Stock up on fuel for the Zamboni.

Hockey’s return to Jacksonville comes in five months.

The Jacksonville IceMen rolled out the schedule Tuesday for their debut season in the ECHL, which begins Oct. 14 at Veterans Memorial Arena against the Orlando Solar Bears.

That game will be the first for a professional Jacksonville hockey franchise since April 13, 2008, when the Jacksonville Barracudas lost 4-2 to the Knoxville Ice Bears.

The schedule includes 36 home games at the arena, most of them set for 7:30 p.m. Of those home games, 22 are on Friday or Saturday nights.

"A big part of our crowd is families," team president Bob Ohrablo said. "Those Fridays, Saturdays and Sunday matinees work best for them. We’re absolutely thrilled by that."

Also included are three Sunday afternoon starts and a rare morning game, tentatively set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 15 against the South Carolina Stingrays. Ohrablo said the club plans to work with local schools to schedule field trips to the game.

It’s also a Southeast-heavy alignment, with nine matchups against the Solar Bears and 14 against the Florida Everblades from Estero, near Fort Myers. Other frequent foes include the Atlanta Gladiators (11 games, including a league-high seven at the arena), Greenville Swamp Rabbits (10) and South Carolina (10).

The team hopes to use those games to build rivalries against regional opponents.

"There’s nothing better than good local rivalries in hockey," Ohrablo said. "You get to know each other and the games get a little feisty."

By contrast, the IceMen won’t have any meetings with several distant ECHL teams, like the Alaska Aces and Idaho Steelheads.

The schedule’s announcement is the latest milestone for the IceMen, who took a one-year hiatus from the ice while completing their move from Evansville, Ind. The relocation, announced in February, makes the team Jacksonville’s sixth professional hockey franchise.

The ECHL, which was known as the East Coast Hockey League during the heyday of the Jacksonville Lizard Kings, fielded 27 teams during the 2016-17 season. Along with the Icemen, the Worcester Railers join the league next year, while the Elmira Jackals folded in April.

The next few months will be hectic for the IceMen.

Ohrablo said the next major move will be hiring a coach, a process that he expects will wrap up shortly after Memorial Day. He said the front office has winnowed down an initial field of more than 70 applicants, and that past experience will be key.

"It’s almost like a college coach, where you’re recruiting as much as coaching," he said. "You’ve got to have the networks with the juniors, the AHL teams."

Also on the agenda: securing an affiliation agreement with a National Hockey League team. The Icemen are one of four ECHL clubs, along with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Fort Wayne Komets and Missouri Mavericks, without a deal in place.

Ohrablo said the parent club’s location isn’t as important as the depth and overall quality of the organization.

"It’s nice to develop players," Ohrablo said, "but we want to win."

He recognizes the IceMen face a challenge to succeed in a market where past hockey efforts - five of them - have failed.

Northeast Florida’s hockey graveyard includes the Barracudas (2002-08) and Lizard Kings (1995-2000), as well as several earlier efforts: the Bullets (1992-96), Barons (1973-74) and Rockets (1964-72).

This time, Ohrablo believes things will turn out differently. The arena provides a much more modern venue than the old Jacksonville Coliseum, and an influx of residents from outside the area means the team has a larger potential fan base.

"People are moving down from the upper Midwest, the Northeast," he said. "They move here knowing about hockey."

He said the ownership group has sufficient funding to stick with the project long-term, even in the event of initial losses. Chief executive officer Ron Geary heads that group, which includes a local minority partner in Frank Ruperto, chief financial officer and senior vice president of Rayonier Advanced Materials.

Ohrablo said the team’s deal with the city will include upgrades for the arena’s 13-year-old ice-making equipment as well as the dasherboards surrounding the playing surface.

And glass.

For years, the arena’s sporadic frozen events haven’t needed strong glass barriers to protect the fans from the action. Not so once the IceMen lace up their skates.

"There’s a whole lot more hitting in the ECHL than in Disney on Ice," he said.

