WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Thanksgiving Edition
Ryan Miller made 40 saves Tuesday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
PITTSBURGH – The thinking went like this: Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, heckled during an ugly home outing Friday, wouldn’t play in Buffalo again this season. No way. The Sabres couldn’t risk having the face of their franchise jeered again.
Sure enough, he sat Monday’s home game.
But the Sabres turned to Miller again Tuesday inside Consol Energy Center, and the former Vezina Trophy winner dazzled in his 499th NHL appearance, stopping 40 ... Read the full article
Chad Ruhwedel played college hockey in Pittsburgh earlier this month. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
PITTSBURGH – Buffalo Sabres rookie Chad Ruhwedel hasn’t truly left college yet. Six games into his new life, the 22-year-old defenseman is still enrolled at UMass Lowell, where he’s a senior pursuing degrees in business and marketing and management.
Even in the NHL, Ruhwedel, who had junior playing status, has some school work to do. When the season ends, he’ll go back and finish the semester.
“A little tough, but my teachers have been pretty ... Read the full article
Chad Ruhwedel (5) chased down Ryan Callahan on Friday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
PITTSBURGH – Buffalo Sabres rookie Chad Ruhwedel hasn’t truly left college yet. Five games into his new life, the 22-year-old defenseman is still enrolled at UMass Lowell, where he’s a senior pursuing degrees in business and marketing and management.
Even in the NHL, Ruhwedel, who had junior playing status, still has some school work to do. When the season ends, he’ll go back and finish the semester.
“A little tough, but my teachers have been ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller hasn’t played since Friday’s ugly loss. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
PITTSBURGH – Ryan Miller was the first Buffalo Sabres goalie off the ice this morning inside Consol Energy Center, meaning the veteran will likely start tonight against the Penguins.
Will it be Miller’s 499th and final appearance with the Sabres?
Miller hasn’t played since getting yanked from Friday’s ugly 8-4 home loss to the New York Rangers, a game Miller sarcastically saluted the crowd in between two Bronx cheers. The 32-year-old then voiced his ... Read the full article
Jhonas Enroth made 37 saves Monday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – To Jhonas Enroth, Friday’s terrible relief effort meant little. The backup goalie forgot about allowing four goals in 31 minutes at the final horn. Enroth didn’t start the Sabres’ 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers. The game wasn’t his.
“I came off the bench the other game,” Enroth said Monday after making 37 saves in the Sabres’ 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. “So I really didn’t care about that after ... Read the full article
Christian Ehrhoff takes a hit from Winnipeg’s Alexander Burmistrov. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Watching Germany’s national team fall into disarray and off the world stage hasn’t been easy for Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff.
The country recently failed to qualify for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Consider that other than three world war bans, the country’s ice hockey team had qualified for every other Olympics, all of them since 1948.
“Obviously, the non-qualification for the Olympics is very frightening, very sad,” Ehrhoff said Monday prior to ... Read the full article
Jhonas Enroth struggled in relief Friday. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Given what transpired in Friday’s ugly 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers – in between two Bronx cheers, Ryan Miller sarcastically saluted the crowd shortly before he was yanked – can the Sabres realistically play the goalie at home again this season?
“Yes,” interim Sabres coach Ron Rolston said this morning. “It is realistic.”
Tonight, however, backup goalie Jhonas Enroth start against the Winnipeg Jets, a meaningless game for the Sabres.
Is ... Read the full article
Steve Ott has missed the playoffs five straight seasons. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – What’s left for the Sabres now? Three meaningless games, that’s it. With their slim playoff chances smothered Friday, starting with tonight’s home contest against the Winnipeg Jets, the Sabres are skating for pride and hoping to play a spoiler role.
As senior advisor Ken Sawyer, owner Terry Pegula’s close confidant, watched closely from the stands, a rarity, the Sabres practiced quietly Sunday for the first time since an ugly 8-4 loss to the ... Read the full article
Mikhail Grigorenko has played 22 NHL games. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Mikhail Grigorenko has been playing real hockey games since August. Counting NHL, junior and Team Russia appearances, the 18-year-old Sabres rookie estimates he has skated in 85 contests this season.
Grigorenko insists he’s in “real good shape,” though. Under normal circumstances, a nine-month season would be trying.
“But I always changed places,” Grigorenko, who’s in his second stint with the Sabres, said Sunday after preparing for tonight’s contest against the Winnipeg Jets in ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller skates off the ice Friday, perhaps for the final time with the Sabres, as teammate Thomas Vanek (26) bangs his stick on the boards. ©2013, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Seriously, in the wake of Friday’s debacle, can the Sabres ever play Ryan Miller before the home crowd again? How ugly could it become inside the First Niagara Center?
With only three games left this season, the goalie’s 10-year career here looks finished. The Sabres’ embarrassing 8-4 loss to the New York Rangers sure felt like Miller’s 498th and final appearance.
The fans’ love-hate relationship with Miller likely reached its breaking ... Read the full article
