WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
October Edition
The frustration has often been visible on Ryan Miller’s face this season ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Forget about merely making the playoffs. Forty-six days ago, a long postseason run felt like a real possibility following the Sabres’ season-opening 5-2 home victory over Philadelphia.
The next day, a 2-1 road triumph in Toronto only strengthened the belief the veteran club could be an Eastern Conference heavyweight.
The Sabres possessed offensive firepower, a deep defense corps, unyielding muscle and a franchise goalie, right?
Well …
The 13th-place Sabres ... Read the full article
Marcus Foligno hasn’t scored since Jan. 27. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – It was more of a learning tool than a true benching. When Ron Rolston scratched Marcus Foligno on Thursday, the interim Sabres coach took his surprised rookie aside.
Instead of simply telling Foligno, “You’re not playing tonight,” Rolston analyzed the winger’s play with him.
“He showed me a lot, what I could bring, where my good things I do on the ice and things that I got to start doing,” Foligno said ... Read the full article
Jason Pominville beats New Jersey goalie Johan Hedberg in the shootout Saturday. ©2013, Janet Schultz, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Suddenly, the Sabres’ worst season in recent memory looks much more promising. Don’t order those playoff tickets yet. But the team, given up for dead just a week ago, has quickly cobbled together three straight wins under interim coach Ron Rolston, responding to adversity in each one.
In their latest victory, a 4-3 shootout triumph on Saturday before a noisy capacity crowd of 19,070 fans inside the First Niagara Center, the Sabres never ... Read the full article
Marcus Foligno has one goal this season. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
If the Buffalo Sabres had some better options, Marcus Foligno could’ve been benched weeks ago.
Instead, the 21-year-old power forward, a healthy scratch tonight against the Florida Panthers, kept struggling right beside the rest of the Sabres’ anemic offense.
It’s often cliché to talk about the “sophomore jinx,” but Foligno’s certainly experiencing an epic slump during his first full NHL season.
Twenty contests into the 48-game campaign, Foligno has just one goal and eight points. ... Read the full article
Ron Rolston coaches his first NHL game Thursday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – Ron Rolston walked to a podium Thursday afternoon inside the Air Canada Centre, surveyed the landscape before him – about 30 reporters and a dozen cameras – and immediately cracked his first joke as the Buffalo Sabres’ interim coach.
“It looks like the same media coverage as Rochester,” joked Rolston, who replaced Lindy Ruff on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, Rolston was preparing his Rochester Americans for an AHL tilt against the Texas Stars. ... Read the full article
Thomas Vanek said this afternoon he keeps “waiting for Lindy to come back.” ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – A day later, Lindy Ruff’s dismissal as coach of the Buffalo Sabres after 15 seasons still hadn’t sunk in for some of his former players. For 13 current Sabres, Ruff was the only NHL coach they had even known before Ron Rolston took over on an interim basis Wednesday.
Ruff’s firing following the Sabres’ terrible 6-10-1 start stunned them. He had just led a 90-minute practice. But when Ruff boarded the team bus ... Read the full article
Kevin Porter preps for a faceoff earlier today. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
TORONTO – When Cody McCormick cleared waivers at noon today, officially freeing up a roster spot, Kevin Porter hit the ice inside the Air Canada Centre.
His new Buffalo Sabres teammates tapped their sticks in appreciation before the center joined the workout.
The reeling Sabres, who will be led by new interim coach Ron Rolston for the first time tonight against the Maple Leafs, desperately need an on-ice savior.
Porter, a 14-goal scorer with Colorado ... Read the full article
Lindy Ruff began coaching the Sabres in 1997. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Darcy Regier walked in looking shaken. The Sabres general manager broke down a couple times while discussing the difficult decision to fire his close friend Lindy Ruff, the NHL’s longest-tenured coach.
Regier and Ruff had been synonymous with each other since 1997, when a rookie GM gave a young coaching prospect his dream job. Together, they experienced all the highs and lows of the NHL, somehow managing to keep their gigs despite limited ... Read the full article
Christian Ehrhoff isn’t practicing today. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff and center Tyler Ennis are missing from Sabres practice this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. Stay tuned for an update later. Ehrhoff blocked a shot with his chest Sunday.
In addition, forward Cody McCormick, who’s practicing, is on waivers today, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
Fresh off Tuesday’s wretched 2-1 loss to Winnipeg, today could an interesting day.
Here are today’s lines from left to right:
Thomas Vanek, Cody ... Read the full article
T.J. Brennan returned to the lineup Tuesday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The gaffe gnawed away at Jordan Leopold. His blown coverage on Pascal Dupuis’ late tying goal a day earlier left the struggling Sabres defenseman “upset … the whole day” Monday, he said.
The 32-year-old, a veteran of 602 NHL games, probably felt even worse Tuesday morning.
For Lindy Ruff, leaving Dupuis wide open in the right circle, something Leopold called an “easy read,” was the last straw. The Sabres coach scratched Leopold for ... Read the full article