs. MissouriMarch 25th at MissouriMarch 26th at Quad CityMarch 28th vs. Quad CityMarch 31st at Tulsa

April 1st vs. MissouriApril 2nd at MissouriApril 4th vs. TulsaApril 5th at AllenApril 8th at Tulsa

Home schedule, Day of the Week:Monday - 0 gamesTuesday - 3 gamesWednesday - 7 gamesThursday - 0 gamesFriday - 12 gamesSaturday - 9 gamesSunday - 5 games

Home schedule by opponent:Alaska Aces - 3 gamesAllen Americans - 7 gamesCincinnati Cyclones - 1 gameColorado Eagles - 3 gamesFort Wayne Komets - 1 gameIndy Fuel - 1 game Missouri Mavericks - 6 gamesQuad City Mallards - 2 gamesRapid City Rush - 1 game Toledo Walleye - 2 gamesTulsa Oilers - 7 gamesUtah Grizzlies - 2 games

Road schedule, Day of the Week:Monday - 0 gamesTuesday - 3 gamesWednesday - 4 gamesThursday - 0 gamesFriday - 11 gamesSaturday - 12 gamesSunday - 6 games

Road schedule by opponent:Allen Americans - 7 gamesAtlanta Gladiators - 1 gameCincinnati Cyclones - 2 gamesColorado Eagles - 2 gamesFort Wayne Komets - 1 gameGreenville Swamp Rabbits - 2 gamesMissouri Mavericks - 8 gamesQuad City Mallards - 2 gamesRapid City Rush - 2 gamesSouth Carolina Stingrays - 1 gameTulsa Oilers - 7 gamesUtah Grizzlies - 1 game

Season ticket holders can now renew their seats for the upcoming 2016-17 season. Put down your $50 deposit per seat and pay it off all summer long. Contact a Thunder representative at the office today.

Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.

About the ECHLThe ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province for its 27th season in 2014-15. There have been over 500 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2013-14 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

-Thunder-