It won't take long for Winnipeg hockey fans to see what kind of team the Manitoba Moose have put together this year.
The American Hockey League team released its schedule yesterday, and it shows the Calder Cup finalist opening the season with six straight home games, beginning Oct. 2 against Houston.
It's the first of 14 games for the Moose in October, the club's busiest month of the season.
"It's a pretty balanced schedule," GM Craig Heisinger said. "Probably more balanced than we've had since the lockout year."
That said, Manitoba plays 23 home games in the first half of the schedule, just 17 in the second.
Once again, the AHL schedule is heavy on divisional games.
Face rivals
The Moose face rivals Toronto and Hamilton eight times each. They'll also face the Abbotsford Heat, Calgary's new Canadian farm team, eight times.
Manitoba will play four games against the first-year Texas Stars, Dallas's new minor-league team, but won't face the Adirondack Phantoms, the other new AHL entry.
A rematch of last spring's Calder Cup Final will see the Moose face the Hershey Bears four times in January, the first time here, Jan. 8.
Manitoba's longest road trip is a seven-game jaunt in February, its longest home stand eight games, through the Christmas holiday season.
Overall, the Moose will play just 17 of the league's 29 teams.
