A date with the WHL champion Seattle Thunderbirds and a visit from the newly minted Wenatchee Wild highlight the Red Deer Rebels 2023-24 regular season schedule.
Tuesday, the league announced Red Deer’s full 68-game schedule, which begins with the Red Deer Advocate Home Opener on Sept. 22 against the Edmonton Oil Kings. Red Deer will travel to Edmonton the following night for their home opener.
Red Deer will play the Oil Kings 10 times this season, including to conclude the regular season on March 23 and 24. The Rebels will play the Calgary Hitmen nine times while squaring off with the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Lethbridge Hurricanes six times each.
The league champion Thunderbirds will be in town on Tuesday, Oct. 24. It will be the first visit to the Centrium for U.S. Division teams since 2019-20. The Wild are the WHL’s newest franchise after the Winnipeg ICE unexpectedly moved to the American city earlier this summer.
Other U.S. Division teams visiting the Centrium include Portland Winterhawks on Oct. 27, the Everett Silvertips on Dec. 2, the Spokane Chiefs on Jan. 10 before the Tri-City Americans two nights later on Jan. 12.
Interconference play this season will see the Rebels visit B.C. Division teams for the first time since the 2019-20 season. In November, the Rebels will cross the Rockies for a five-game trip that will see them take on the Kamloops Blazers (Nov. 3), Kelowna Rockets (Nov. 4), Victoria Royals (Nov. 7), Vancouver Giants (Nov. 8) and Prince George Cougars (Nov. 10).
All home games at the Peavey Mart Centrium begin at 7 p.m., aside from Monday, February 19 when the Rebels host the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a Family Day Matinee at 2 p.m.