While leading your division and sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference hardly constitutes a “must win” game, the Buffalo Sabres have a very important home game tonight against the Boston Bruins. It’s important in that they are in the midst of a season-long four game losing streak and have only three games left to right the ship before the Olympic break, including tonight’s affair.
If Darcy Regier doesn’t think this team needs to make a move before the trade deadline on March 3 he’s fooling himself. The Sabres badly need another goal scorer and a little more grit. They’ve looked exceptionally soft of late and more alarmingly Ryan Miller has looked average. If the team doesn’t have the confidence to put Patrick Lalime in net more often they need to find a better backup option. Between all the starts this year and the Olympics Miller is in serious danger of getting burned out before the season ends, and Buffalo has zero chance of going far in the playoffs if he’s not at his best.
♦ It’s close to being split down the middle amongst fans when it comes to wanting Michael Vick to come to Buffalo. We ran a poll over the past few days asking fans if they’d welcome Vick here, and as of press time roughly 250 votes were casted. Fifty six percent say “no thanks” to Vick, while 44% would love him in a Bills uniform.
No matter what side of the fence you’re on, the opinions are strong. People either really want Vick here, or they really, really want him to stay away.
In the end I don’t think anti-Vick fans have to worry about it. Despite earlier reports circulating that the Bills were interested, I don’t think there’s any way they pull a trigger on a Vick deal. In fact, I think Donovan McNabb is more likely, though I don’t see that happening either.
I think Vick will end up in St. Louis. I’m not so sure on McNabb, though if forced to predict I’ll venture to say he’ll stay in Philadelphia. If he is dealt, it won’t be to Minnesota. The Eagles are not going to help a team that is directly in their Super Bowl path. I’d rate Cleveland as the McNabb favorite in any trade scenario.
♦ Niagara University suffered a bad loss last night in college basketball, losing at Rider 70-62. The Purple Eagles took a 14-point lead into halftime, but allowed 47 points in the second-half.
“It was a disappointing loss,” Niagara head coach Joe Mihalich said. “We let a great opportunity slip away.”
They don’t have many great opportunities left. Niagara fell to just 6-8 in the MAAC and 13-13 overall. The Purple Eagles had high hopes to make it to the NCAA Tournament but at the rate they’re going they’ll more likely to make an one-game cameo in March before calling it a season.
♦ The women got it right in college hoops last night. Setting a program-record with only six turnovers, making 11 3-pointers and holding a 28-14 rebounding advantage in the second half, the Canisius College women’s basketball team defeated Rider University 77-58 in the Koessler Athletic Center on Monday night.
The Niagara women’s basketball team grinded out a 61-56 win over the Loyola Greyhounds on Monday night from the Gallagher Center. The Purple Eagles concluded their five-game homestand unbeaten for its longest winning streak in five seasons. They’ve won seven of their last eight games.
♦ As usual, a few area colleges announced their athletes of the week on Monday. At UB, Rodney Pierce and Kourtney Brown got honors. Pierce of the men’s basketball team averaged 22.3 points in UB’s three games during the week. Pierce scored 29 points, just two off his career high, against Western Michigan while also scoring 22 with a career-high seven assists. Pierce also nailed the eventual game-winning bucket as the Bulls knocked off MAC foe Toledo on Saturday. He leads the Bulls at 18.7 points per game while also hitting a team-best 43 three-pointers this season.
Brown of the women’s basketball team averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in UB’s two games. Against Eastern Michigan, she scored 25 points while adding 10 rebounds and a career-high 13 free throws made. In UB’s win over Central Michigan, Brown knocked down 19 points and with 14 rebounds, her 13th double-double performance of the season. Nationally, she’s currently sixth in the rebounds per game (11.5) and second in offensive rebounds with 133.
♦ Freshman women’s basketball player Staci McElroy was named the Buffalo State Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after averaging 19.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in a three-game week.
♦ Over at Niagara, For the first time this season, the men’s hockey team swept the CHA weekly honors, with senior Chris Moran taking home Offensive Player of the Week honors, along with senior Tyler Gotto and rookie Marc Zanette, who earned Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively.
Moran notched his second consecutive multi-point game against the Robert Morris Colonials last week, by scoring a goal and an assist. In his last two games, the Buffalo, N.Y. native has scored two goals and two assists for four points. Moran currently needs two more assists to pass Barret Ehgoetz to become Niagara’s career assists leader.
Gotto notched his sixth goal of the season during the 4-4 tie against Robert Morris last Wednesday. The Calgary, Alb. native currently has six goals, 12 assists and 18 points, good for third on the team in scoring.
Zanette finished picked up an assist against Robert Morris, while finishing the 4-4 tie with a plus-two ranking. The rookie is currently fourth on the team in scoring with five goals, 11 assists and 16 points.
♦ Lastly, After scoring double figures in both of St. Bonaventure’s game this week, sophomore Megan Van Tatenhove received a Player of the Week nod from the Atlantic 10 conference as announced on Monday. This is the second weekly award for Van Tatenhove, who last garnered the award after posting a career-high 27 points at Quinnipiac.
