The National Hockey League announced this evening the schedule of dates and start times for the First Round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins.
Broadcast information has yet to be finalized by the NHL.
GAME – DATE – MATCHUP – TIME (ET)
Game 1: Thursday, April 15, Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 17, Boston at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, April 19, Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Wednesday, April 21, Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
*Game 5: Friday, April 23, Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
*Game 6: Monday, April 26, Buffalo at Boston, 7 p.m.
*Game 7: Wednesday, April 28, Boston at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
*If necessary
Tickets for Buffalo’s four potential home games in the first round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs are now on sale at the HSBC Arena Box Office, all tickets.com outlets in Tops Markets, online at www.sabres.com, tickets.com or charge by phone at 1-888-223-6000.
The journey has been long, but the NHL regular season has finally come to an end. For the first time in three years the Buffalo Sabres will be in the playoffs and the only thing that remained undecided Sunday was if the Sabres would be a second or third seed and who first opponent next will be.
We now have those answers.
Jamie Langenbrunner blasted a slap shot into an empty net with 3.6 seconds remaining to give the New Jersey Devils a 2-1 victory over Buffalo Sunday evening.
By not winning in regulation the Sabres finish as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They will face the Boston Bruins when the playoffs open on either Wednesday or Thursday night, with games one and two at the HSBC Arena.
After missing the final 98 games of the 2009 season, Gee returned to the mound with an absolute gem on Sunday afternoon to lead the Bisons to victory at PNC Field. The 23-year old allowed just two hits in six shutout innings as the Bisons completed a series win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees with a 4-1 decision.
Gee was out of action after May last season, sidelined with a right shoulder strain. Instead of surgery, Gee decided to rehab the injury at the Mets’ spring training home in Port St. Lucie, FL. Ten months later, the decision proved to be the right one.
It’s been rumored for some time now, but I heard from a reliable source Saturday that the Buffalo Bills are looking to trade Marshawn Lynch, are in discussions with at least two teams, and according to the source with knowledge of the situation, a trade happening is “now inevitable”
I’m not sure what teams GM Buddy Nix is discussing a deal with, but I’ve learned the Denver Broncos are not one of them. Many speculated Denver was interested in the third-year running back—-possibly in a package deal for Brandon Marshall, but Lynch to Denver won’t be happening.
I’m told Buffalo would prefer to get another player in return instead of a draft pick because the team doesn’t think they could fetch better than a fourth rounder in a trade.
Regardless, I’m told the organization is preparing to move forward without Lynch, who didn’t show up last week for OTA’s, and a trade is now imminent.
The Buffalo Stampede’s second season in the PBL mercifully came to an end Saturday night with a 55 point loss to Lawton Fort-Sill Calvary. The 156-101 defeat at the Koessler Athletic Center concluded a season of coaching and roster shuffling throughout that saw the team finish the season at 3-17, actually a two-game improvement from their inaugural campaign last year.
The game was never in doubt as the Calvary led by 20 at the end of the first quarter and 32 points by halftime. A 66-48 rebounding advantage led to Lawton outscoring the Stampede by 30 points in the paint.
Corey Herring led Buffalo with 23 points and nine rebounds. Mike Norwood added 19 points while Tihon Johnson chipped in with 13.
Lawton finished the regular season at 18-2, the best record in the league.
With the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff banner displayed overhead, the Buffalo Bandits kept their own playoff hopes alive with a 13-10 victory over the Toronto Rock.
The Bandits opened the scoring on a shot from Mark Steenhuis just 1:07 into the game. Assisted by Sean Greenhalgh and John Tavares, the goal would set-off a flurry of Bandits tallies to follow.
Mike Accursi found the net twice and Mark Steenhuis netted another from the ground to gain a Bandits lead of 4-1 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The offensive blast would continue in the second quarter when John Tavares netted his first goal of the game on a pass from Sean Greenhalgh and Frank Resetarits. In just 21 minutes of play, Tavares had tallied five points (1+4).
To give you an idea about how weak the Eastern Conference has become, if you were to take the Sabres point totals of the last two seasons and compare them to this year’s standings, the Sabres would be in the driver seat between the 6th and 7th spots for the playoffs. All of the playoff teams have weaknesses. And we aren’t talking about whether the 4th line can produce. From the Capitols and Senators goaltending issues to the Flyers duck taping together their injury ridden roster, everyone has a major weakness.
Even though the teams seem to be weak, the one thing the majority of these teams aren’t lacking is star power. From Kovalchuk, to Crosby, to Ovechkin, if any of these players get hot, look out. Of course, the Sabres have their own superstar in Ryan Miller (more on him later). In the end, in such a weak conference, all you need is a couple of players to get really hot to make a run for the cup.