Full schedule

Saturday, Oct. 14 vs. ORLANDO 7:30pm

Saturday, Oct. 21 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 7:30pm

Thursday, Oct. 26 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Saturday, Nov. 4 at Greenville 7:00pm

Sunday, Nov. 5 at South Carolina 3:05pm

Wednesday, Nov. 8 at Brampton 7:15pm

Friday, Nov. 10 at Manchester 6:00pm

Saturday, Nov. 11 at Reading 4:00pm

Wednesday, Nov. 15 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 10:30am*

Friday, Nov. 17 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Saturday, Nov. 18 at Florida 7:00pm

Tuesday, Nov. 21 at Orlando 7:00pm

Wednesday, Nov. 22 vs. ORLANDO 7:30pm

Friday, Nov. 24 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Sunday, Nov. 26 at Atlanta 2:05pm

Tuesday, Nov. 28 vs. ORLANDO 7:30pm

Thursday, Nov. 30 vs. NORFOLK 7:30pm

Saturday, Dec. 2 vs. NORFOLK 7:30pm

Wednesday, Dec. 6 at Atlanta 7:05pm

Friday, Dec. 8 at Florida 7:30pm

Saturday, Dec. 9 at Florida 7:00pm

Wednesday, Dec. 13 vs. MANCHESTER 7:30pm

Saturday, Dec. 16 vs. GREENVILLE 7:30pm

Wednesday, Dec. 20 at Florida 7:30pm

Thursday, Dec. 21 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Friday, Dec. 22 at Greenville 7:00pm

Wednesday, Dec. 27 at Orlando 7:00pm

Friday, Dec. 29 at Norfolk 7:00pm

Saturday, Dec. 30 at Norfolk 7:00pm

Wednesday, Jan. 3 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Friday, Jan. 5 vs. ORLANDO 7:30pm

Saturday, Jan. 6 vs. ORLANDO 7:30pm

Sunday, Jan. 7 at Orlando 7:00pm

Wednesday, Jan. 10 vs. GREENVILLE 7:30pm

Friday, Jan. 12 at Florida 7:30pm

Saturday, Jan. 13 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Sunday, Jan. 14 at South Carolina 3:05pm

Friday, Jan. 19 at Worcester 7:05pm

Saturday, Jan. 20 at Manchester 6:00pm

Sunday, Jan. 21 at Manchester 3:00pm

Wednesday, Jan. 24 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 7:30pm

Friday, Jan. 26 vs. GREENVILLE 7:30pm

Saturday, Jan. 27 vs. GREENVILLE 7:30pm

Sunday, Jan. 28 vs. GREENVILLE 3:00pm

Friday, Feb. 2 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Saturday, Feb. 3 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 7:30pm

Tuesday, Feb. 6 at Greenville 7:00pm

Friday, Feb. 9 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Saturday, Feb. 10 vs. ATLANTA 7:30pm

Sunday, Feb. 11 vs. ALLEN 3:00pm

Wednesday, Feb. 14 at Norfolk 10:00am

Friday, Feb. 16 at South Carolina 7:05pm

Saturday, Feb. 17 at South Carolina 7:05pm

Monday, Feb. 19 at Norfolk 2:00pm

Friday, Feb. 23 vs. NORFOLK 7:30pm

Saturday, Feb. 24 at Florida 7:00pm

Sunday, Feb. 25 vs. BRAMPTON 3:00pm

Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Florida 7:30pm

Friday, March 2 vs. READING 7:30pm

Friday, March 9 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Saturday, March 10 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Thursday, March 15 at Atlanta 7:05pm

Saturday, March 17 at Atlanta 7:05pm

Sunday, March 18 at Norfolk 2:00pm

Friday, March 23 at Greenville 7:00pm

Saturday, March 24 at Greenville 7:00pm

Thursday, March 29 at Orlando 7:00pm

Friday, March 30 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 7:30pm

Saturday, March 31 vs. SOUTH CAROLINA 7:30pm

Thursday, April 5 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Friday, April 6 vs. FLORIDA 7:30pm

Saturday, April 7 at Florida 7:00pm

*School day game – date/time subject to change

Home games in CAPS