Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/60989
U.S. Olympian Colleen Coyne, left, helps the New Jersey Devils open the game to more local female players during a special on-ice clinic. Newark, N.J. Devils and Ducks aren't the only teams doing battle in Newark tonight. If you were to walk across the floor in the Devils' Acela Club and look down into the team's practice rink at AmeriHealth Pavilion, you'd see the team from Newark's Eastside High School on the ice, preparing to take on Dayton High. When the game is over, the result will be posted on the Devils' website. The Devils are the first NHL team to post high school and youth hockey scores on its site. "Most people don't realize all the work that goes on behind the scenes, and the tremendous support the Devils give all the leagues in New Jersey," said Gene Palecco, commissioner of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. "They're a great partner. We work well with them, and they work well with us." Of course, you don't have to visit the Devils' practice rink or go online to see evi- dence of the Devils' commitment to growing the sport in New Jersey. Team jerseys from every high school hockey program in the Garden State decorate the main concourse at the Prudential Center, with the sweaters of the state champions occupying a place of honor on a central column. On the upper concourse, jerseys hang representing the state's youth programs. The effect is similar to that of the Minnesota Wild's home at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, sending the message that the Devils' home is a hockey arena, and not just an arena where hockey is played. alumni out into the crowd to honor local youth teams with an assortment of Devils paraphernalia. One of those alumni, former New Jersey center Jim Dowd, was only too happy to get involved. A native of Brick, N.J., Dowd lived the dream of many of New Jersey's youth hockey players. He was drafted by the Devils in 1987 and went on to play more than 700 games in the NHL, including 11 playoff games during the Devils' run for the Stanley Cup in 1995. On a night when another Garden State product – Cherry Hill native Bobby Ryan – was in town with the Ducks, Dowd couldn't help but be proud of the way the Devils support hockey at all levels in his home state. "It's great," he said. "To be not only born and raised in Brick, but drafted by the Devils out of Brick High School, and now to be a part of this however many years later, it's amazing." SATURDAY AFTERNOON New York City A large, inflatable New York Rangers mascot looks down on 8-year-old Farrah Haskins as she skates laps around Wollman Rink in Central Park. She's not the only one. The young figure skater is flanked by That message resonates with the youth and high school players who attend Devils games, and that's just as the team wants it. "They feel at home," said Devils CEO Lou Lamoriello. "They feel there's an association, there's an identification, and they feel comfort- able when they see a high school recognized." At tonight's game, the Devils made an extra effort to make youth hockey players feel at home at the rink, sending Devils the Ferraro brothers, Chris and Paul, a pair of former New York Rangers who are in Central Park to participate in a special "Try Hockey For Free" event sponsored by the team. While the Ferraros, who grew up in the Long Island town of Port Jefferson, are used to a very different kind of skating than Farrah, they're able to find common ground pretty easily. "It was fun," Farrah said. "I do a little bit of hockey skating because I can skate really fast." While Farrah and the Ferraros are tak- ing their laps, former Rangers like Ron Greschner, Nick Fotiu and Brian Mullen are helping lead a series of drills for the aspir- ing hockey players who have turned out, USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM APRIL/MAY.2012 23