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Season opens on December 1st. Find 2023-24 schedules here and buy your tickets today

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 1
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Halifax
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Albany
Las Vegas
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
Sat, Dec 2
19:00:00
Calgary
Rochester
Sat, Dec 2
19:30:00
Philadelphia
New York
WK
2
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Dec 9
19:30:00
Colorado
Georgia
Sat, Dec 9
20:00:00
Rochester
Saskatchewan
Sat, Dec 9
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sun, Dec 10
16:00:00
Las Vegas
Panther City
WK
3
Fri, Dec 15
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
Sat, Dec 16
13:00:00
Albany
Philadelphia
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
Halifax
New York
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
San Diego
Buffalo
Sat, Dec 16
22:00:00
Georgia
Vancouver
WK
4
Fri, Dec 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Panther City
Fri, Dec 22
21:00:00
Georgia
Colorado
Sat, Dec 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Rochester
WK
5
Fri, Dec 29
18:30:00
Philadelphia
Halifax
Fri, Dec 29
19:30:00
Georgia
Buffalo
Fri, Dec 29
22:00:00
Rochester
San Diego
Sat, Dec 30
16:00:00
New York
Toronto
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sun, Dec 31
20:00:00
Albany
Saskatchewan
WK
6
Sat, Jan 6
19:00:00
Halifax
Albany
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Panther City
Georgia
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Colorado
Buffalo
Sun, Jan 7
15:00:00
New York
Philadelphia
WK
7
Fri, Jan 12
18:30:00
Toronto
Halifax
Fri, Jan 12
22:00:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Buffalo
Rochester
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Panther City
New York
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Albany
Georgia
Sat, Jan 13
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Jan 13
22:00:00
Calgary
Vancouver
WK
8
Fri, Jan 19
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
Georgia
Toronto
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
San Diego
Albany
Sat, Jan 20
20:00:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sat, Jan 20
21:00:00
Calgary
Colorado
WK
9
Fri, Jan 26
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Jan 27
18:00:00
Rochester
Halifax
Sat, Jan 27
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
San Diego
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 27
22:00:00
Panther City
Las Vegas
WK
10
Fri, Feb 2
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Fri, Feb 2
19:30:00
Vancouver
Georgia
Fri, Feb 2
21:00:00
New York
Calgary
Sat, Feb 3
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Albany
Sat, Feb 3
19:30:00
Rochester
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 3
20:00:00
Panther City
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 3
21:00:00
Toronto
Calgary
Sun, Feb 4
18:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
WK
11
Fri, Feb 9
18:30:00
Las Vegas
Halifax
Fri, Feb 9
20:00:00
Colorado
Panther City
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Calgary
Toronto
Sat, Feb 10
19:30:00
San Diego
New York
Sat, Feb 10
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Vancouver
WK
12
Fri, Feb 16
18:30:00
Buffalo
Halifax
Fri, Feb 16
22:00:00
Philadelphia
Las Vegas
Sat, Feb 17
19:00:00
Colorado
Albany
Sun, Feb 18
19:00:00
Halifax
Calgary
WK
13
Fri, Feb 23
21:00:00
New York
Colorado
Fri, Feb 23
22:00:00
Georgia
San Diego
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Rochester
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Vancouver
Toronto
Sat, Feb 24
19:30:00
Albany
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 24
20:00:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 24
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Calgary
Sun, Feb 25
16:00:00
Georgia
Panther City
WK
14
Fri, Mar 1
19:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Fri, Mar 1
20:00:00
San Diego
Panther City
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Toronto
Las Vegas
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Buffalo
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 2
13:00:00
Calgary
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 2
19:00:00
New York
Albany
Sat, Mar 2
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Colorado
Sat, Mar 2
22:00:00
Toronto
San Diego
Sun, Mar 3
16:00:00
Rochester
Panther City
WK
15
Fri, Mar 8
19:00:00
Vancouver
Albany
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Calgary
Georgia
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 9
17:00:00
Colorado
Toronto
Sat, Mar 9
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Mar 9
19:30:00
Las Vegas
New York
Sat, Mar 9
22:00:00
Halifax
San Diego
Sun, Mar 10
15:00:00
Panther City
Philadelphia
WK
16
Fri, Mar 15
18:30:00
Panther City
Halifax
Fri, Mar 15
21:00:00
San Diego
Calgary
Fri, Mar 15
22:00:00
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Rochester
Albany
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 16
19:30:00
Philadelphia
Georgia
Sat, Mar 16
20:30:00
New York
Saskatchewan
WK
17
Fri, Mar 22
20:00:00
Buffalo
Panther City
Fri, Mar 22
21:00:00
Albany
Calgary
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Halifax
Toronto
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 23
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
New York
Sat, Mar 23
21:00:00
Rochester
Colorado
Sat, Mar 23
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Mar 24
17:30:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
WK
18
Sat, Mar 30
13:00:00
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 30
19:00:00
Halifax
Rochester
Sat, Mar 30
19:30:00
Toronto
New York
Sat, Mar 30
22:00:00
Vancouver
Las Vegas
WK
19
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Calgary
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Buffalo
Colorado
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Panther City
San Diego
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Halifax
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
New York
Rochester
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Apr 6
19:30:00
Las Vegas
Georgia
Sat, Apr 6
20:00:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 7
16:00:00
Philadelphia
Panther City
WK
20
Fri, Apr 12
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Colorado
Sat, Apr 13
19:00:00
Rochester
Toronto
Sat, Apr 13
19:30:00
Calgary
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 13
20:00:00
San Diego
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
Colorado
Las Vegas
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sun, Apr 14
16:00:00
Albany
Panther City
WK
21
Fri, Apr 19
19:30:00
Rochester
Georgia
Fri, Apr 19
22:00:00
Vancouver
San Diego
Sat, Apr 20
18:00:00
Colorado
Halifax
Sat, Apr 20
19:30:00
Albany
New York
Sat, Apr 20
20:00:00
Toronto
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 20
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 20
22:00:00
Buffalo
Las Vegas
Sun, Apr 21
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
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The FireWolves Are Excited To Bring Box Lacrosse Back To Albany

