WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Christian Ehrhoff takes a hit from Winnipeg’s Alexander Burmistrov. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Watching Germany’s national team fall into disarray and off the world stage hasn’t been easy for Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
The country recently failed to qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Consider that other than three world war bans, the country’s ice hockey team had qualified for every other Olympics, all of them since 1948.
“Obviously, the non-qualification for the Olympics is very frightening, very sad,” Ehrhoff said Monday prior to ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko has played 22 NHL games. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko has been playing real hockey games since August. Counting NHL, junior and Team Russia appearances, the 18-year-old Sabres rookie estimates he has skated in 85 contests this season.
Grigorenko insists he’s in “real good shape,” though. Under normal circumstances, a nine-month season would be trying.
“But I always changed places,” Grigorenko, who’s in his second stint with the Sabres, said Sunday after preparing for tonight’s contest against the Winnipeg Jets in ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko should play Monday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko has been playing real hockey games since August. Counting NHL, junior and Team Russia appearances, the 18-year-old Sabres rookie estimates he has skated in 85 contests this season.
Grigorenko insists he’s in “real good shape,” though. Under normal circumstances, a nine-month season would be trying.
“But I always changed places,” Grigorenko, who’s in his second stint with the Sabres, said this morning after practicing inside the First Niagara Center. “All the ... Read the full article
Steve Ott would love to spoil Winnipeg’s playoff hopes. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – With senior advisor Ken Sawyer watching from the stands, a rarity, the Sabres practiced quietly this morning for the first time since Friday’s ugly 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers eliminated them from playoff contention.
Normally, their shootout drills are filled with cheering and hollering as they close sessions. Today, however, almost no one uttered a word.
Three games remain, starting with Monday’s home tilt against the ninth-place Winnipeg Jets, who ... Read the full article
Jhonas Enroth tries to make a stop in front of Adam Pardy on Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sure, the Sabres needed some good fortune to down the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. Christian Ehrhoff’s pass off the end boards created the game’s only goal. Daniel Briere hit the crossbar behind Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth with just a single tick left in the game.
Still, they deserved their 17th win this season and first in three games. The Sabres, so vile during Thursday’s 5-1 home loss to Montreal, ... Read the full article
Chad Ruhwedel played 13 minutes Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – On Friday night, a day after UMass Lowell lost to Yale in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinal, Chad Ruhwedel checked his phone on the tarmac when the River Hawks’ flight from Pittsburgh landed in Boston.
“It says, ‘Call me immediately’ from my advisor, my mom, too,” the 22-year-old first team All-American defenseman said Saturday after making his NHL debut in the Sabres’ 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The undrafted Ruhwedel knew his ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis (63) tries to poke the puck from Montreal’s P.K. Subban during the third period Thursday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Fifteen minutes after a wretched, season-killing 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, the door to the Sabres dressing room swung open.
Inside, players had just finished discussing their embarrassing play and the path for the final seven games of this lost season.
Where do the hapless Sabres go following one of the worst efforts in recent memory?
“We talked amongst ourselves, obviously, what attitude are we going to have going forward here?” Sabres ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis has zero points in the last five games. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The clock is ticking loudly again on the Sabres’ lost season. With eight games left, the 11th-place club, which hosts the Montreal Canadiens tonight, is six points behind the eighth-place New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.
After three straight wins, the Sabres fell 4-1 Tuesday in Winnipeg. Incredibly, they’re 2-9-2 against the feeble Southeast Division, by far the NHL’s worst group of teams.
The Sabres have beaten the ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller slides across his crease to stop a shot by New Jersey’s Steve Sullivan on Sunday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Not long ago, the Sabres might’ve wilted under the intense pressure, lost a game like Sunday’s 3-2 shootout win over the freefalling New Jersey Devils.
For at least 15 minutes – from late in the first period until midway through the game – the Devils hemmed the Sabres in their own zone, pumping chance after chance on goalie Ryan Miller as they sustained almost constant pressure.
It looked like the reeling Devils enjoyed ... Read the full article
Jochen Hecht has played 10 seasons with the Sabres. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Thirty-one days ago, it appeared Jochen Hecht’s long career here could be ending. In his fifth game as interim coach, Ron Rolston scratched the versatile forward, the first benching of his 10-season Sabres career. Rolston had already slashed the German’s minutes dramatically.
Hecht, a favorite of former coach Lindy Ruff, was seething.
But Rolston complimented Hecht’s play following the scratch, saying the German was only benched so the Sabres could add some toughness.... Read the full article