The American Hockey League and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, have unveiled the schedule for the 2015-2016 regular season, the team's second campaign playing at the PPL Center in downtown Allentown and the franchise's 20th Anniversary Season.

This season will showcase many of the intense rivalry showdowns fans came to enjoy during the Inaugural Season of Phantoms hockey in the Lehigh Valley including a dozen meetings each with the Washington Capitals' affiliate Hershey Bears and the Pittsburgh Penguins' affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins along with eight head-to-head clashes with the Binghamton Senators, affiliate of the Ottawa Senators.The 76-game regular season schedule will begin at home for the Phantoms on Saturday, October 10 when they welcome the Syracuse Crunch to PPL Center. The team's 20th Anniversary Season will then conclude against Syracuse as well on Sunday, April 17 back in Allentown. In between, Lehigh Valley will enjoy 36 additional thrilling home contests at PPL Center along with 38 road tilts across the AHL landscape."We're thrilled to release this exciting schedule to our fans," Phantoms Executive Vice President Chris Porreca said. "It highlights the intense rivalries established during our Inaugural Season in the Lehigh Valley while also introducing some new opponents to our fans. Obviously last season was a year we'll never forget but we're looking forward to another great season for the Phantoms."Lehigh Valley renews its Pennsylvania rivalries first on Saturday, October 17 when the Phantoms travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a showdown with the Penguins before invading the Giant Center in Hershey on Sunday, November 1 for a meeting with the Bears. Hershey makes its first trip to PPL Center just five days later (Friday, November 6) while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton travels to downtown Allentown for the first of six occasions on Friday, December 11.In all, fans will see 14 different opponents at PPL Center this season including a pair of teams that will be making their first-ever trips to downtown Allentown. The Rochester Americans, affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres and now part of the Eastern Conference's North Division, make their first trip to PPL Center and only visit to Lehigh Valley this season on Friday, November 13. Meanwhile, the defending Western Conference Champion and Vancouver Canucks' affiliate, the Utica Comets, also members of the Eastern Conference's North Division, make their first-ever stop in downtown Allentown on Saturday, February 13.The Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers), Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders) and Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins) all make three trips each to PPL Center. After just two stops in Lehigh Valley last season, the Wolf Pack visit downtown Allentown on Saturday, January 16, Friday, February 26, and Saturday, March 26 while the Sound Tigers invade PPL Center on Saturday, December 26, Saturday, February 20, and Saturday, April 9. Meanwhile, the Bruins come to town on Saturday, October 24, Saturday, November 28, and Friday, March 25 after just one visit to PPL Center a year ago.November and December (13 total games) check in as the busiest months overall for Lehigh Valley while February (7 home games) will be the Phantoms busiest month at PPL Center. What's more, Lehigh Valley's schedule features two five-game home stands. The first of the season-long stretches at PPL Center begins on Wednesday, December 9 and concludes on Friday, December 18 (Hershey 2x, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2x, Springfield) while the second five-game home stand runs from Wednesday, February 10 to Saturday, February 20 (Binghamton, Portland, Utica, Springfield, Bridgeport).