Thunder Announce Full Schedule for 2015-16 Season

Wichita, KS (April 27th) - The Wichita Thunder, proud member of the ECHL and powered by Toyota, announced this afternoon their full schedule for the upcoming 2015-16 season. Entering their second year as a member of the ECHL, the Thunder will play 36 home games at INTRUST Bank Arena and 36 games on the road.

Wichita will begin the 2015-16 campaign on Friday, October 16th on the road at the BOK Center against the Tulsa Oilers. The Thunder will play their home opener the following night against the Quad City Mallards. The Thunder will host divisional opponents 20 of the 36 games played in the Air Capital, which will consist of the Allen Americans, Missouri Mavericks and Tulsa Oilers. Several teams will make their first-ever appearance to the Sunflower State, which includes the Alaska Aces, Cincinnati Cyclones, Idaho Steelheads, Indy Fuel, South Carolina Stingrays and Utah Grizzlies. The Thunder will welcome back the Colorado Eagles for the first time since March 1st, 2011 when the two teams were both members of the Central Hockey League.

The earliest test for the Thunder will be a stretch of seven games in nine days at the beginning of November. Wichita will play a three-in-three with two road games (at Quad City, November 6th, at Missouri, November 7th) and a Sunday matinee against the Mavericks on November 8th. The Thunder will then play four games in five nights, beginning in Allen on November 10th. Wichita will have two seven-game stints away from home, which are the longest trips of the season. From December 5th to December 19th, Wichita will play in four different cities before returning home on Sunday, December 20th to host Cincinnati. At the end of February, Wichita will be away from the 27th to March 13th.

Wichita will visit four new opponents this season. The Thunder will rekindle their rivalry with the Colorado Eagles with three road contests at the beginning of December. In the middle of January, Wichita will make its first-ever trip to Utah to face the Grizzlies for three-straight. The Thunder will return to Indy for the first time since the 2003-04 season when they were a member of the Central Hockey League and known as the Indianapolis Ice. Wichita will also play at Evansville for the first time since the 2011-12 season. The Rapid City Rush will not make a trip to Wichita, however, the Thunder will play in the Black Hills three times this season.

In terms of the most games against an opponent, Wichita will play the Missouri Mavericks 15 times followed by 13 games a-piece against Tulsa and Allen. 57 of the 72 game schedule will take place on a Friday (19), Saturday (25) or a Sunday (13). Wichita hosts the Colorado Eagles on Halloween and will play at home against Indy on Thanksgiving Eve. The Thunder will be on the road at Missouri on New Year's Eve for the second year in a row. Wichita will spend Valentine's Day at Tulsa to round out the Thunder's games on holidays next season.

A full breakdown of the Thunder's 2015-16 schedule is listed below:

Date Opponent

Friday, Oct. 16th at Tulsa OilersSaturday, Oct. 17th Quad City Mallards Friday, Oct. 23rd Missouri MavericksSaturday, Oct. 24th at Missouri MavericksSunday, Oct. 25th at Quad City MallardsFriday, Oct. 30th Colorado EaglesSaturday, Oct. 31st Colorado Eagles

Friday, Nov. 6th at Quad City MallardsSaturday, Nov. 7th at Missouri MavericksSunday, Nov. 8th Missouri MavericksTuesday, Nov. 10th at Allen AmericansWednesday, Nov. 11th Tulsa OilersFriday, Nov. 13th Missouri MavericksSaturday, Nov. 14th Missouri MavericksFriday, Nov. 20th Allen AmericansSaturday, Nov. 21st Missouri MavericksWednesday, Nov. 25th Indy FuelFriday, Nov. 27th at Tulsa OilersSaturday, Nov. 28th Tulsa Oilers