The Bisons offense broke through for the first time in 2010 and came storming back from an early deficit to collect the first victory of the young season.
Jason Pridie’s two-out, two-run single capped a furious late-inning comeback as the Herd defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 7-6, Friday night at PNC Field.
The Yanks shut out the Bisons in the first game of the season on Thursday night, 1-0. Twenty-four hours later, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre held the Herd to just two hits over the first five innings in building a 6-2 lead.
Jimmy Clausen held his Pro Day workout Friday early afternoon in South Bend and based what I saw on the live feed and from speaking to people who covered it, Clausen looked very good on his throws.
Reportedly Clausen hit on 57 of 59 passes.
As expected, Bills GM Buddy Nix, Director of College Scouting Tom Modrak, and several Bills assistant coaches were in attendance to see Clausen and some of the other Irish hopefuls.
Clausen, who is still not fully recovered from his toe surgery, threw darts to receivers Golden Tate, James Aldridge, Robby Parris and David Grimes. Afterwards in an interview he described himself as 75-80% healthy. Because he’s still recovering from the toe injury, Clausen didn’t attempt any bootlegs or rolling out before passes, but he still demonstrated sound footwork and didn’t seem to have problems getting off the snap and moving around.
This Buffalo Sabres will be in the playoffs when they start next week and by winning the Northeast Division, they earned no lower than a third seed. That much we know for sure.
After that things hit a state of nebulous. Buffalo can still finish in second place in the Eastern Conference. They could play the sixth or the seventh seed in the first round. Who will those opponents be? It’s too hard to tell right now.
The playoff picture is presently more scrambled than Rocky Balboa’s brain.
Fortunately for those craving scenarios and information, we’re impatient and not ready to give up so easily. The following is a breakdown of what could happen entering the final weekend of the NHL regular season, how the Sabres could fare and who they may be face when the postseason commences next Wednesday or Thursday (no, we don’t even know that yet either.)
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have signed forward Luke Adam to a three-year entry level contract. The Sabres selected Adam in the second round (44th overall) in the 2008 Entry Draft. Adam will finish this season with the Portland Pirates on an AHL ATO, and his NHL contract will begin next season.
The Sabres have now locked up their top three picks from the 2008 Draft, and two of them – first rounders Tyler Myers and Tyler Ennis – have already had an immediate impact in the NHL.
Lost among the estimated million or so stories and mocks connecting Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen to the Buffalo Bills Thursday was the lightly reported news that restricted free agent tight end Derek Schouman signed his tender to remain with the team for 2010.
While the move comes low-key universally doesn’t compare to Dwan Edwards or Andre Davis signings in terms of fan enthusiasm, the organization clearly wanted him back in the fold, probably more than you think.
Schouman’s career numbers are hardly impressive; 27 career catches in 21 games for 275 yards and all of one touchdown. He’ll never be confused with Antonio Gates or Vernon Davis.
Four Buffalo Bisons pitchers combined to allow just one run, but it went for naught as the offense was shut out and the Bisons fell to Scranton Wilkes-Barre on opening night Thursday, 1-0.
Buffalo pitcher Michael Connor relieved starter Tobi Steiner after 3.1 scoreless innings and made one mistake, serving up a pitch that Yankee right fielder David Winfree deposited into the stands for a solo home run in the fourth inning.
The Buffalo Sabres went into Boston Thursday night to take on a desperate Bruins team locked in a dog fight to make the playoffs. Ryan Miller rested and Patrick Lalime started in his place while Jochen Hecht missed the game with an upper body injury. Add it all up and it’s hardly surprising the Bruins skated to a 3-1 victory.
Lalime played well in net, stopping 31 shots but got little support from his teammates. Derek Roy scored the game’s first goal for Buffalo 11 minutes into the first period after he stole the puck from Dennis Wideman and beat Tuukka Rask, but the Sabres went scoreless for the rest of the game while Boston scored three unanswered goals over the last two periods.
The American Hockey League announced today that forward Tyler Ennis of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2009-10 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 29 member cities.
Ennis, a first-round draft choice (26th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in 2008, leads all AHL rookies with 23 goals (tied), 42 assists and 65 points in 69 games for Portland this season. He is also second with six game-winning goals and third with nine power-play tallies. Ennis’s first four professional points came courtesy of a hat trick plus an assist vs. Hartford on Oct. 16, his first of 18 multiple-point efforts on the season. The 20-year-old native of Edmonton, Alta., represented the Pirates at the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic in Portland and was voted the most valuable player of the All-Star Game. He also scored a goal in his National Hockey League debut with Buffalo on Nov. 14 and has gone on to post three goals and five assists for eight points in seven games with the Sabres. Continue reading ‘Tyler Ennis wins AHL Rookie of the Year’
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl executive director Kevin McDonald today announced the signing of agreements that set the stage for a four-year relationship pitting top teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) against top opponents from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Qualifying teams will be selected according to each conference’s criteria for bowl participation. The MAC is committed to send its third selection of bowl eligible teams based on the MAC bowl selection process to the Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl.
