Author: Chris Ostrander

Europe approaches with one move to make

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It has been a summer full of new faces, surprises and salary cap calculations. The situation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres roster finally became clear on Monday afternoon.

After waiving Ales Kotalik and Shaone Morrisonn over the weekend, Buffalo was on their way to unloading the money they needed to get under the cap. Meanwhile, Darcy Regier also sent down the remaining batch of prospects and veterans who had been searching for a roster spot.

While the organization waited to see if Kotalik or Morrisonn were claimed, the roster in Rochester got the remaining pieces they will use this season. Only Luke Adam and Matt Ellis remained in Buffalo after the cuts. Paul Szczechura also is with the Sabres, but The Buffalo News reports that he is injured as hasn’t been skating. Continue reading →

Deskchair quarterback – Bills vs. Patriots

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Well, the streak is finally over. An offseason of girly dancing, girly haircuts, girly watersliding and girly boots led to four interceptions and the temporary end of the Patriots dominance over the Bills.

Make no mistake, Tom Brady and the Pats will be back. But for now, let us enjoy the victory that managed to trump the comeback from week two. There have been a whole comedy of errors that counted up to 15-straight losses to New England. Even Sunday’s victory seemed to be at the tipping point of a blowout numerous times during the game.

Chan Gailey and company managed to make the necessary adjustments at halftime to slow the Patriots attack enough to gain some ground – they never really stopped the juggernaut but made some necessary plays. That right there shows how much better this staff is than Dick Jauron’s. Skeletor would have marched out at halftime thinking his original game plan would suddenly click. Gailey didn’t settle and neither did his players. It resulted in a fantastic win that the fan base can celebrate for most of the season. Continue reading →

UB joins CCHA conversation with Canisius, Niagara

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Suddenly the college hockey scene in Buffalo is exploding.

Nick Veronica first broke the story about a joint venture between the Sabres and Canisius to build a rink for the Golden Griffins and Sabres to share. That story has continued to gain momentum recently as Veronica has kept abreast to the situation.

In addition, news also broke that Canisius and Niagara could be part of a coalition to part ways with Atlantic Hockey to join the recently fractured CCHA. Mercyhurst and Robert Morris were the other two schools in on the original conversation. Continue reading →

Bandits to host 2012 NLL All Star Game

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In a news release put out this morning, the Buffalo Bandits announced they will be hosting the 2012 NLL All Star game. All the details can be found at Bandits.com.

Last year’s game was held at Turning Stone to a decent crowd, considering the venue. Holding it in Buffalo was probably an easy decision for the league. This is the best fan base in the NLL and the attendance numbers are always near the league’s best.

This is just another Terry Pegula bull’s eye. There hasn’t been much attention given to the Bandits since the ownership change – mainly because they are a model franchise. But it is good to see the Bandits getting some love too.

February 25 will be a fun day for lacrosse fans and it will certainly be a nice draw for the City of Buffalo as well.

Double Minors: Sabres weekend wrap

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The Sabres finished their three-game weekend 2-1 as they were handed their first preseason defeat on Sunday in Columbus.

Buffalo, finishing a five game in seven nights stretch of hockey, weren’t very competitive against the Blue Jackets. The Sabres dressed what may have been their greenest line up of the preseason with only a handful of regulars playing in Columbus. Robyn Regehr wore the ‘C’ while Ville Leino and Andrej Sekera each wore an ‘A’. A look at the roster shows 10 regulars in the line up and that is fairly generous in my eyes.

Ryan Miller wasn’t spectacular, but he was Friday against Toronto, so I really don’t care too much. Tyler Myers scored on a great individual effort, but there wasn’t much else to like, or care about in this game.

Continue reading →

Sabres bubble battle

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As the Rochester Americans prepare to open training camp, and the Buffalo Sabres pare down their roster, the battle for the remaining roster spots is becoming clearer.

Ales Kotalik's prowess in the shootout may earn him a spot on the final roster.

 

With the 11 prospects sent to Rochester this morning, there are only 41 players left in camp, and only 24 or 25 will be seriously fighting to avoid a drive up the 90. On the bubble are; Brad Boyes, Matt Ellis, Ales Kotalik, Shaone Morrisonn, Mike Ryan, Colin Stuart and Paul Szczechura. On the outside looking in are; Luke Adam, T.J. Brennan, Dennis Persson, Zack Kassian and Drew Schiestel. Corey Tropp earned a couple looks through the preseason, but I feel like he is still floating below guys like Adam, Kassian and the NHL veterans as well. Continue reading →

Roster picture clears up as 11 are sent to Rochester

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In a move most knew was inevitable, the Buffalo Sabres sent 11 players to Rochester, this afternoon.

