NHL regular season schedule released

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This article was published 22/06/2011 (4719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEAPOLIS — The city’s new era of NHL hockey kicks off with a stellar two weeks, the league announced today when it released its full 2011-12 schedule.

Winnipeg starts with the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 9 at the MTS Centre.

Two road games will follow against Chicago and Phoenix and then the Pittsburgh Penguins will be at the MTS Centre on Oct. 17.

December will be heavy with home games, 12 in all.

The first appearance of the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the annual New Years Eve game in Winnipeg.

The team’s scheduled starting times throughout the season, namely Saturdays at 6 p.m., suggest that it could be on Hockey Night in Canada as many as 15 times.

Winnipeg plays most of the Western Conference teams — its future hot rivals — only once each this season because it will be in the Eastern Conference for one year.

But of the western teams, Phoenix, Edmonton and Colorado will get home-and-homes with Winnipeg this season in order to make up the 82-game schedule.

In total, there will be seven games at the MTS Centre this season featuring Canadian teams, including two against Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa and one more against Edmonton.

Winnipeg fans will have to wait a season to see Vancouver and Calgary at the MTS Centre.

True North also said today that single-game tickets — the 1,000 or fewer that are left after a 13,000-seat season-ticket campaign concluded nearly three weeks ago — will not go on sale until September.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca