Inside Joe Louis Arena for game prep

DETROIT (WJBK) - Hockey season has arrived in Detroit. The Red Wings home opener is tonight, Friday, Oct. 9. We go inside Joe Louis Arena to meet Zamboni driver and JLA Building Operations Manager Al Sabotka. He's as much a fixture at The Joe as are the nets and the ice.

"It's time. It's been a long summer with the short playoff run, and so we're ready to start again," he says.

The Wings are taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs with Mike Babcock at the helm. The former Wings coach is coming home to, well, not as friendly of a crowd.

For Sabotka, the rides on the ice are hard work but mostly passion.

When asked what the best part of the start of hockey season is, he says, "I think the atmosphere, especially this year playing Toronto in the first game, and the ice logos. Like I said, it's been a long summer. It's getting cooler outside. It's time for hockey."

You can catch the big game right here on FOX 2 at 7:30 p.m. If you're attending, you'll get one of those red glow sticks you saw during playoff games.