The North American Hockey League released its schedule for the 16th annual NAHL Showcase and we now know the opening date for the Bismarck Bobcats 22nd season.

You know that it's getting late in summer when we're talking about the start of hockey season.

The Bobcats will open up their 2018-2019 season on Wednesday, September 19th against the Kenai River Brown Bears in Blaine, MN at 10:30 a.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in the NAHL Showcase, but the 15th overall. The Bobcats are 10-3-1 in the all-time series against the Brown Bears.

The second day of the showcase features the Bobcats taking on the Maryland Black Bears in a 7:30 p.m. prime time slot. The Black Bears are the newest addition to the NAHL as they'll be playing their inaugural season.

On Friday, September 21st, the Bobcats will clash with a former Central Division opponent, the Minnesota Magicians, at 5 p.m. The Bobcats haven't met with the Magicians since the final day of the NAHL Showcase in 2016 when the Bobcats lost a tough matchup, 3-2. This time around, the Bobcats will be looking to pull the rabbit out of the Magicians' hat with a victory in Blaine.

The Bobcats final game of the showcase will be at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 22nd against the Janesville Jets out of the Midwest Division. The two teams haven't met since the showcase in 2014 when the Bobcats handed the Jets a 4-1 loss. The Janesville Jets suffered just nine defeats that season during their record-breaking campaign.

Friday, October 5th, the Bobcats will play their home opener for the season against the Minot Minotauros at the VFW Sports Center in Bismarck.

Get your Bismarck Bobcats season tickets now at their website or you can text “SEASON TICKETS” to 701-390-7422 for more info.

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