The WAC is committed to send one of its top teams, based on its bowl-eligible teams’ regional drawing strength for fans of the Boise-based game.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today that forward Mark Mancari has been recalled on an emergency basis from the AHL’s Portland Pirates.
This is the fourth recall of the season for Mancari, who leads Portland in scoring with 71 points (27+44) in 72 games. Mancari has two points (1+1) in five games with the Sabres this season. Mancari, 24, was selected by Buffalo in the seventh round (207th overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft.
In the Buffalo Sabres division clinching win over the New York Rangers Tuesday night, Ryan Miller made an amazing blocker save on sniper Marian Gaborik, which instantly became one of the highlights of the season.
Miller’s 2.28 goals against average, .928 save percentage, five shutouts and career-best 40 wins may be the reason he’s the Vezina Trophy favorite, but saves like this only add to his magical season.
Here’s is the video of Miller’s remarkable save, as posted by “HockeyHighlightsPlus”.
Sunday night’s trade of QB Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia to Washington ended a weeks-long marathon of trade rumors surrounding the veteran signal caller. When one door closes, another opens, and from the moment that the Redskins made their annual big off-season splash, their incumbent starting quarterback, Jason Campbell, has been on the trade market.
According to an ESPN 980 radio report out of the nation’s capital, the Buffalo Bills – who were heavily linked to McNabb prior to the trade – are one of five teams interested in Washington’s quarterback leftovers.
Senior Chris Moran has been selected to represent the Niagara University men’s hockey team at the fifth annual NCAA Frozen Four Skills Competition on Friday, April 9 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The all-time Niagara leader in assists (103) will compete for the Western team.
Moran had a solid four year career at Niagara, finishing fourth on the all-time points list (141), while leading his team in points the last two seasons.
The Buffalo, N.Y. native is the fifth Purple Eagle (third male athlete) to have earned this selection, as Justin Cross (’06) took part in the inaugural skills challenge and Sean Bentivoglio (’07) was chosen for the 2007 edition. Shannon Moulson(’08) and Allison Rutledge (’07) were both chosen to represent the Niagara women’s team in the event, with Moulson participating in 2008.
The Niagara University Cheerleaders took first place at the Cheerleaders of America (COA) National Cheerleading Competition over the holiday weekend, in Orlando, Fla. The competition hosts over 250 teams from across the country competing in the two day event. The first-place finish gave Niagara a US Final Qualifier bid.
The squad of 24 girls has been working on their routine since October. Captains Bethany Wood, Deanna Klemann and Megan Abraham explained that this was a big win not only for the seniors but for the recognition of cheerleading at Niagara.
I’ve now heard from a couple of sources that UB fullback Nick Sizemore has left the program. I have been told that Sizemore left because of a series of different positional adjustments.
Sizemore was moved from Full Back to Tight End, and finally to center. The prospect of playing offensive line was enough to get the Sophomore to leave the program.
Sizemore has been removed from the roster at UBAthletics.com.
(Tim Riordan is the publisher of Bull Run, a must-read for any UB sports fan)
The Buffalo Bills announced Wednesday that they’ve signed free agent running back Walter Mendenhall to a contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mendenhall was an undrafted free agent a year ago who signed with Philadelphia after the draft. He was waived by the Eagles in June and had two short stints with the Indianapolis Colts before getting cut before the season started.
He ran for 796 yards on 126 carries and just four games his senior year at Illinois Stat after transferring from Illinois.
Mendenhall joins Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch as the only running backs currently on the roster.
He’s the older brother of Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The NCAA released the final statistics for the 2009-10 men’s basketball season on Wednesday and a University at Buffalo player sat atop one of the categories. John Boyer finished the season as the nation’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. Boyer had 159 assists to only 43 turnovers for a 3.70 ratio.
Boyer was one of only three players to have an assist-to-turnover ratio over three. He held a healthy lead over second place Maurice Acker of Marquette (3.10). Boyer finished the season strong by having 48 assists to only four turnovers over the final nine games of the season.
The senior point guard finished the season with 159 assists – the fifth best single season total in school history and the most assists by a UB player since the Bulls’ joined the Mid-American Conference in 1998.