When you think about strong lacrosse markets in the United States, places like Long Island, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Rhode Island and New Jersey certainly come to mind.

But don’t sleep on Albany, New York.

That’s because the capital of New York State is a community that has embraced the game of lacrosse for a long time.  The University of Albany has an outstanding lacrosse program, with both the men’s and women’s team reaching the America East Championship Game. Alumni from the school include the likes of Lyle Thompson, Blaze Riorden, Joe Resetarits, and Connor Fields. From a professional standpoint, the Albany Attack played in the National Lacrosse League from 2000-2003, winning a division title in 2002 going 14-2 in the regular season. The Premier Lacrosse League also made stops in Albany during the 2019 and 2021 seasons.

And now, the NLL is back in town with the Albany FireWolves, a franchise that has relocated to Albany from New England.  Albany’s most recent pro sports franchise was the Arena Football League’s, Albany Empire. In 2018 they led the league in attendance at 10,180 fans per game at Times Union Arena.  But when the AFL folded, Albany was once again without a pro sports franchise.

The market has had their share of professional sports franchises over the years, but the FireWolves plan on sticking around for a long time.

“The fans of Albany and the Capital Region are used to teams coming and going,” said FireWolves President George Manias.  “A lot of hockey teams have done that.  It happened with lacrosse twenty years ago and it happened in the AFL several times.  I feel extremely comfortable that this is a long-term situation because its lacrosse and it’s the right sport.”

Manias is a big reason why the FireWolves are in town.

He ran the AFL’s Albany Empire but that team doesn’t exist today because of bad management or lack of fan support.  The team disappeared because the league went out of business.  When that happened, Manias began to go to work to find a new pro sports team for the region and his search brought him to the National Lacrosse League.  The Empire ownership group looked into applying for an expansion team, but the COVID-19 pandemic turned that group’s attention to other business ventures.

