One final poster for the season with an old theater marquee flavor. We’ll see you next season with 41 posters for each home game.
Buffalo Sabres
Finding a fit for the Broadway Auditorium
It’s easy to say that Buffalo has more than enough hockey rinks (we do). There are far too many youth programs and, for the most part, higher level teams are watered down because of this. However, there is a building on Buffalo’s near East Side that would serve brilliantly as a mid-sized hockey venue.
The Broadway Auditorium was originally built as an armory in the 1800s and was eventually expanded to its current size to accommodate for parade grounds and later, sporting events. This write-up from The Daily Public does a great job highlighting the tremendous sporting history of the Broadway Aud and making a case for the grand building to survive Byron Brown’s recent call to replace it.
Brown’s plan for replacing the structure isn’t without merit, as it would take an aging structure that lost a great deal of its beauty in recent years and replace it with a mixed-use development that would help towards the revitalization of the near East Side. The project would also help to better connect downtown to the East Side as other projects in recent years have.
In fact, McGuire Development is planning to fill in one of the city’s countless surface lots with a mixed-use development that’s just a mid-iron away from the Broadway Aud. The area around the property is picking up lately and rather than see a relic of Buffalo’s sporting past go the way of the landfill, why not find a way to revitalize it for the better?
One idea that was brought up to me in conversation was to build it out as an OHL-sized arena. The Aud previously held boxing matches – Joe Louis fought here – hockey games and many other sporting events. It’s a very good-sized building and has that old barn feel that’s been long forgotten with new rink construction. Continue reading
Two more thoughts for the Sabres to include in the team store
Yesterday’s post on collector edition scarves got my wheels turning on a pair of potential projects that the Sabres could work on for the Sabres Store.
The first is one that came up in conversation with TJ Luckman a few weeks ago and the second is an idea that @MattyRenn has been preaching on for quite some time. Both would be entirely unique to the Sabres and both would almost certainly be items that fans would flock to the store to buy.
The first idea centers around a collector series of prints or lithographs of Sabres goal masks. The second, which is wholly and entirely the intellectual property of Matt, would be box sets of DVDs that chronicle great games and players throughout team history. I really love Matt’s idea as it gives so much latitude for the games they would wish to highlight. Continue reading
Sabres delay tank celebration for at least one more day with win over Canes
The merciful end to the nosedive to 30th will have to wait at least one more day as the Sabres edged the Hurricanes 4-3 in the season’s penultimate game at First Niagara Center.
Those who may be tied a little too much into the tank likely lost some hair as the Sabres jumped to a two-goal advantage after the first period and extended their lead to four after the second. Patrick Dwyer woke up the Hurricanes with a tally with just under 2:00 remaining in the middle frame and Carolina would carry that momentum into the third.
Alex Semin scored a beautiful goal just 2:31 into the third and Eric Staal made it mighty interesting with just over five to play. Buffalo managed to buckle down and preserved the one-goal win despite allowing 52 shots and 85 attempts.
Buffalo heads to Columbus on Friday with the magic number for 30th place locked in at two. The Coyotes could do us all a solid and win one more, but I hardly think that’s a realistic possibility. Continue reading
Scarf collection should be the next addition to the Sabres Store
Through the build-up for Dominik Hasek’s jersey retirement, I lobbied hard for the Sabres to provide the fans with a commemorative banner for the game. I also thought it would have been very cool if the organization sold replica banners of the rest of their retired numbers.
My recommendations were posted in this space and also brought up to members of the Sabres marketing team who addressed them with hesitation. It’s my belief that they were unsure of the costs associated with producing and selling the banners. As it turns out, they seem to have figured out a way to turn a profit on them as the Sabres Store now sells replica retired number banners and replica championship banners.
This all, of course, was my idea. I didn’t even ask for a commission on it.
Kidding about my utter level of brilliance of million-dollar ideas aside, I was incredibly pleased to see the Sabres take this idea and run with it. At the end of the day this blog is here to create intelligent (I hope) conversation regarding Buffalo sports, Buffalo development and anything else that runs across my mind. If something I pitch is seen as a good idea, I hope to see the powers that be take it and run. That’s why I hope the #ThirdsNotTurds or the game day poster contest gets attention in One Seymour H Knox III Plaza.
So, my next recommendation is for the Sabres to introduce a line of collector-edition scarves. Continue reading
Gameday Poster for Sabres vs. Blackhawks
Chris Downey, who plies his trade at Sabres Hockey Central volunteered to give the Blackhawks poster a go for tonight’s game. It’s exciting to have people reaching out and showing interest in the project. Once things get going full-bore next season I’m hopeful that it will reflect a very impressive collection of talent. Below is Chris’s submission along with one that I tossed together as well.
Gameday poster for Sabres vs. Maple Leafs
Gameday poster number two features the Sabres and Leafs in an Eastern Conference basement showdown. I went with a comic book cover theme for this one (although I’m not good enough to put a solid effect on Phaneuf and Gionta. Feel free to share thoughts, criticism or contact information if you’d like to get in on the act. 
Looking ahead to Buffalo’s goaltending options for 2015-16
At long last, time is winding down on the Sabres season. The marathon trek to the league basement is all but complete at this point as the Sabres hold a six-point advantage over the Arizona Coyotes for the right to the 20% odds at the NHL Draft Lottery.
While the Sabres aren’t yet guaranteed one of the top two picks in the draft, it’s looking more and more likely that they’ll wind up picking in the top two in June’s draft reports Sports Betting Dime. Even with the final results not yet determined, knowing the talent waiting at the top of the NHL Draft should give Sabres fans solace that the roster turnaround will be nearly completed once Murray announces Buffalo’s pick this summer.
Fans plunge FNC into bizarro world in Coyotes OT win
Someone had to win this game. Someone had to come out of the ridiculous atmosphere in First Niagara Center with a pair of points in the standings. Arizona came away with an OT victory and moved one point further away from the Sabres in the league basement.
But the result is hardly the most interesting part of tonight’s game. In fact, Buffalo getting another point in their cushion in the race for McDavid and Eichel isn’t even the most interesting thing to come out of tonight. Buffalo, on home ice, were actively cheered against for the better part of 30 minutes as they tried to battle back against the Coyotes.
Things didn’t get really bizarre until well into the second period. Even after Jordan Szwarz gave Arizona an early lead, most of the building seemed torn on how they should act. But after Oliver Ekman-Larsson and David Moss scored to give the Coyotes the lead, everyone seemed to know what was at stake. 
From there, fans gave overwhelming support to Mike Smith and the Coyotes. The fans would boo Arizona penalties and even booed when Brian Gionta scored to tie the game late in the third. When Smith made a desperation stop on Zach Bogosian in the dying minutes, you would have thought it was Dominik Hasek turning aside Trent Klatt. Continue reading
Game Night Poster for Sabres vs. Coyotes
In what I hope becomes a regular practice for home Sabres games, I’ve developed a game night poster for tomorrow’s Tank Battle. It’s my hope to have a handful of designers from around Sabres Nation contribute to home dates next season so we have commemorative posters for each home contest.
Two in the Box 