AHA Releases 2002-2003 Schedule
Admirals Play Majority of Games on Sunday
October 17, 2002
The Adult Hockey Association (AHA) released the first part of its 2002-2003 schedule on Thursday. The Admirals will start the season on Sunday, October 27, playing a familiar foe, the Roadrunners, at 8:45pm at the Bloomington Ice Gardens. The game will be played on BIG's Rink 3, which is an international-sized rink. The Ads' regular-season finale will be played on Monday, March 17, against the Land Sharks.
Joining the Admirals in AHA's Tier D1 will be the Landsharks, who were in Tier 4B with the Admirals last year; the Kodiaks, Lions, Roadrunners, and Sting, who are moving up from playing in Tier 4C; and three new teams, the Ice Hounds, Mudflaps, and Raiders. Each team will play the Admirals at least twice, with three meetings scheduled against the Ice Hounds, Land Sharks, Lions, and Roadrunners.
The AHA schedule is very weekend-heavy, with most games being played on Sundays. Game times are generally earlier than in years past, with no games starting after 10 PM. The Admirals will play twenty games, thirteen of those on Sundays. The club will also play two games each on Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday, and one Thursday night game in January.
One game a week will be the norm during the 2002-2003 season, but there will be exceptions. Due to their being an odd number of teams--nine--in Tier D1, there are two times that the club will play twice in one week, and twice that the team will take a week off (including the Christmas holiday).
Eleven rinks in nine arenas will be used during the Admirals' season, with St. Louis Park Arena (East Rink) and Breck School's Anderson Arena in Golden Valley tied for the most games this season, four. Three games will be played at the Augsburg College Ice Arena in Minneapolis (two on rink B, one on A), while there will be two games each at Charles Schulz Highland Arena (one on each rink), Pleasant Arena, and the State Fairgrounds Coliseum, all in St. Paul. The season-opening game is the only time the Ads will play in Bloomington, while this season will mark the Admiral debut at Columbia Arena, in Fridley, and the Plymouth Ice Center.
