WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
January Edition
Sean Malone was a sixth-round pick in 2013. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres have signed West Seneca’s Sean Malone to a two-year, entry-level contract, the team announced this morning.
Update: Malone will make his NHL debut tonight at center against the Panthers, according to reports out of Florida.
Malone, a forward the Sabres drafted in the sixth round, 159th overall, in 2013, played four years at Harvard University.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Malone, 21, compiled 42 goals, 99 points and a plus-31 rating in 115 ... Read the full article
Robin Lehner believes players have simple job descriptions. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Robin Lehner’s view from the crease has offered the goalie a unique perspective into the highs and lows the Sabres have endured throughout a wildly inconsistent season that has two games left.
To Lehner, who often talks passionately about the Sabres’ struggles, the most disappointing part is “seeing us playing so well in certain stretches, certain periods, certain small (parts) of the games.”
“We could totally dominate the top the teams in this ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta scored his 289th NHL goal Monday. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In the days leading to Brian Gionta’s 1,000th NHL game, the Sabres were a little nervous, even “walking on eggshells,” coach Dan Bylsma said.
No one wanted to talk about their captain’s milestone.
“Didn’t want to jinx it, so to speak,” Bylsma said after Gionta fittingly scored the winning goal in Monday’s 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers.
But the Sabres loosened up, and following an emotional pregame ceremony honoring Gionta’s achievement, ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta (left) receives a silver stick from Sabres general manager Tim Murray on Monday. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Tyler Ennis said undersized NHL players – a “brotherhood,” he called them – share “an unspoken bond.”
Small players, of course, have the odds stacked against them. Only they can truly understand what they endured to make the league.
Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was even tougher for them to crack the NHL. That’s why Ennis, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, grew up idolizing diminutive stars, including 5-foot-7 Sabres captain Brian ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis loved watching Brian Gionta growing up. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Tyler Ennis said undersized NHL players – a “brotherhood,” he called them – share “an unspoken bond.”
Small players, of course, have the odds stacked against them. Only they can truly understand what they endured to make the league.
Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was even tougher for them to crack the NHL. That’s why Ennis, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, grew up idolizing diminutive stars, including 5-foot-7 Sabres captain Brian ... Read the full article
Thomas Vanek began this season in Detroit. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – If you’re counting, former Sabres star Thomas Vanek just joined his fifth team – yes, the number’s really that high – since leaving town early in 2013-14.
The Panthers acquired Vanek, 33, as a rental from the Detroit Red Wings prior to the trade deadline, making Florida the latest stop in what has become a crazy four seasons.
After nine seasons here, the Austrian has morphed into the NHL’s most well-traveled star, also ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta (12) isn’t afraid to go to the net. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As another trying season winds down, the Sabres finally have something special to celebrate. Captain Brian Gionta will play his 1,000th NHL game tonight, and his teammates couldn’t be more excited.
“That’s a huge, huge honor in this league, a huge milestone and accomplishment,” Sabres winger Marcus Foligno said. “A thousand games in the NHL is rare.”
Tonight is all about Gionta, the 38-year-old Greece native who has enjoyed a long and unlikely ... Read the full article
Brian Gionta played his first NHL game Dec. 30, 2001. ©2017, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Over his 15 NHL seasons, Sabres captain Brian Gionta has seen plenty of players hit the prestigious 1,000-game mark, one of hockey’s toughest milestones.
But one time still stands out vividly.
As a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Gionta’s teammate, defenseman Hal Gill, played his 1,000th game early in 2011-12. Apparently, Gionta, then a 32-year-old in his 10th season, thought his friend was ancient.
“At the time, I thought, ‘Holy crap, that guy’s ... Read the full article
Marcus Foligno had an odd fight Tuesday. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres winger Marcus Foligno has a simple explanation why he fixed his hair at a bizarre time – during a heavyweight scrap against Shawn Thornton, the NHL’s dean of fighters – in Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.
“Just try to get readjusted and get ready for round two of the first fight,” a smiling Foligno said this morning inside KeyBank Center.
The bout was a fight lover’s dream, the 6-foot-3, ... Read the full article
oalie Anders Nilsson makes a save through traffic during second period Saturday afternoon. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Early in the Sabres’ 3-0 victory Saturday afternoon, as Dan Bylsma watched Anders Nilsson gobble up puck after puck, the coach had an ill-timed thought about his goalie’s strong performance against the Florida Panthers.
“I don’t like it when I have thoughts like this,” Bylsma said after the Sabres’ first home win ended their four-game losing streak. “He just looked so solid, so confident in net you thought it was going to be ... Read the full article