The Seattle Thunderbirds will drop their first puck in Kent no later than Jan. 3 — and could do it as early as Dec. 27 — as the team released its Western Hockey League schedule.

The T-birds, set to move into the new Kent Events Center, open their 32nd season with back-to-back games in British Columbia against the Prince George Cougars on Sept. 19-20. In fact, they will play their first five games and 26 of their first 34 on the road as they await completion of the new Kent facility.

They’ll face off against the defending Memorial Cup champion Spokane Chiefs in their final KeyArena home opener at 7:05 p.m. Oct. 4.

Barring anything unexpected, their 6,025-seat Kent home is officially scheduled for completion on Jan. 2. If that date holds, the Thunderbirds will take to the ice the next night against the Everett Silvertips.

But if it is finished earlier, Seattle could move in as soon as Dec. 27 against the Portland Winter Hawks, their longtime rival. Other home games scheduled around that time are Dec. 28 against Spokane and Dec. 30 against the Chilliwack Bruins.

“We booked Dec. 27, 28 and 30 in the KeyArena between Christmas and New Year’s with the idea that games on those days could be relocated to the Kent Events Center if it is completed at the time,” team vice president Colin Campbell said in a prepared statement.

“Based on how they have maintained the construction timeline, we felt it was a good bet to schedule these three games with the potential to move from KeyArena once the completion date becomes certain,” he added.

“A Kent Events Center opener against the Portland Winter Hawks on Dec. 27 would be unbelievable.”

While the early-season schedule is undeniably rugged — it includes a trip of seven games in 12 days from Nov. 8 to 19, beginning in Chilliwack, B.C., then heads to Saskatchewen and Manitoba for games against the six-team Eastern Division – it swings in Seattle’s favor after that. Of the final 38 games — essentially the second half of the 72-game schedule — 28 will be at home, including nine of the final 10. That includes a six-game homestand in Kent from Jan. 17-27, and an eight-gamer from Feb. 22-March 13.

In the last three weeks of the regular season, each of the Thunderbirds’ four U.S. Division opponents — Portland, Spokane, Everett and the Tri-City Americans — will play twice in Kent.

Season tickets for the entire 36-game schedule are on sale. To date, 70 percent of the luxury suites have been sold, and the first two rows right behind the glass are sold out.

Single-game tickets for the eight games scheduled at KeyArena will go on sale Sept. 3. Tickets for all home games after Christmas and the balance of the season will go on sale at a later date to be determined.

Contact: sports@fedwaymirror.com

More ticket information is available by contacting the Thunderbirds at (206) 448-7825 or on online at www.seattlethunderbirds.com.