WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Spring Edition
Alex Tuch battles Buffalo’s Josh Gorges on Saturday afternoon. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – When Alex Tuch mentioned the number of fans who would be watching him play Saturday afternoon, no one was sure if the Syracuse native was joking.
“Maybe a little bit more than 400,” the Vegas Golden Knights rookie winger said Friday.
Cheering sections for local players and even some from further locales are common at KeyBank Center. Following games, family and friends often congregate around the Zamboni entrance and wait for their hero ... Read the full article
Justin Bailey flies past Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury after scoring his third-period goal. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Early in the third period Saturday afternoon, Sabres winger Benoit Pouliot roared into the Vegas zone, beat defenseman Shea Theodore to a loose puck and quickly dished it to linemate Justin Bailey, who was trailing the play in the slot.
Bailey tucked the puck past Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at the 2:47 mark, then went airborne after tripping on his right pad.
The Williamsville native, who was playing his first game ... Read the full article
Jonathan Marchessault has compiled 65 points in 65 games. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – After earning only four NHL appearances over his first four pro seasons, Vegas Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault decided he would give himself one more year to crack the big league.
“If I didn’t make it, I was going to go to Europe, because I was getting great offers in Europe,” Marchessault said Friday inside KeyBank Center. “A lot of people do a decent living over there, do a great career.”... Read the full article
Justin Bailey recently started scoring again in Rochester. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Finally, after a 21-game goalless stretch in the AHL, Sabres winger Justin Bailey recently started performing like his old self.
Prior to getting summoned Friday, the Williamsville native had four goals and five points in the last five games with the Rochester Americans.
A high ankle sprain he suffered during his last recall helped derail Bailey’s promising season. He struggled to recover from one of hockey’s trickiest injuries, looking nothing like the youngster ... Read the full article
Vegas’ Alex Tuch, who grew up in Syracuse, has 13 goals and 30 points as a rookie. ©2018, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Before the Vegas Golden Knights began their inaugural season six months ago, coach Gerard Gallant underestimated just how motivated and jilted his players felt.
Everyone on the Golden Knights, the greatest expansion team in NHL history, seems to have a chip on his shoulder.... Read the full article
William Carrier played one season with the Sabres. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
CHICAGO – In the end, the Buffalo Sabres exposed winger William Carrier to the Vegas Golden Knights and sent the new club a sixth-round pick to lay off goalie prospect Linus Ullmark in the NHL Expansion Draft.
That price, of course, will look like a pittance if Ullmark, who was left unprotected, becomes Buffalo’s starter someday.
The Golden Knights officially selected Carrier on Wednesday night, about the same time the Sabres sent them the ... Read the full article
William Carrier played 41 games with the Sabres. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
CHICAGO – The Sabres tonight sent a sixth-round pick in this weekend’s NHL Draft to the Vegas Golden nights, a move that was almost certainly a sweetener for the expansion team to draft winger William Carrier and lay off unprotected goalie Linus Ullmark.
Carrier, 22, compiled five goals and eights points in 41 games as a rookie last season.
Stay tuned for more updates.... Read the full article
George McPhee can stock Vegas with strong talent. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Seventeen years ago, as president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Doug MacLean spent almost a year preparing for the NHL Expansion Draft.
“Hundreds and hundreds of hours went into it,” MacLean, now an analyst for Sportsnet, told the Times Herald by phone Saturday.... Read the full article
William Carrier was one of the Sabres’ biggest surprises last season. ©2017, Hickling Images, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – As expected, the Sabres have left underachieving, high-priced veterans Zach Bogosian and Matt Moulson unprotected for Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft.
But they also left winger William Carrier, perhaps the Sabres’ biggest surprise as a rookie last season, unprotected for the Vegas Golden Knights, according to a list the league released this morning. Could that move be a side deal general manager Jason Botterill worked out with counterpart George McPhee to lay off ... Read the full article