Author: Chris Ostrander

Lets chat about the in-arena experience, shall we?

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A lot is made of the lack of noise made at HSBC Arena during Sabres games. I feel I have a solution.

Quandary. How to make these people actually make noise.

I am on the bandwagon labeled ‘appalled’ at the lack of energy the fan base puts out on a game-to-game basis. This problem is two-fold. Part of he responsibility lies with the game presentation department to produce an experience that will captivate the fan base during breaks in the action, there are times when you may say this is lacking. However, there are times when it is not. The other half (maybe even 70%) lies with the fans. Sure, the game presentation people could absolutely kill it and still get no response from the people in the seats. This is why I get frustrated at games, because of my fellow fan. Continue reading →

Pegula taking over is so awesome

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When I first heard that Terry Pegula had interest in the Sabres I was cautiously optimistic. So often you hear rumors, more often than not they are completely ridiculous. I credit getting hooked on this story to the reporting that Bucky Gleason did on staying up on the entire process.

After watching yesterday’s press conference I have never felt more love for the team I have followed for longer than I can remember. Continue reading →

Craig Rivet waived by Buffalo

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The Buffalo Sabres placed Craig Rivet on waivers this morning. I learned the info via Bob McKenzie’s twitter account. In addition to Rivet, former Sabre Ales Kotalik was waived by Calgary along with Nik Zherdev (PHI) and Marek Svatos (NSH).

Kind of crazy to see Svatos waived. The Preds poached the winger from St. Louis when they signed him out of the KHL earlier in the winter.

It is about time that Rivet was given some sort of out. He has been stuck in the press box for quite some time, he deserved better than the fate he was receiving.

I wonder what will come of the Rivet situation? Do they send him to the AHL? Or are they confident a team like Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto will claim him? Either way, the next 24 hours could be interesting to watch.

Do you really need a franchise goaltender?

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Since Ryan Miller came down with Dan Cloutier syndrome on Sunday, a lot has been made about the fact that teams are succeeding without “franchise goalies” – at least with some of the more naive Buffalo radio hosts.
 

Many think that a franchise goalie will not win you a Stanley Cup.

Jhonas Enrtoh’s place with the Sabres

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It is a shame that so many people refer to Buffalo as a “hockey town”. Reason being, there are a TON of ignorant fans out there.

After watching Jhonas Enroth play a strong game against Montreal on Tuesday every jackass with a keyboard or a telephone was voicing their support of Enroth over Miller. I guess they fail to see the glaring weaknesses in the kid’s game, or the fact that Ryan Miller remains a top-10 goalie in this league.

Some see Jhonas Enroth as the future in goal for Buffalo. I see him as a way to build towards the future.

Continue reading →

Chris Kelly to the B’s

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The Bruins are officially loading up for their Cup run.

They added Chris Kelly from Ottawa for a second round pick in this year’s draft. A great trade for the Bruins as they add a great checking line player who has some offensive upside. In other news, it seems rather imminent that Tomas Kaberle will be shipping up to Boston (:P) before February 28.

Once again, a player who would have positively impacted the Sabres has gone to a rival. Now, I don’t think the Sabres need to trade their entire team away, or grab every guy who becomes available. Most of the time there is simply too steep of a price to pay for a player – Kris Versteeg going for a first and third-round picks and Colby Armstrong signing for over $3M are good examples.

However, for a team with pretty good depth in the prospect cupboard, the Sabres continue to guard their draft picks like gold. Now, when Darcy Regier steps to the podium to say the Sabres used a second or third round pick to acquire a great player, I will eat crow. For now, I will lament that Buffalo couldn’t find the right package to land Kelly, Mike Fisher or Joffery Lupul.

Keep your eyes peeled for who I could see as potential trade targets for the Sabres in the coming days.

The whole Jerry Sullivan vs. Ryan Miller thing

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On Sunday, Ryan Miller channeled Dan Cloutier and opened the floodgates against the Islanders. He allowed seven goals on 26 shots and looked bad doing it. Funny enough, he wasn’t the worst goalie on the ice, that distinction belonged to Al Montoya who looked way over his head in net.

