WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Late-Season Edition
The Sabres acquired Jochen Hecht nearly 10 years ago. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Jochen Hecht said when the symptoms of another concussion began hitting him following the morning skate Jan. 24 in New Jersey, he lost it, he “was gone.”
The German’s third head injury in 10 months left him fearing for his career.
“I cried. I didn’t know what’s going to happen,” the longest-tenured Sabre recalled Monday, his eyes welling up with tears during what could’ve been his farewell chat with the Buffalo media. “It ... Read the full article
Ryan Miller performed terribly for three months before regaining his old form. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Ryan Miller couldn’t offer any strong explanations for suddenly transforming back into one of the NHL’s elite goalies following a wretched, career-worst three months.
When the 31-year-old Sabres veteran began feeling better during the winter, everything became easier, he said. The ice opened up and he started reading plays and seeing shots clearly again.
Nothing magical happened. Miller had just experienced enough mediocrity.
“Mainly, it was kind of, ‘Enough is enough. I’m better ... Read the full article
Derek Roy was critical of coach Lindy Ruff as the Sabres cleaned out their lockers. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Their run together stands at 423 total games over five fruitless seasons. In that time, the Sabres’ homegrown core players have earned two playoff appearances and zero series wins.
That’s it.
Most teams would’ve broken up that group years ago. The Sabres have plodded forward, mostly keeping it intact despite little success.
But a veteran star could finally be jettisoned following a bitterly disappointing ninth-place finish this season. A club constructed to hoist ... Read the full article
A broken ankle ended Tyler Myers’ season March 30. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Early in the Sabres’ 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh on March 30, Tyler Myers took a shot off his face and fell down on the ice. It looked bad.
The 22-year-old was fine, however, and he got up and kept playing.
In the third period, when Paul’s Martin’s harmless-looking shot hit Myers’ skate, few noticed and the defenseman finished the game.
“It just felt like a little stinger like any other day,” Myers said ... Read the full article
Paul Gaustad’s failure to go after Milan Lucic helped dramatically alter the season. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
“The main thing is start talking about it and just put it out there that we want to win a championship. We want to do it the right way, and we just have to hit a few checkpoints along the way and set ourselves up for it.” – Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, September 16, 2011
BUFFALO – Nearly seven months after his upbeat chat as training camp opened, Miller and the Sabres will clean out ... Read the full article
Marcus Foligno had six goals and 13 points during his latest recall. ©2012, Micheline Veluvolu, Rochester Americans
BUFFALO – The Rochester Americans’ playoff push got a big boost Friday, as the Sabres assigned rookie wingers Marcus Foligno and Corey Tropp to their 11th-place AHL affiliate.
Foligno and Tropp had secured regular NHL roles recently, impressing during the Sabres’ run at the postseason, which ended with Thursday’s 2-1 loss in Philadelphia.
The Amerks, two points behind eighth-place Houston for the final Western Conference playoff spot, have five games remaining. They play tonight in ... Read the full article
Lindy Ruff has seen other teams eke into the playoffs on the last day. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Having survived so long and stared down elimination so many times recently, a sense of destiny accompanies the Sabres’ unlikely charge toward the postseason. Six months and 80 games into the season, they’ve refused to die.
Lindy Ruff hopes the Sabres’ story gets to be told like all those other celebrated longshot playoff teams.
“There’s a lot of great stories in sports about teams making it the last day,” the coach said Wednesday ... Read the full article
The Sabres aren’t revealing many details about Tyler Myers’ injured foot. ©2012, Dan Hickling, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – Star Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers, who hurt his foot blocking a shot Friday, is wearing a walking boot and out at least the last two regular-season games.
Is the foot broken?
“He’s got a bad foot, yeah,” was all Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday after practice inside the First Niagara Center.
Myers didn’t make the trip to Philadelphia for tonight’s contest against the Flyers.
When asked if Myers could return if the ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Nine seconds, an eternity for a goal-mouth scramble, elapsed from Sabres rookie Marcus Foligno’s initial run at the net to Jordan Leopold’s final poke past Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Ben Scrivens on Tuesday inside a roaring First Niagara Center.
In these parts, if the Sabres win the final two regular-season contests, get some help and secure that unlikely playoff berth, the tying goal with 1:53 left in their wild 6-5 overtime triumph could ... Read the full article
Nathan Gerbe has one goal in his last 19 games. ©2012, Janet Schultz, Olean Times Herald
BUFFALO – The defensive style winger Nathan Gerbe has embraced and played so well this season isn’t quite a full-fledged checking role. No way. The Sabres still expect Gerbe to score, something he’s done only six times this season in 60 games.
Gerbe, who returned from a muscle pull Tuesday that sidelined him nine games, often shadows and stymies the opposition’s top scorers. But that shouldn’t hinder his offense, said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who’s ... Read the full article