STEELHOUNDS On the road again ... and again ... and again

Youngstown's CHL team will travel more than 26,000 miles this season.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown SteelHounds will put the "road" in "road trip" in their inaugural season in the Central Hockey League.
Youngstown, which released its 2005-06 schedule Thursday, will travel 26,591 miles this season, the equivalent of about 11 round trips between New York City and Los Angeles.
The SteelHounds open the season on the road Oct. 21 against the Tulsa Oilers.
Youngstown's first home game will be Nov. 4 against the Oklahoma City Blazers. The teams will play again the following night at the Youngstown Convocation Center.
The bulk of the schedule will be against Northeast Division rivals Memphis (nine games), Bossier-Shreveport (eight games) and Fort Worth (eight games).
The busiest months for the SteelHounds will be February (15 games) and December (13 games). Youngstown will play 10 games in both January and March and 11 games in November.
The SteelHounds will play eight home games in November, their busiest month at the Convocation Center.
Extended stay
The two longest homestands will be six games each. The first comes Nov. 4-16 and the second from Nov. 25-Dec. 7. Youngstown will also have three five-game homestands, including the final five games of the regular season.
The SteelHounds will have a season-long eight-game road trip from Feb. 7-20 covering games in seven cities. They will also have a six-game trip, a five-game trip and two four-game trips.
Youngstown will host a special Kid's Day Hockey School game Feb. 1 against the Memphis RiverKings. The game will begin at 11 a.m., and will cater to Valley kids in grades 4-12.
Opening night festivities will begin at 7:05 p.m. with the puck dropping at 7:30 p.m. All other SteelHounds home games will begin at 7:05 p.m.
Season tickets are available by calling (330) 747-PUCK (7825). Individual tickets will go on sale Oct. 3.
Schedule notes
The SteelHounds will play their first five games away from home. They will be part of three home openers, including their own. The 'Hounds will also open the season for Tulsa (Oct. 21) and Memphis (Oct. 28). ... Youngstown will play eight of 11 games at home during the month of November. ... The SteelHounds will finish their inaugural season with five straight home games, including the last three against Fort Worth. ... The Oct. 22 game against Bossier-Shreveport will mark coach Jean Laforest's return to face the team he led to two President's Cup Championships in the Western Professional Hockey League.