Alex Biega was the only player sent to Rochester to see time in the preseason.

Buffalo sent forwards Riley Boychuk, Jacob Lagace, Maxime Legault, Shawn Szydlowski, Travis Turnbull and Mark Voakes; defensemen Alex Beiga, Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage and Matt MacKenzie and goalie Jeff Jakaitis to the Americans. Rochester’s training camp will begin on Monday. A large number of the 41 players remaining with the Sabres will likely join these 11 once this weekend’s three-game set is complete.

Goaltenders David Leggio and Drew MacIntrye will certainly be sent to Rochester after backing up this weekend and young prospects like Marcus Foligno, Zack Kassian and Brayden McNabb will also join the Amerks.

Alex Biega was the only one of this group to see time in a preseason game, however the inclusion of Boychuk and MacKenzie intrigue me the most. Both are products of the 2010 draft and share a 1991 birth year. While each have played four seasons in the WHL, neither entered training camp with a contract. Boychuk has shown some growing pains to the pro game so far, but MacKenzie has some potential to blossom into an offensive threat a la Brian Campbell.

It remains to be seen if these two will end up in Rochester for the season. If that is the case if would add two more names to an already crowded roster battle. As more players appear to be destined for the minors, the new affiliation with Gwinnett makes more sense every day.

The Morning Skate – Weekend series

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Ryan Miller will play the full game against Toronto on Friday.

The Buffalo Sabres enter this weekend’s trio of games with 19 skaters who have yet to see action this preseason. As Rochester is set to open their camp on Monday, there is a chance some of these players may remain in the press box before heading up the 90.

Notable names among the group are Ales Kotalik, Shaone Morrisonn and Jordan Leopold. Brayden McNabb has also been held out thus far, but I would expect him to see action at some point this weekend. In fact, the three veterans listed above are all certain to see time before the team heads to Europe.

The complete list is as follows: Forwards; Riley Boychuk, Jochen Hecht (injured), Kotalik, Jacob Lagace, Maxime Legault, Jonathon Parker, Mike Ryan, Colin Stuart, Paul Szczechura, Shawn Sydlowski, Travis Turnbull and Phil Varone, defensemen; Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage, Joe Finley, Leopold, Matt Mackenzie, McNabb and Morrisonn, goaltenders; Jeff Jakaitis and David Leggio. Continue reading →

Bandits add seven at NLL Entry Draft

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The Buffalo Bandits added seven new players to the organization at the 2011 NLL Entry Draft, yesterday.

Without a first round choice the Bandits saw the biggest names in the draft go before they had a selection. One interesting move was made by Rochester in order to draft Johnny Powless. The Knighthawks traded a perennial Bandits pest, Shawn Evans, to Calgary for the Powless pick.

The Bandits first pick came at the top of the second round which they used on Jeremy Thompson from Syracuse University. Buffalo also drafted Jeff Cornwall from Coquitlam, BC.

It will be interesting to see how these picks fit into the Bandits roster. In recent years Buffalo has run out a lineup with a veteran look while waiting on their young talent to progress outside of the NLL.

Buffalo’s final five picks had a fairly even split of NCAA and junior players. Here is the rest of the Bandits’ picks (s/t to TBN):

3rd round: Connor Daly (Burlington, ON), Jerome Thompson (OCC); 4th round: Billy Bitter (UNC); 5th round: Dwight Bero (Dartmouth); 6th round: Lloyd Chrysler (Tuscarora University)

Double Minors – Sabres 3 – Canadiens 1

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It may have been against most of the Hamilton Bulldogs’ roster, but Christian Ehrhoff had his coming-out party for the Buffalo Sabres.

Ehrhoff made a pretty pass to Jason Pominville to open the Buffalo scoring in the second period and scored the game winning goal on a twisted wrister early in the third period. To go along with his +2 and two-point night, Ehrhoff skated for 22 minutes for the Sabres.

Clearly Ehrhoff is a multi-talented defenseman and will be utilized in every situation by Lindy Ruff this season. While Tyler Myers and Robyn Regehr skated together tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ehrhoff and Myers paired up as the regular season draws closer.

– Ryan Miller was, well, Ryan Miller. He was calm and collected and had a number of sparkling saves among the 11 shots he turned away. Jhonas Enroth allowed a power play goal to P.K. Subban, but made 11 saves on 12 shots. Another confident performance off the bench for the new backup. This is an encouraging sign since I have had some doubts about how Enroth will rebound from his strong debut in 2010-11. Continue reading →