WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Rick Jeanneret and Brad May share a special moment in hockey. ©2022, Janet Schultz
BUFFALO – Brad May will be there tonight to celebrate his friend, Rick Jeanneret. The popular ex-Sabres winger is flying in from Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he was vacationing, for “RJ Night” at KeyBank Center.
“I need to be in Buffalo to feel it with him,” May told the Times Herald by phone Tuesday from Belfast.
The two men, May said, are “tied at the hip.” The goal of May’s life, his overtime series-clincher ... Read the full article
Rick Jeanneret has called Sabres games for 51 seasons. ©2022, Dan Hickling
Legendary play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret will become the 10th member of the Buffalo Sabres organization to be honored with a banner in the KeyBank Center rafters.
The Sabres this afternoon announced Jeanneret, who’s in his 51st and final season calling games, will have a banner bearing his name raised before the April 1 game against the Nashville Predators.
As part of what the team has named “RJ Night,” tributes will also be given and the ... Read the full article
Don Granato knows the value of an early goal. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Historically, NHL teams that score first or hold the lead at the end of the first period go on to win the game.
The Sabres won only 15 of their 56 games last season, finishing dead last. Still, when they opened the scoring, they compiled a strong 8-6-5 record. When they led after 20 minutes, they went 4-3-4.
Sabres coach Don Granato brought up the value of an early goal or lead Wednesday ... Read the full article
Rick Jeanneret began calling Sabres games in 1971-72. ©2021, Dan Hickling
Legendary Buffalo Sabres play-by-play announcer Rick Jeanneret will retire following the upcoming season, his 51st with the team.
Jeanneret, the NHL’s longest-tenured announcer, announced the decision Friday. He will call a limited number of games – 20 of the 82, according to The Buffalo News – during the 2021-22 campaign.
“To my Sabres family, to spend 50 years doing any one job is more than a person can ask for, let alone one as ... Read the full article
Colin Miller was often the odd man out last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Last year, his first with the Sabres, defenseman Colin Miller sat out 18 times – more than one-quarter of the season – as a healthy scratch.
The Sabres, who possessed a surfeit of defensemen, often dressed an extra one. Still, Miller regularly ranked eighth on the depth chart and was the odd man out.
This year, however, Miller, 28, has quickly earned a spot among the top-six defensemen. He skated beside Henri Jokiharju... Read the full article
Brad May scored one of the most famous goals in Sabres history. ©2020, Hickling Images
Five more “Sabres Classics” – this time games featuring Buffalo’s fiercest rivals, including the wild “May Day” playoff win over the Boston Bruins – will be rebroadcast on MSG next week.
The games are being aired because the COVID-19 pandemic forced the NHL to suspend its season indefinitely March 12.... Read the full article
Victor Olofsson has earned Ralph Krueger’s trust. ©2019, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – Victor Olofsson’s ability to quickly adapt and evolve has helped him morph from an unheralded Sabres prospect into one of the NHL’s top rookies.
Just weeks after beginning his North American career last season, Olofsson established himself as one of the AHL’s top scorers with the Rochester Americans.
Following his terrific 30-goal, 63-point campaign, the Swedish winger graduated to Buffalo, scoring six times in the first seven games this year.
But Olofsson, ... Read the full article
Sam Reinhart (23) and Jeff Skinner (53) celebrate a Sabres goal Saturday. ©2019, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – One by one Rick Jeanneret introduced them, 15 in all, including some of the greatest names in Sabres history.
Gilbert Perreault, the most iconic name, received a rousing standing ovation from the capacity crowd of 19,070. The fans roared for Danny Gare and Jason Pominville, two of the most popular players in franchise history.
Before the Sabres started Saturday’s 7-2 annihilation of the New Jersey Devils, they kicked off the home portion ... Read the full article
Scott Wilson broke his ankle late in training camp. ©2018, Hickling Images
BUFFALO – Scott Wilson couldn’t even walk yet. Still, after breaking his right ankle, the Sabres winger wanted to enjoy some hockey-related activities.
So instead of staying idle, at about the four-week mark of his recovery, Wilson, 26, started going on the ice and shooting pucks … from a chair.
“As basic as you could think of it, that’s pretty much what it was,” Wilson said prior to Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston ... Read the full article
Rick Jeanneret began calling Sabres games in 1971. ©2018, Hickling Images
Legendary Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret is “resting and doing well” after being hospitalized at Buffalo General Medical Center on Saturday night, according to the team.
Jeanneret, 76, had to stop calling the Sabres’ 3-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks and left KeyBank Center on a stretcher after feeling ill early in the third period.
“On behalf of Rick and his family, we’d like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers,” the Sabres said ... Read the full article
