Section VI Class C Final: Key Defensive Stop Propels S.W. Over Eden

Southwestern rolled into their Section VI Class C championship showdown on a devastating roll that saw them squash each of their nine previous opponents by an average of 31.4 points  Fredonia previously gave the Trojans their toughest game of the season, keeping the final score within 18 points.  Southwestern put up 336 points in their [...]

Dave Hannan Open Thread: Sabres at Bruins

Yeah, it’s Dave Hannan.

Look, I know that Rene Robert wore No. 14.  I know the role he played as one of the “French Connection,” and I know his number is in the rafters.

Still, with all the hockey I watched as a kid I never saw Robert do something as exciting as this:

As for last night, that was definitely the Sabres of last year who showed up.  The top-two lines were nearly invisible, and I thought they played their usual soft game of avoiding going into the corners and giving up the puck rather than take a hit to make a play.  Unfortunately, our third-and-fourth lines were willing to make those plays, it’s just that they lack the ability to finish them on a consistent basis.

I call it the “Derek Roy Syndrome” and it was out in force last night.  Let’s hope they are willing to pay a price tonight.

Enroth Time

By Chris

It looks like Jhonas Enroth will make his first career start tonight in Boston.

The Sabres really can’t afford to lose three out of four games, especially against a team that has struggled like the Bruins have.

The puck drops at 7 p.m.

You know Dan Paille will be ready.

A View From The Roost: The Clunker

By Chris

I took in my first regular season game last night. The Sabres had just annihilated the Islanders on Wednesday, so with the Flyers in town, I was pretty excited to show up.

Unfortunately the team didn’t.

It was a pretty flat game from the Sabres all-around. Yes, Miller let in two very bad goals, but no one gave him any support. Lackadaisical passes, soft clears, bad checking all around (both the forecheck and the backcheck were pretty nonexistent) and no clean shots on goal.

They way to beat Ray Emery is to simply pepper him with shots. He’s a time-tested rebound machine and if you can get over 30 shots on (they had exactly 30), then he’s going to kick at least three of them right back up the middle of the ice.

The problem was the Sabres couldn’t get those shots through. The Philadelphia defense, led by that goon (and future Hall-of-Famer) Chris Pronger, shut down the potent Buffalo offense. And if someone did miraculously get a shot through, the Flyers D pushed the Sabres out of the way and out of position to cash in on that rebound or cross-crease pass.

Buffalo got outworked last night and it cost them two points. A good, deep team like Philly can roll four lines just as well as the Sabres can (Hartnell and Gagne were invisible) so you need to do better than just skate with them.

The Sabres were pretty soft and tried to be too cute with the puck when a simple dump-and-chase strategy probably would have been best. It’s not the type of game you want to see them play at home.

The timing of the Flyers first two goals (last minute of the first and then within the first two minutes of the second) shouldn’t have been the nail in the coffin for that game. But Buffalo did not respond well and were forced to play from behind.

Henrik Tallinder had just better not be the Sabres’ best player on the ice again tonight in Boston.

Section VI Class B Final: Cheektowaga 27, Alden 13

The Cheektowaga Warriors used a combination of  punishing ground game and ruthless pass rush en route to defeating Alden, 27-13 in the Section VI Class B final at Ralph Wilson Stadium today.
Cheektowaga (10-0) ran the ball 37 times and pounded out 287 yards, with all four of their touchdowns coming on the ground.
Their pass rush [...]

NU: No. 19 UMass Downs Men’s Hockey, 4-1

The Niagara men’s hockey team (0-6-1, 0-0-0 CHA) put together a tough and gritty effort, but it wasn’t enough as they dropped a tightly contested 4-1 decision to No. 19 UMass (5-1-0, 3-1-0 HE) on Friday night at the Mullins Center.
“A lot of our game I like, even with the tight loss,” head coach Dave [...]

BSD Live at Ralph Wilson Stadium for Section VI Finals

The Section VI High School Finals are under way at Ralph Wilson Stadium, with three class titles to be decided.
Cheektowaga takes on Alden at noon for the Class B title.  At 3pm, Southwestern will face off against Eden with the Class C crown on the line.
The prime time game is for the Class AA championship, [...]

And now, for something more uplifting…

By Jon

This beauty of an illustration comes from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and WGRZ, which have teamed up on an in-depth look at the Bills’ “Decade of Dissapointment.”

Seriously, you need to check this out. They have a special section on the D and C site set up, complete with audio, video and an interactive audience (You know, all of those things that are killing the industry.)

If the D and C isn’t on your list of media to check for Bills coverage, it needs to be. Leo Roth and Sal Maiorana do a great job, rivaling TBN.

Special thanks to Greg for pointing the special site out (Bias alert! Former WGRZ intern!)

UB: Hamel and Green Ranked First in MAC Preseason Individual Rankings

The Mid-American Conference wrestling coaches in conjuction with the league offices have announced the 2009 preseason individual rankings. Appearing on the list, 20th nationally-ranked junior Jimmy Hamel at 197 and 16th nationally-ranked sophomore Desi Green at 149, each ranked at the top of their respective weight classes. In the preseason [...]

Six Bengals Capture All-SUNYAC Soccer Honors

Six Buffalo State soccer players were recognized by coaches of the State University of New York Athletic Conference as 2009 All-SUNYAC selections with Leighana Krzyzanowski (Ontario/Wayne), Barb Kiliszek (Depew/Lancaster) and Mindy Wendt (Sanborn/Starpoint) leading the group, all garnering second team honors.
Meghan Jarrell (Hamburg/Hamburg) and Kelly Reuter (East Aurora/East Aurora) rounded out the women’s selections, named [...]