Archives for March 31, 2004

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Jay McKee has been chosen as the teams nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by a vote of the Buffalo chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The Masterton Trophy is awarded under the trusteeship of the PHWA to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Leonard exemplified these traits in his essay where he states he "eats, drinks, and sleeps hockey." A sled hockey player, Leonard has skated on the Sabres home ice in the past, where he described the experience as being a "Great Feeling". A true fan, Leonard has a room full of Sabres related items including blankets, pillows, books, cups, keychains, a clock and hockey sticks. Plus a large collection of jerseys.

'A Sabres win and Islanders loss would put Buffalo a mere point out of the postseason with two games left for both teams. But the excitement created during the Sabres' charge would disappear with an Islanders win and a Sabres loss, which would put Buffalo five points out with just four available.'

'"He just stretches your neck and head in different ways and massages it and really digs in there deep to loosen up the muscles for any tension or strained muscles," Connolly said. "It helped out a lot. It's a good thing that I went out there and tried it. It's hard to explain the year that I've gone through. It's just good to be back out there."'

'G Martin Biron is 4-0-1 and has allowed five goals in the last

five games.'

'Still, the Sabres have been an unnerving presence in the Islanders' rearview mirror. Buffalo owns a five-game unbeaten streak. It has trimmed an 8-point deficit on Feb. 29 to 3 points with three games left for both teams.'