Saturday, Dec. 5th at Missouri MavericksTuesday, Dec. 8th at Rapid City RushWednesday, Dec. 9th at Colorado EaglesFriday, Dec. 11th at Colorado EaglesSaturday, Dec. 12th at Colorado EaglesFriday, Dec. 18th at Tulsa OilersSaturday, Dec. 19th at Tulsa OilersSunday, Dec. 20th Cincinnati CyclonesSaturday, Dec. 26th Tulsa OilersSunday, Dec. 27th Allen AmericansWednesday, Dec. 30th Allen Americans Thursday, Dec. 31st at Missouri Mavericks

Saturday, Jan. 2nd at Indy FuelSunday, Jan. 3rd at Evansville IceMen Friday, Jan. 8th Tulsa OilersSaturday, Jan. 9th at Tulsa OilersFriday, Jan. 15th at Utah GrizzliesSaturday, Jan. 16th at Utah GrizzliesMonday, Jan. 18th at Utah GrizzliesFriday, Jan. 22nd Allen AmericansSunday, Jan. 24th at Allen AmericansWednesday, Jan. 27th Evansville IceMenFriday, Jan. 29th at Missouri MavericksSaturday, Jan. 30th at Missouri MavericksSunday, Jan. 31st Missouri Mavericks

Friday, Feb. 5th Colorado EaglesSaturday, Feb. 6th at Allen AmericansFriday, Feb. 12th South Carolina StingraysSaturday, Feb. 13th South Carolina StingraysSunday, Feb. 14th at Tulsa OilersTuesday, Feb. 16th Quad City MallardsSaturday, Feb. 20th Idaho SteelheadsSunday, Feb. 21st Idaho SteelheadsFriday, Feb. 26th Allen AmericansSaturday, Feb. 27th at Allen AmericansSunday, Feb. 28th at Allen Americans

Friday, March 4th at Missouri MavericksSaturday, March 5th at Quad City MallardsSunday, March 6th at Evansville IceMenSaturday, March 12th at Allen AmericansSunday, March 13th at Allen AmericansTuesday, March 15th Alaska AcesWednesday, March 16th Alaska AcesSaturday, March 19th Missouri MavericksSunday, March 20th Missouri MavericksWednesday, March 23rd Allen AmericansSaturday, March 26th Quad City MallardsTuesday, March 29th Quad City Mallards

Friday, April 1st at Rapid City RushSaturday, April 2nd at Rapid City RushWednesday, April 6th Tulsa OilersFriday, April 8th Tulsa OilersSaturday, April 9th at Tulsa Oilers

*Bold - Denotes Home game

Home schedule, Day of the Week:Monday - 0 gamesTuesday - 3 gamesWednesday - 7 gamesThursday - 0 gamesFriday - 10 gamesSaturday - 10 gamesSunday - 6 games

Home schedule by opponent:Alaska Aces - 2 gamesAllen Americans - 6 gamesCincinnati Cyclones - 1 gameColorado Eagles - 3 gamesEvansville IceMen - 1 gameIdaho Steelheads - 2 gamesIndy Fuel - 1 gameMissouri Mavericks - 8 gamesQuad City Mallards - 4 gamesSouth Carolina Stingrays - 2 gamesTulsa Oilers - 6 games

Road schedule, Day of the Week:Monday - 1 gamesTuesday - 2 gamesWednesday - 1 gamesThursday - 1 gamesFriday - 9 gamesSaturday - 15 gamesSunday - 7 games

Road schedule by opponent:Allen Americans - 7 gamesColorado Eagles - 3 gamesEvansville IceMen - 2 gamesIndy Fuel - 1 gameMissouri Mavericks - 7 gamesQuad City Mallards - 3 gamesRapid City - 3 gamesTulsa Oilers - 7 gamesUtah Grizzlies - 3 games

Season tickets are on sale now. Don't delay! Call the Wichita Thunder office and visit with a season ticket rep today to learn more. Stay up-to-date on all the news during the off-season by visiting www.wichitathunder.com. About the ECHL

The 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 541 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-