When Manias was communicating with the NLL, he learned that the New England Black Wolves were up for sale and that the league had a potential buyer and the plan was to relocate.

“I sold them on Albany,” said Manias.  “If they were going to do this, they should come to Albany because of everything that we did.”

And it was a done deal.  The new ownership group called Capital Region NLL, headed by Oliver Marti, moved the team to Albany and hired Manias as their team President. The sale and relocation of the team from New England to Albany was announced in February of 2021. Following a “name the team” contest, the name of the team and the logo were announced in April.

While the franchise will be new to the market, the actual team is not new to the league.  Before the 2019-20 season was cut short because of the pandemic, the New England Black Wolves were 8-3 and atop the East Division.

So, the fans in Albany are getting a pretty good team.

“It will be business as usual from that end,” said FireWolves General Manager and Head Coach Glenn Clark.  “I think it’s going to be good for the market.  You do have an established team.  We were one of the teams that was in contention when the season ended.  We still should be one of the strongest teams in the league.”

Many players from the 2019-20 season are returning but the franchise did lose forward Callum Crawford as a free agent to in-state rival New York Riptide. Before the 2020-21 season was wiped out because of the pandemic, Clark engineered a couple of trades including the addition of forward Jacob Ruest from Colorado in a draft night trade.  Clark also added defenseman Adrian Sorichetti as a free agent while also bringing back most of his own free agents and adding some quality players via the draft.

“We’ve improved in certain areas,” said Clark.  “We’ve got some players that are ready to step in and compete for a spot.  Not only do I like where we’re at, but I like the makeup of our team.  “We’ve been very purposeful about getting players that sort of fit the identity and the style that we want to play.”

While Clark was busy constructing his roster for the team’s inaugural season in Albany, Manias and his staff have been hard at work introducing the franchise to the market.  They’ve spent a lot of time in the community at lacrosse camps and clinics as part of the franchise’s grassroots initiatives.  The organization also created the “Junior FireWolves” and had 75 kids sign up to participate in a junior box lacrosse program for the summer with FireWolves coaches and players in attendance.  That number is expected to triple for their winter program.

“The number one focus was truly to get into the community because that is what made us successful back in the AFL days,” said Manias.  “We wanted to entrench ourselves into the grassroots programs that existence.”

The FireWolves will open the 2021-22 season on December 4th at Toronto and will then play their home opener on Saturday December 18th when they welcome Rochester to the Times Union Center.  With the start of the season right around the corner, the team is getting ready for training camp and there will be an opportunity for the fans to get an up-close look at their new club.  The FireWolves will soon be laying down their new turf for the first time and they will welcome fans to the arena for an “Open House” on Saturday October 30th when they will get a chance to pick their seat locations and watch the team in action.

“We don’t have a game without the fans and we are there to provide a good product for the fans,” said Clark.  “It’s going to be nice to have that initial kickoff to get the guys together. Get them moving and get them running again and have a little bit of eyes on so people can see what they’re going to be exposed to as this season unfolds.”

“It becomes a reality at that point because it’s all based around training camp,” said Manias.  “We want fans to come down and watch training camp.   We’re going to have a friendly and fun environment.”

In addition to picking their seat location and watching the team practice, the FireWolves will have their dance team at the open house and there will be trick or treating for the kids.

It will just be a taste of what the fans can expect at home games during the season.  The experience of going to a FireWolves game will also include block parties and outdoor live music before each contest.  It’s a strategy that worked before when there was arena football in town.

“Those were some of the successful things that I did in the Empire days,” said Manias.   “We want to take that same concept of creating a great event where people can come in, who may not be lacrosse fans, and just have a great time and come out to a great sporting event. They’ll fall in love with the game.”

Welcome back to the National Lacrosse League, Albany!  The FireWolves have been working hard on and off the field and they are ready to roll in a community that loves lacrosse.

NLL