It’s Almost Hockey Night In The Albany Area, Albany Devils Set To Start AHL Season

The Albany Devils are ready to open their 2012-2013 season this coming Saturday at the Times Union Center against the Manchester Monarchs.

Ironically, while the NHL remains locked out by the owners, this match up is between the top minor league teams of last years Stanley Cup finalists. The Monarchs are the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings who beat the Devils major league franchise, the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils will play four of their first five games at home at the Times Union Center. The Syracuse Crunch comes in six days later, and after a brief one game road game vs. the Worcester  Sharks, they are back on home ice vs. the Connecticut Whale on the 24th and the Adirondack Whale on October 26th. The opening contest vs Manchester starts at 5:00 p.m., the other three home contests start at 7 p.m.

The opener will also feature a few giveaways. The first 5,000 in the building will get a free magnet schedule. The first 500 will cop a free t-shirt.

As for the team they return six of their top eight goal scorers from last season led by Joe Whitney and Steve Zalewski who had 44 and 41 points respectively.

The Albany Devils are feeling good about themselves after going a perfect 3-0 during the preseason.