Admirals open against new coach’s old team

New Milwaukee Admirals coach Karl Taylor will start his tenure in a familiar building when the Admirals open their 2018-'19 season at the Texas Stars on Oct. 6.

Taylor spent four seasons as an assistant with the Stars, who made it to the Calder Cup championship series this past season.

The Admirals announced their complete 76-game schedule Wednesday.

After starting with a two-game Texas trip – to meet the Stars and then the San Antonio Rampage on Oct. 9 – Milwaukee plays its first home game at 6 p.m. Oct. 13 against the Hershey Bears at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The schedule includes three significant home stands:

» A five-game, 10-day stretch from Oct. 23 to Nov. 2.

» Nine consecutive home games from Jan. 22 to Feb. 12.

» And five straight from April 3-13, just before the finale.

Conversely, the team will go 20 days without a home game between Feb. 12 (vs. San Antonio) and March 5 (vs. Texas), a span of seven games.

Milwaukee, which missed the playoffs in the spring, will close with 12 consecutive games against AHL Central Division rivals, closing April 14 at Rockford.

The schedule includes one oddity: no Sunday games, for what is thought to be the first time in the franchise's history.

The team expects to announce its schedule of promotions in early September.