Griffins set Oct. 9 home opener for milestone 2026-27 season
The Griffins’ first 2026-27 anchor is Oct. 9 at Van Andel Arena, a season that will mark 26 years in the AHL and 31 overall.
The first real marker on the Griffins’ 2026-27 calendar is in place, and it carries the kind of weight fans notice long before the full schedule lands. Grand Rapids will open its home slate Friday, Oct. 9 at Van Andel Arena, with Opening Night presented by Huntington Bank.
That date is one of six home games already confirmed by the American Hockey League, giving the Griffins at least a framework for the next season while the rest of the league schedule waits for later in the summer. The other locked-in home dates are Friday, Nov. 27, Thursday, Dec. 31, Saturday, Jan. 16, Saturday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, March 20.
The opener matters because it is more than a box-office date. The 2026-27 campaign will be the Griffins’ 26th year of AHL membership and 31st season overall, a reminder of how long this franchise has stayed relevant in a league built on churn. In Grand Rapids, that continuity has become part of the product: steady crowds, familiar traditions and a home ice identity that has outlasted plenty of roster turnover.
Two of the confirmed dates already carry the franchise’s signature weight. The Dec. 31 game will be the Griffins’ 29th annual New Year’s Eve Celebration, one of the organization’s longest-running events. The Jan. 16 home game will serve as a lead-in to the 2027 Great Skate Winterfest, the annual fundraiser tied to the Griffins Youth Foundation.
The most useful part for fans is what comes next. Opponents for the six confirmed dates will be announced later in the summer when the full AHL schedule is released, and single-game tickets are set to go on sale later as well. Season tickets and group outings are already available through the team, which means the calendar is taking shape even before the league fills in the rest.
For now, Oct. 9 is the date that frames everything else. It is the start of another Van Andel Arena season, the first glimpse of a milestone year, and the point when Grand Rapids begins finding out what this next Griffins team will really be.
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