After the game John Vogl, the Sabres beat writer for The Buffalo News, asked Miller, “Do you feel OK?” It is a fairly harmless question that was more than warranted. Miller has been very average this year and I think a great deal of that is because of his injuries at the outset of the season. Either way, he has not been the best goalie on the planet like he was last season. Sunday was a great example of it. Continue reading →

Buffalo Pond Hockey Tournament – Day 3

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The Pilthy Puckers managed to grind out a victory on sloppy ice on Sunday. The final day of an otherwise spectacular event was marred by warmer temperatures that made the ice extremely soft.

Pregame scrapes with snowplows did little to help as your skates would sink in anytime you put an edge into the ice. So, after about five minutes of play the ice had about a half inch of snow accumulation and it tuned into a game of home run passes. As it turns out, we were the better team at taking away passing lanes and getting pucks near the net. We finished with an 18-14 triumph too take home the trophy.

The amount of stuff you get for making the finals is extensive. Each team gets to rock a Labatt Blue jersey (which you keep) plus the winners get a HUGE trophy in addition to the smaller trophies each player gets. But, those weren’t even the best prizes. Coupling the free jersey with the free winter hats each (and every) participant received; the winners also received dry fit t-shirts with the tournament logo on it. Roughly, we took home about $90 in apparel (retail).

The tournament was fantastic. It was run well from top to bottom. From preparation to scheduling and everything in between, it was as good as it could get. Sure, Sunday’s weather hurt the play, but aside from that it was a monumental success. So much can be said about playing hockey in its truest form. However, nothing can be said about 700 guys playing on a pond in February.

Buffalo Pond Hockey Tournament – Day 3

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The Pilthy (or Philthy) Puckers have advanced to tomorrow’s finals after a pair of victories. What was better than the wins was the fact that a light snow fell intermittently throughout the day. It gave everything the Winter Classic look.

Of course, in our final game we ran into a bunch of guys who were upset that they were losing. One brainwave decided to take a run at one of our players. Oh well, we will be getting some pretty cool unis to rock for tomorrows final (if my information is correct). DISCLAIMER: I received a message from one of our opponents and I should clarify it was only on of their players who stepped out of line at the end of the gaEverEtt other guys were very good competitors.

Once again, the tournament was running quite well, in all aspects. The ice was very good, especially since a full day of games was played on it yesterday. Again the party area was bustling with people as the influx grew with the entire field playing today.

I have yet to get down to the Powder Keg Festival, I’m not even sure if I will partake. To be honest, winter activities on pavement aren’t too interesting to me. Although, there is a lot of time to take it in tomorrow.

Enjoy a few pics taken by Michelle McNamara.

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Buffalo Pond Hockey Tournament – Day 1

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The Labatt Blue Pond Hockey Tournament is truly a spectacle to behold.

This is my first year participating and from what I observed today, everything is being run well and Mother Nature has done her part, so far.

There are enough rinks to accommodate the large number of teams at this year’s tourney, 124 to be exact. The city workers and tournament staff are all diligent about touching up the rinks once a game has completed. Albeit, pouring some slushy water onto a rut and pushing it with a shovel (one-handed) doesn’t fix much.

It is obvious the tournament organizers know what they are doing. The beer tent is large and the beers are cheap. The Sahlen’s dogs are also quite affordable and quite delicious. The change tent is rather crowded and could use an expansion or a companion. Lastly, there is plenty of room for spectators to watch.

My team, the Pilthy Puckers (it should be Philthy, but our captain didn’t grasp the concept of ph matching the sound of an f), won our first game and it will be interesting to see how we fare tomorrow. It would certainly be fun to get an extra game on Sunday, but three is enough to really savor the experience.

I’ll have more tomorrow. In the meantime enjoy the scraggly group of guys that make up our team – and please enjoy my homemade burnt cork eyeblack.