For the third time in the four-year history of the franchise, the Lake Erie Monsters will start their season at home. The 2010-11 season will begin at Quicken Loans Arena on October 8th when the Monsters host the Syracuse Crunch, before embarking on a season-high seven-game road trip. The road swing will begin in Syracuse on October 9th, where the Monsters and Crunch will finish a special home-and-home series that will kick off the American Hockey League’s 75th Anniversary season. Lake Erie will then return home to play a season-long eight straight games at The Q. The 80-game regular season schedule was released by the American Hockey League today.

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The Monsters will play 27 of their 40 home games on the weekend, including 10 Friday games, 12 Saturday games, and five Sunday games. The team will be involved in five double-headers with the Cleveland Cavaliers, with The Q hosting both Monsters hockey in the afternoon and Cavs basketball in the evening (November 10th, November 13th, November 27th, February 5th and February 16th).

For the first time in team history, Lake Erie will play at home on New Year’s Day (7:30 p.m.), and will also host two “school day games,” 10:45 a.m. contests on November 10th and February 16th. The Monsters will play a total of 17 back-to-backs, as well as nine back-to-back-to-backs in 2010-11. The team will finish its home schedule on April 9th, followed by its regular season finale in Rochester on April 10th.

Fans can look forward to the same fun, affordable family entertainment at Monsters games in the coming season that they have come to expect during the team’s first three years at The Q. The ever-popular Dollar Dog Fridays will continue this year, with hot dogs and sodas being sold for just $1 each at all 10 Friday night games (October 8th, October 29th, November 5th, November 12th, November 19th, November 26th, December 3rd, February 4th, March 4th, April 1st), courtesy of Sugardale and FOX Sports Ohio. Also planned for this season are free postgame open skates and autograph sessions with the team, free premium item giveaways and special celebrity appearances.

In just their third season in the AHL in 2009-10, the Monsters posted the sixth-best attendance average in the AHL, up from 9th the previous year and 11th in their inaugural season of 2007-08. Lake Erie recorded two of the league’s top 10 highest-attended games this past season. The crowd of 18,626 for Shaq Bobblehead Night was the second-highest in the league for the season and ranked sixth in the AHL’s all-time single-game attendance records, as well as being a franchise high. Lake Erie’s crowd of 14,103 on Fan Appreciation Night was the 10th largest of the 2009-10 regular season in the AHL. The Monsters continued to build their success on the ice in 2009-10. For the second consecutive year, the team improved on the previous season’s marks, as their 77-point total in 2009-10 was a franchise record. Lake Erie’s 34 wins tied a single-season high and their 15 road wins on the season was also a franchise best. The Monsters, the top affiliate of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, saw 14 players get called up to the Avs last season.

Full season tickets and partial (multiple games) season ticket plans, starting at just $10 per seat per game, as well as group tickets, are on sale now by visiting LakeErieMonsters.com or calling (216) 420-0000. Single game tickets will go on sale closer to the start of the season on a date to be announced. The 2010-11 broadcast and promotional schedules will also be announced at a later date and before single game tickets go on sale.

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