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ICEHOGS' OPPONENTS FOR 2009-10 SET

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Hogs will face every team in the Western Conference except Rochester

Springfield, Mass.- The American Hockey League Board of Governors approved the list of opponents for the Rockford IceHogs, the league announced on Tuesday.

The IceHogs are set to play all six West Division opponents at least eight times each and will play all but one team in the Western Conference at least twice. The Hogs will face Chicago, Milwaukee and Peoria ten times each.

The Hogs will play four times in the brand new Cedar Park Center against the Texas Stars and have four dates in San Antonio and Houston, one more than in 2008-09. All three teams from Texas will play at the MetroCentre four times as well.

The non-division schedule for Rockford includes eight games against Grand Rapids, six against Lake Erie, four against Abbotsford and Manitoba and two each against Hamilton and Toronto. The Hogs will not play the Rochester Americans or a non-conference team in 2009-10.

Below is a full list of home dates against each team (all teams have the same number of home and road dates against each opponent):

North Division
Abbotsford Heat - 2
Grand Rapids - 4
Hamilton Bulldogs - 1
Lake Erie Monsters - 3
Manitoba Moose - 2
Toronto Marlies - 1

West Division
Chicago Wolves - 5
Houston Aeros - 4
Milwaukee Admirals - 5
Peoria Rivermen - 5
San Antonio Rampage - 4
Texas Stars - 4

The 2009-10 regular season will begin on Oct. 2. The complete schedule will be announced later this summer.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the eighth year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2008-09.