GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday released the schedule for their 2006-07 season presented by Comcast.

The 80-game slate, which begins Oct. 6 in San Antonio and concludes April 15 in Toronto, includes 15 Saturdays and 13 Fridays at Van Andel Arena. Those 28 prime home dates as well as the 15 different opponents featured on the schedule tie for the most in team history.

After beginning the campaign with three straight road contests, the Griffins will welcome the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights to Van Andel Arena for their home opener on Saturday, Oct. 14, kicking off a season-high eight-game home stand. Nine of the teams first 10 home games will be played on either Friday or Saturday, and the Griffins will be home every Friday from Oct. 20 to Dec. 15.

Grand Rapids home schedule is highlighted by the first-ever meeting with the Albany River Rats on Saturday, Nov. 11, the sixth annual Griffins Matinee Game presented by Lake Michigan Credit Union on Tuesday, Nov. 14 (Milwaukee Admirals), and four holiday contests: Friday, Nov. 24 (Chicago Wolves), Tuesday, Dec. 26 (Peoria Rivermen), Sunday, Dec. 31 (Rochester Americans), and Saturday, March 17 (Manitoba Moose).

With five exceptions, all Griffins home games will begin at 7 p.m. In addition to the noon start on Nov. 14 and a 4 p.m. Sunday face off on Feb. 25, the Oct. 20 and Dec. 30 contests will start at 8 p.m. due to arena events earlier that day, while the Dec. 1 game will feature the teams first-ever 6:30 p.m. start to accommodate a special post-game event that will be announced in the coming weeks.

Group tickets for all home games, along with full season, 20-game, 10-game and five-game ticket packages, are currently available by calling the Griffins at (616) 774-4585 or (800) 2-HOCKEY. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the public in September.

Click here for a PDF of the Griffins' 2006-07 schedule.

Click here to view the Griffins' schedule online.