WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
Zemgus Girgensons and the Sabres open the preseason schedule Sept. 26 against Minnesota. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Five of the Sabres’ seven preseason games this year are away from the First Niagara Center, including four neutral-site contests, the team announced this morning.
The Sabres start the exhibition slate Sept. 26 against the Minnesota Wild at Penn State University, the first pro game at the arena funded by a $102 million donation by Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
The game was moved from Rochester because the Sabres believe the Blue ... Read the full article
Jakob Chychrun rides the bike during NHL Combine testing Saturday. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Growing up in Boca Raton, Fla., Jakob Chychrun’s classmates and friends had little interest in hockey. The 90,000 residents of the Palm Beach County city, like most of the state, mostly focus their attention on football and other outdoor sports.
There was, however, one person Chychrun, a defenseman expected to be selected in the top 10 at the NHL Draft on June 24 in Buffalo, could share his love of hockey with: Kelly ... Read the full article
Evander Kane said his mistake won’t happen again. ©2016, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
Calling his actions “irresponsible,” Buffalo Sabres winger Evander Kane said Tuesday he had apologized to his teammates for oversleeping and missing practice a day earlier after partying at the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto.
The Sabres benched Kane for Tuesday’s road contest against the Ottawa Senators, the only game the 24-year-old will sit out, coach Dan Bylsma said Monday.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize, obviously, to my teammates for letting them down,” Kane ... Read the full article
Sabres rookie Jack Eichel played in the world junior championship last year. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – USA Hockey announced this morning it will make a “major announcement” – that means the 2018 world junior championship – at 3 p.m. Friday on the 18-yard line at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Sabres owner Terry Pegula and president Russ Brandon will attend the news conference.
The Sabres hosted the 2011 world juniors. Buffalo competed with Pittsburgh and St. Louis for the 2018 tournament.
Stay tuned for more details. Based on the venue for ... Read the full article
Matt Moulson scored a career-low 13 goals last season. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – After his family, the most important thing in his life, Sabres winger Matt Moulson has two other loves.
“Scoring is my second love after winning,” Moulson said Sunday inside the First Niagara Center.
Moulson, 31, did little of either throughout a brutal 2014-15 season in which the Sabres won only 23 times and he scored a career-low 13 goals.
He struggled from the get-go beside some pedestrian centers, only occasionally showcasing the talents ... Read the full article
Joe Battista joined the Sabres in November 2013. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Joe Battista, the Sabres’ vice president for hockey-related business, will be leaving the organization in the coming weeks.
The move had been in the works “for a long period of time,” a team spokesman said. Battista will be returning to his family in State College, Pa.
Battista is the second high-profile front office member to leave the team in the last week. The Sabres hired Buffalo Bills president Russ Brandon last Monday when ... Read the full article
Randy Cunneyworth talks Wednesday. ©2015, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
ROCHESTER – For three years, wherever Randy Cunneyworth went, he was asked the same question.
“I don’t think there was a person I came across that didn’t mention, ‘Are you going to get back into coaching or not?’” Cunneyworth recalled Wednesday after being introduced as the Rochester Americans’ new coach inside the Blue Cross War Memorial.
Cunneyworth enjoyed his player development job with the Buffalo Sabres – “I’m into whatever I’m doing,” he said – ... Read the full article
Forme Sabres president Ted Black (right) sits at the team’s draft table last month with scout Jerry Forton. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – On Russ Brandon’s drive to the rink to discuss his new role as Sabres president and alternate governor, a job he was awarded Monday in addition to his gig as managing partner and president of the Buffalo Bills, he reflected back to a year ago, when the NFL club’s future here was shaky.
Back then, Brandon was focused on finding a viable owner for the Bills. Terry and Kim Pegula’s interest in the ... Read the full article
Ted Black joined the Sabres in 2011. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The Sabres today named Russ Brandon team president and announced former president Ted Black and the organization had “mutually agreed to part ways.”
Brandon, the managing partner and president of the Buffalo Bills, a team also owned by Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula, will oversee all aspects of the business operations for both teams and report directly to the Pegulas.
“Since we purchased the Buffalo Bills last October, we have been highly ... Read the full article
Carlo Colaiacovo didn’t sign a contract until October last year. ©2015, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Two days after signing a one-year contract with the Sabres, Carlo Colaiacovo hadn’t stopped smiling yet, the defenseman said Sunday.
A year ago, Colaiacovo couldn’t find work. As the summer dragged on, the free agent became uneasy. The stress wore on him.
Colaiacovo eventually decided to bolt to a Russian club in the KHL. But the contract took so long to consummate a one-year-deal with Philadelphia materialized in October before he could leave.... Read the full article