In conjunction with the AHL league office, Worcester Sharks President Michael T. Lehr announced the league’s division alignment for the 2006-07 season. The Sharks schedule breakdown has also been finalized with the team scheduled to play 62 of their 80 regular season games against Atlantic Division opponents.

The AHL’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the conference and division alignment for the 2006-07 regular season. The breakdown is as follows:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
Hartford (NYR)
Lowell (NJ)
Manchester (LA)
Portland (ANA)
Providence (BOS)
Springfield (TB)
WORCESTER (SJ)

East Division
Albany (CAR/COL)
Binghamton (OTT)
Bridgeport (NYI)
Hershey (WSH)
Norfolk (CHI)
Philadelphia (PHI)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (PIT)

Western Conference

North Division
Grand Rapids (DET)
Hamilton (MTL)
Manitoba (VAN)
Rochester (BUF/FLA)
Syracuse (CBJ)
Toronto (TOR)

West Division
Chicago (ATL)
Houston (MIN)
Iowa (DAL)
Milwaukee (NSH)
Omaha (CGY)
Peoria (STL)
San Antonio (PHX)

The Sharks and their fans will receive a heavy dose of inter-divisional opponents with 10 regular season games scheduled against Hartford, Lowell, Manchester, Portland, and Springfield. Providence, also an Atlantic Division opponent, will face off against the Sharks 12 times. All series will be split evenly between home and away games. (i.e. The Sharks will host Providence six times at the DCU Center during the regular season.)

The remainder of the Sharks schedule is primarily consumed with Eastern Conference opponents with Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre being the only East Division opponents not to appear at the DCU Center. The Sharks will battle Bridgeport and Norfolk a total of four times and face-off against Albany, Binghamton and Hershey for a total of two times a piece. Two games versus Houston and San Antonio, the only Western Conference opponents on the schedule, will complete the 80-game regular season slate.

The Board will consider the regular-season schedule format and the Calder Cup Playoff format for 2006-07 at the league’s Annual Meeting, scheduled for June 26-29 at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

The Sharks open the 2006-07 AHL season in October. The finalized scheduled is expected to be released in August. Season and partial ticket plans are currently on sale. For more information, fans can call the Sharks at 508-929-0500 or Crash the Net at the team’s official web site, www.sharksahl.com.