WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Offseason Edition
Matt Ellis played his first NHL game since Feb. 2 on Saturday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Moments after Matt Ellis scored the shootout winner in Friday’s wild Rochester outdoor game, Americans coach Chadd Cassidy found his captain at center ice in the midst of the celebration.
Cassidy had a special message for Ellis, who also had a goal and an assist in the “Frozen Frontier” game, an exciting 5-4 triumph played in 18-degree temperatures.
“(He) said, ‘The only thing that made tonight better is me getting to ... Read the full article
Brayden McNabb will likely play this afternoon. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres center Cody Hodgson (lower body) will this take this afternoon’s pregame warm-up and decide if he can play against the Calgary Flames.
“He’s getting real close,” interim Sabres coach Ted Nolan said this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center.
Update: Hodgson is out again. Luke Adam is a healthy scratch up front.
If Hodgson misses his second game, Matt Ellis will play. The Sabres recalled the 32-year-old after he scored the ... Read the full article
Matt Ellis (37) battles Lake Erie’s Matt Hunwick outdoors Friday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
ROCHESTER – From a skill perspective, Chadd Cassidy had better options six rounds into Friday’s wild shootout. But the Americans coach wanted Matt Ellis, his trusted captain, to try to win the “Frozen Frontier,” an outdoor game played in 18-degree temperatures.
“With the game on the line, I want it on his tape because good things happen to good people,” Cassidy said. “There’s nobody that’s worked harder for the opportunities that he’s gotten than ... Read the full article
Matt Ellis celebrates his first-period goal Friday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
ROCHESTER – Matt Ellis certainly earned this recall to the Buffalo Sabres.
Shortly after scoring the shootout winner in the Americans’ 5-4 triumph against the Lake Erie Monsters in Friday’s outdoor “Frozen Frontier,” the Sabres summoned their AHL captain, the Times Herald has learned.
Ellis also opened the scoring and added an assist. He hasn’t played in the NHL since the Sabres waived him in February.
The 32-year-old has played 197 games with the Sabres. ... Read the full article
Brayden McNabb has sat the last four games. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted to give his lines a long look. The interim Sabres coach figured he couldn’t ask his players for consistency if he kept shuffling the trios.
But after a string of losses and more meager offensive production, Nolan switched up his combinations Monday.
“Our top line is having a little bit of trouble, maybe the chemistry wasn’t quite right,” Nolan said following practice inside the First Niagara Center. “We talked to ... Read the full article
Tyler Ennis said the lines had to be changed. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Ted Nolan wanted to give his lines a long look. The interim Sabres coach figured he couldn’t ask his players for consistency if he kept shuffling the trios.
But after a string of losses and more meager offensive production, Nolan switched the lines up today.
“Our top line is having a little bit of trouble, maybe the chemistry wasn’t quite right,” Nolan said this afternoon following practice inside the First Niagara Center. ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko played well at the world junior championship the last two years. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows watching NHL games as a spare forward is hurting his development.
“I can’t be sitting in the press box. I need to play,” Grigorenko said Thursday morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”
Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands how vital ice time is to Grigorenko’s maturation, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.
“I ... Read the full article
Brayden McNabb went to Rochester for one game. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Attitude, Ted Nolan said, “is everything.”
“It’s like a flat tire,” the interim Sabres coach said this morning, “if you don’t change it, you ain’t going nowhere.”
Sabres defenseman Brayden McNabb’s great attitude about his one-day assignment to Rochester helped the 22-year-old compile one goal and three points in the Americans’ 6-1 win against the Utica Comets, Nolan said.
“He’s knows that he’s got a little ways to go before becoming a full-time ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko will leave the Sabres on Sunday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Sabres prospect Mikhail Grigorenko knows he can’t develop properly sitting in the press box regularly.
“I need to play,” Grigorenko said this morning inside the First Niagara Center. “Everybody understands this.”
Luckily, the Sabres’ new regime understands that, so the team’s letting the 19-year-old center play for Russian at the upcoming world junior championship in Sweden.
“I think it’s going to be great for me because I’m not getting enough ice time,” said ... Read the full article
Trade rumors haven been swirling around Ryan Miller. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – In Ted Nolan’s mind, franchise goalie Ryan Miller, an unrestricted free agent following the season, is more of a building block for the struggling Sabres than an asset.
“You build around him versus as a pawn to try to get something to make you better,” the interim coach said Wednesday. “You learn to deal with the now as a coach, and we got one of the better goaltenders in the world here. I’d ... Read the full article
