The smell of clean ice in the air, the cool breeze whirling around, and jerseys galore. This is what we experienced yesterday when we took the boys to see the Albany Devils hockey game. The minute we stepped into the arena, it was like déjà vu. You see, back before I met TechyDad, I was a River Rats season ticket holder. Back in the day I went to every home game and my amazing seat was located just behind the home bench. Ah, the memories of games gone by. Watching players like Patrick Elias, Petr Sykora, Mike Dunham, and countless others start their careers here and move on to the NHL.

The kids were sick of being cooped up in the house and thanks to Time Warner Cable, they had an amazing deal on tickets. All tickets were $10 or $5 depending on where you sit. So we packed up the kids and went to the early start game. While I went to buy tickets, the boys went and saw the Devil Dawg.

When the players came out for warm-ups, we made our way down to the ice. The kids really enjoy being down there and can see more of the action.

Of course, the players are always great with kids. At one point, they flipped out a puck. NHL happened to be in just the right place. It bounced, he ran, and this is what he got:

Then JSL was excited to see the zamboni. Yes, my three year old was thrilled to see the red and blue zambonis circle the ice getting it ready for the game.

Of course, this also gave TechyDad some time to test out his camera and get some photos of the new jumbo tron that the Times Union Center recently installed.

JSL held onto his team roster and watched the first period without fussing too much. Sure he was upset I refused to give him a snack right away, but eventually he kept watching.

Then it was time to stretch and see another visitor that was in the building. The boys went to wait to meet Dora. It is a sad moment in my hockey life to admit it. My three year old son was more excited to see the zamboni and meet Dora the Explorer than watch hockey. *sigh*

Luckily, NHL got into the game. He was intrigued with why the players went into the penalty box, why the ref had an orange band on his arm, and more. I think you can see, he was a very happy camper:

The game eventually ended in a 3-3 tie. We quickly went to a five minute OT period where a lot of penalties came. JSL declared that the game was taking FOREVER. When told that if the Devils would score a goal we would be done he started to loudly cheer “Let’s go Devils!” Of course, a goal would not come during that time. We were able to witness a shootout. We sat behind the Albany goalie (Caruso) who stopped all of the shots that he faced. With one lone goal scored on ex-River Rat goalie Leighton – the Albany Devils won the game 4-3.

We had a fun time at the Albany Devils game and I look forward to making more hockey memories with my family. Next time, I may feel the need to break out my game worn Sharifijanov River Rats jersey. Hmmmm……