The Buffalo Sabres today announced they will be hosting a “Party in the Plaza” prior to the start of each home playoff game during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year’s parties will be bigger and better than ever — including the addition of a 40’ x 120’ tent that will guarantee each party happening rain or shine; and extended hours that will allow fans without tickets to stick around and watch the game on a big screen TV.
The pre-game festivities get underway two hours before the start of each game outside HSBC Arena, in the Plaza area located near Perry and Illinois St. Fans can enjoy live music, along with food and drink available for purchase throughout the night. But the party doesn’t stop when the game ends! There will be drinks available for purchase after the game, along with music and coverage of the Lexus Shootout post-game show on the big screen.
The National Hockey League announced this evening the schedule of dates and start times for the First Round of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Buffalo Sabres and Boston Bruins.
The journey has been long, but the NHL regular season has finally come to an end. For the first time in three years the Buffalo Sabres will be in the playoffs and the only thing that remained undecided Sunday was if the Sabres would be a second or third seed and who first opponent next will be.
Dillon Gee’s shoulder is just fine, thank you.
It’s been rumored for some time now, but I heard from a reliable source Saturday that the Buffalo Bills are looking to trade Marshawn Lynch, are in discussions with at least two teams, and according to the source with knowledge of the situation, a trade happening is “now inevitable”
The Buffalo Stampede’s second season in the PBL mercifully came to an end Saturday night with a 55 point loss to Lawton Fort-Sill Calvary. The 156-101 defeat at the Koessler Athletic Center concluded a season of coaching and roster shuffling throughout that saw the team finish the season at 3-17, actually a two-game improvement from their inaugural campaign last year.
With the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff banner displayed overhead, the Buffalo Bandits kept their own playoff hopes alive with a 13-10 victory over the Toronto Rock.
5) The East is weak
The Bisons offense broke through for the first time in 2010 and came storming back from an early deficit to collect the first victory of the young season.
Jimmy Clausen held his Pro Day workout Friday early afternoon in South Bend and based what I saw on the live feed and from speaking to people who covered it, Clausen looked very good on his throws.
This Buffalo Sabres will be in the playoffs when they start next week and by winning the Northeast Division, they earned no lower than a third seed. That much we know for sure.
Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today the Sabres have signed forward Luke Adam to a three-year entry level contract. The Sabres selected Adam in the second round (44th overall) in the 2008 Entry Draft. Adam will finish this season with the Portland Pirates on an AHL ATO, and his NHL contract will begin next season.
Lost among the estimated million or so stories and mocks connecting Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen to the Buffalo Bills Thursday was the lightly reported news that restricted free agent tight end Derek Schouman signed his tender to remain with the team for 2010.
Four Buffalo Bisons pitchers combined to allow just one run, but it went for naught as the offense was shut out and the Bisons fell to Scranton Wilkes-Barre on opening night Thursday, 1-0.
The Buffalo Sabres went into Boston Thursday night to take on a desperate Bruins team locked in a dog fight to make the playoffs. Ryan Miller rested and Patrick Lalime started in his place while Jochen Hecht missed the game with an upper body injury. Add it all up and it’s hardly surprising the Bruins skated to a 3-1 victory.
The American Hockey League announced today that forward Tyler Ennis of the Portland Pirates has been named the winner of the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2009-10 season, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 29 member cities.
Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl executive director Kevin McDonald today announced the signing of agreements that set the stage for a four-year relationship pitting top teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC) against top opponents from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Sunday night’s trade of QB Donovan McNabb from Philadelphia to Washington ended a weeks-long marathon of trade rumors surrounding the veteran signal caller. When one door closes, another opens, and from the moment that the Redskins made their annual big off-season splash, their incumbent starting quarterback, Jason Campbell, has been on the trade market.
Senior Chris Moran has been selected to represent the Niagara University men’s hockey team at the fifth annual NCAA Frozen Four Skills Competition on Friday, April 9 at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich. The all-time Niagara leader in assists (103) will compete for the Western team.
The Niagara University Cheerleaders took first place at the Cheerleaders of America (COA) National Cheerleading Competition over the holiday weekend, in Orlando, Fla. The competition hosts over 250 teams from across the country competing in the two day event. The first-place finish gave Niagara a US Final Qualifier bid.
The Buffalo Bills announced Wednesday that they’ve signed free agent running back Walter Mendenhall to a contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Buffalo Sabres today announced they will be hosting a “Party in the Plaza” prior to the start of each home playoff game during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year’s parties will be bigger and better than ever — including the addition of a 40’ x 120’ tent that will guarantee each party happening rain or shine; and extended hours that will allow fans without tickets to stick around and watch the game on a big screen TV.
