Friday and Saturday Games to Feature New 7 p.m. Start Time

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. The Grand Rapids Griffins on Tuesday announced that they will open their tenth anniversary schedule one week earlier than planned. The Griffins 2005-06 home opener, originally set for Oct. 15, will now take place on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Van Andel Arena.

The change is a result of the American Hockey Leagues decision to move up the start of its regular season to Oct. 5, aligning with the National Hockey Leagues calendar.

Coincidentally, the Oct. 8 home opener will be the first to feature the Griffins new start time of 7 p.m. for nearly all games, with the exception of Sundays and a few 8 p.m. Saturday starts necessitated by earlier events at Van Andel Arena. In recent seasons, only Monday-Thursday games started at 7 p.m.

Extensive research shows that a large majority of our fans prefer a 7 oclock start for Friday and Saturday games, instead of the 7:30 p.m. faceoff weve had since our second season, said Bob Sack, the Griffins senior vice president of sales and marketing. The change, overwhelmingly favored by families, was strongly supported across our entire fan base as well, making it an easy decision for us.

The Griffins complete 2005-06 schedule is expected to be released within the week. However, group tickets for three known home dates Oct. 8, Nov. 15 and Dec. 31 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 mid-September.