SABRES SPECIAL TEAMS TAKE CENTER STAGE IN HOME OPENING LOSS TO KINGS
Fans in Buffalo were in for a show last night, from the time they walked up to the party at Alumni Plaza outside of KeyBank Center, till the final buzzer of the Sabres home opener. The show they saw, however, was a tragedy; one that ended with Buffalo falling 3-1 in unfortunate fashion.
For most fans, it was their first chance seeing the new, massive video board inside the arena. That’s the 10th largest video board in the NHL, a significant jump from the bottom five spots last season. Following a special video presentation, the Sabres Public Address Announcer (and Morning Edition Host on WBFO) Jay Moran introduced Lindy Ruff as the team’s Head Coach, which brought the crowd to its feet, with a mighty cheer and rally towels waving in the air.
Special Teams was the focus of the night, with the Sabres power play going scoreless in their first two games. Buffalo earned an early penalty, and another, giving them a two-man advantage for over a minute, which resulted in one shot easily stopped. The Sabres’ power play went 0/5 on the night, a clear sore spot to open the season, now 0/11 overall. That’s not to say the Blue and Gold didn't create any chances, they most certainly did, but it seemed as though the team played more fluidly at even strength, and, frankly, short handed.
The Sabres penalty killers stole the show every time they took to the ice. From their first opportunity, Ryan McLeod and company were outstanding, creating more chances with a man in the box than Buffalo did with an extra skater. In fact, McLeod earned a penalty shot on the Sabres’ first PK of the game. It was in the second period when Alex Tuch capitalized on a Kings’ turnover in the neutral zone, and buried his own rebound while shorthanded to give the Sabres the 1-0 lead. LA opened the third with the game’s tying goal just 13 seconds in. Then a late, controversial penalty, and another, gave the Kings a 5v3 power play with less than two minutes left, and in tragic fashion, the Kings scored to take the lead, and again on an empty net to clinch the victory, 3-1. LA’s captain Anze Kopitar scored all three Kings goals.
From the jump, with every hit the Sabres laid, the crowd responded with a roar. As the night went on, KeyBank Center sounded like a lion's den with the Buffalo dishing out a season high 28 hits. Leading the way was Jordan Greenway, who threw his 6’6, 230-pound frame into anyone wearing a Kings jersey all night. Greenway ended the night with a game-high 5 hits and generated chances all evening, earning him my “player of the game” nod.
Last season’s Stanley Cup Champions make their way to Buffalo tomorrow, as the Sabres host the Florida Panthers Saturday night. Puck Drop is at 7PM.
ST BONAVENTURE BASKETBALL TO AIR ON YES NETWORK
St. Bonaventure has announced that nine total basketball games will air on the YES Network this season. This programming agreement will put the Bonnies on a regional platform that can showcase their programs to a broad audience from Olean to Long Island, and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Five men’s basketball games, including their WNY rivalry game vs the University at Buffalo on December 7th, will air on YES and on The Gotham Sports App. Four women’s hoops games will be featured as well, including their Big Four matchup against Niagara on December 17th.
The YES Network is listed as the most-watched regional sports network in the country for 18 of the last 21 years, holding exclusive regional broadcast rights for the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets. Vice President and Director of Athletics Bob Beretta said, "This agreement ranks as another important step in our strategy to help grow the St. Bonaventure brand beyond Western New York.”
This is the first major move made by SBU since the hiring of Adrian Wojnarowski as men’s basketball general manager that put the Bonnies’ logo in the national spotlight a few weeks ago.
METS AND YANKEES BOTH CLINCH CONFERENCE SERIES BERTHS
This baseball postseason has been a nightmare for fingernails on the hands of New York Mets fans. From the Mets clinching a postseason spot with a late-game home run on the final day of the regular season, to a series clinching home run late in game two of the Wild Card round, to their most recent out-of-this-world moment, a game-winning grand slam in game four of the NLDS. Nail file businesses in Queens must've let out a big sigh of relief seeing Francisco Lindor rounded third on his bases-clearing shot in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Mets went on to eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday night. Sixth seeded New York heads to the NLCS to take on the winner of the Padres/Dodgers series. The Mets’ opponent will be determined tonight in game five in LA.
In the American League, the New York Yankees have punched their ticket to the Conference Series, after ousting the Kansas City Royals three games to one in the ALDS. The top seeded Yankees got an ace of a performance from their top pitcher Gerrit Cole last night as New York got the win 3-1, securing the series victory. The Yankees will face the winner of Saturday’s game five between second seeded Cleveland and sixth seeded Detroit in the ALCS.
CANISIUS WOMEN'S SOCCER HOSTS QUINNIPIAC IN TOP 3 MATCHUP IN MAAC
The Canisius Golden Griffins women's soccer team is undefeated in league play and will host a Quinnipiac team Saturday that holds the same honor. The 6-0-1 Griffs welcome the 6-0 Bobcats to the Demske Sports Complex Saturday afternoon. Canisius is tied with Fairfield for the top spot in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Canisius has not beaten Quinnipiac since 2014, going 0-8-1 in their last nine meetings with the Bobcats. Kickoff from the Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo is set for Saturday at Noon.
BILLS COULD BE WITHOUT JAMES COOK VS JETS
The Buffalo Bills coaching staff took quite the heat earlier this week following their loss to Houston in week 5, with the crux of most fans’ issues being their play calling at the end of the game. With time, we’ve learned that perhaps there was another reason as to why the Bills chose not to run the ball on their final drive: running back James Cook did not practice with the team on Thursday, listing a toe injury.
If Cook is not available to the Bills for their Monday night game against the Jets, Buffalo may put the game in Josh Allen’s hands more than they have all season. We’ve heard the mantra Bills fans have shouted since the start of this year, “Everybody eats when James Cooks.” Well, if Cook is not 'in the kitchen', Buffalo’s gunslinger will need to find a way to bounce back from, statistically, his worst start from a week ago, to pull out a divisional win on the road Monday Night.