Buffalo Hockey Beat - WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage

Sabres announce 2014 preseason schedule

BUFFALO – Here’s the six-game 2014 Sabres preseason schedule. Tickets go on sale August 25 at 10 a.m.

Sept. 21                Buffalo @ Washington   5 p.m. Verizon Center
Sept. 23             Buffalo vs. Carolina        7 p.m. First Niagara Center
Sept. 26             Buffalo vs. Toronto         7 p.m. First Niagara Center
Sept. 28                Buffalo @ Toronto           7 p.m. Air Canada Centre
Oct. 1                  Buffalo vs. Washington 7 p.m. First Niagara Center
Oct. 3                    Buffalo @ Carolina           7 p.m. PNC ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres add Danny Flynn to coaching staff

BUFFALO – Add one more name to Ted Nolan’s new coaching staff.

The Sabres have hired Danny Flynn, the QMJHL Moncton Wildcats’ vice president of hockey operations, according to John Moore, the Halifax Mooseheads’ announcer.

Nolan and Flynn have a long history together. Flynn assisted Nolan with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds before moving up to coach the OHL club when Nolan went to the NHL. Flynn also worked with Nolan in Moncton and assisted ... Read the full article

Report: Sabres hire Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier as assistant coach

BUFFALO – The Sabres have hired Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier, one of the most decorated names in hockey history, as an assistant coach for Ted Nolan’s staff, according to the Buffalo News.

Nolan knows Trottier, who won six Stanley Cups as player, from his tenure as New York Islanders coach from 2006-08, when Trottier was the director of player development.

Trottier enjoyed an illustrious playing career, compiling 524 goals and 1,425 points in ... Read the full article

Sabres re-sign Luke Adam to 1-year deal

BUFFALO – The Sabres have re-signed forward Luke Adam to a one-year, two-way contract, the team announced today.

Adam enjoyed an outstanding AHL season in 2013-14, scoring a team-high 29 goals and adding 49 points in 59 games with the Rochester Americans. He had one goal in 12 NHL appearances.

The 24-year-old provides the Sabres depth.

He has 15 goals and 26 points in 87 games with the Sabres since 2010-11. He had 10 goals ... Read the full article

Sabres prospect J.T. Compher earning notice by agitating opponents

BUFFALO – Early during Sabres development camp, J.T. Compher, proud University of Michigan student-athlete, noticed Hudson Fasching, his roommate from the University of Minnesota, brought a Big Ten shirt.

“I threw it on the ground,” a smiling Compher said. “I didn’t want to see that out of his suitcase again.”

Their rivalry started last season, when Compher’s Wolverines lost three of their four conference meetings to Fasching’s Golden Gophers, who captured the first-ever ... Read the full article

Bruins hire former Sabres assistant coach Joe Sacco

BUFFALO – So much for Joe Sacco scouting for the Sabres. The Boston Bruins have hired the 45-year-old as an assistant coach, a job he had here last season.

The Sabres fired Sacco after finishing 30^th overall last season, but quickly named him a pro scout. Sacco was inside the First Niagara Center last week during development camp.

Sacco coached the Colorado Avalanche from 2009-13, earning a Jack Adams Award nomination in 2009-10. ... Read the full article

Sabres sign defenseman Andre Benoit to 1-year contract

BUFFALO – The Sabres added more defense depth today, signing Andre Benoit to a one-year contract.

The deal’s worth $800,000, according to TSN’s Aaron Ward.

Benoit just completed his first full NHL season, compiling seven goals, 28 points and 26 penalty minutes in 79 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He averaged 21:17 of ice time.

The 30-year-old has 10 goals, 39 points and 40 penalty minutes 120 career NHL contests.

Sabres general manager Tim Murray ... Read the full article

Sabres’ Tyler Ennis ready for new challenges after signing 5-year contract

BUFFALO – The setting made Tyler Ennis reflect on a career that almost never started.

The slick Sabres center was about to skate at Callingwood Recreation Centre, the rink around the corner from his childhood home in Edmonton, when word arrived last week his new five-year, $23 million contract had been finalized.

His best friend, Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon, was with him. So were the memories of his struggles as a youngster.

“I was ... Read the full article

Two local players named to U.S. National Sled Hockey Team

BUFFALO – Local athletes Paul Schaus and Adam Page were among 17 players named to the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team on Tuesday.

Team USA, the two-time defending Paralympic gold-medal winners, will be hosting the 2015 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship April 23-May 2 here at HARBORCENTER.

For more information, click here.

Check out Dan and Margaret’s U.S. Sled Hockey galleries here and here.