Some Rugged Trips on Rangers’ Itinerary

July 31, 1993

By Paul Stuart, Staff Writer

Press & Sun Bulletin

Binghamton Rangers owners are going to have to reach a little deeper into their pockets this season for travel costs.

The addition and losses of several American Hockey League franchises, the realignment of divisions and some scheduling quirks adds a little more time traveling.

The Rangers’ 1993-94 schedule was released Friday. Here’s a look at some of the highlights:

--Gone are the six trips to nearby Utica, and four to Baltimore, which no longer have AHL franchises. There are three trips to Cornwell, Ontario, the Quebec Nordiques’ new AHL franchise, which joins Binghamton in the Southern Division. There also will be three trips to Portland, Maine, formerly the Baltimore franchise, and three to Springfield, instead of just one last season.

--The annual visit to the Canadian Maritimes will consist of six games Dec. 8-15 instead of the four last season. Binghamton will play new franchises in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and Saint John, New Brunswick, and travel to St. John’s Newfoundland, to meet the Maple Leaf’s, a team they did not play last season.

On the return trip, Binghamton will make a Dec. 17 stop at Portland, then take a seven-hour bus ride home to play the next night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena—concluding a stretch of eight games in 11 days. The team then has a week off.

--Another tough trip will be Jan. 27-29, when the Rangers visit Hamilton on Friday, bus home five hours to host Providence on Saturday, then bus seven hours to play Sunday night at Portland.

--The Rangers will open the season on the AHL’s opening night hosting Hamilton at 7:35 p.m. Oct. 8 in the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Hershey visits Oct. 9. Five of the first six games are at home.

--The annual holiday home games remain intact, including Thanksgiving night, the day after Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Hershey visits Dec. 28, middle day of the three-day Stop DWI high school basketball tourney at the Arena. The same situation occurred last season, when the Arena was changed over to accommodate both events.

“It’s a pretty good schedule,” Binghamton managing partner Tom Mitchell said. “You’re never totally satisfied, but there are a lot of other teams with a lot more problems than we have.”

The Southern Division play, Binghamton will meet longtime rivals Rochester and Hershey 12 times apiece, Hamilton eight times and Cornwall six. The Rangers play all five Northern Division teams six times and all Atlantic Division teams twice. Each series will be equally divided with home and away games.

Prices for single-game tickets have gone up for the first time in three years. The 50-cent increase boosts tickets to $9 and $10.

Home games scheduled Monday through Saturday will begin at 7:35 p.m., with the New Year’s Eve the exception with a 7 p.m. start. Sunday home games will be at 5 p. m., unless the time is changed for TV purposes.

It’s likely the Rangers will play about four preseason AHL exhibition games, including two in Binghamton, probably the weekend of Oct. 1-3.

Training camp, for all New York and Binghamton players, begins Tuesday, Sept. 14 at Glens Falls—after a New York squad returns from two early exhibitions in London England, the weekend before.