Archives for May 14, 2006

‘”In 1999, I felt like we kept surprising ourselves. Each time we won a round, we were kind of like, `Wow, we won again,'” McKee said Sunday, referring to the Dominik Hasek-led team that eventually lost in the finals to Dallas in six games. “This year, we believe we can beat any team in a seven-game series. It’s not cockiness, it’s just humble confidence.”‘

‘Roughly 5,000 tickets are expected to be available for each game – Games Three, Four and Six in the Eastern Conference finals. Box-office tickets will range from $100 apiece, for available 300 Level tickets, to $200 apiece for the 200 Level.’

‘”We had to find ways to win games,” Ruff said. “When we started the series, I thought they had a better team. I thought they were deeper with talent up front. We were worried about their power play, which had been running real hot. But we found ways and we got a few bounces.”‘

‘The Stanley Cup remains very much within their grasp, but this lovable legion of nobodies certainly didn’t make it easy for anybody.’

‘”I don’t think it’s describable,” said Pominville, who scored 18 goals in 57 regular-season games. “Getting sent down obviously was disappointing. I thought I had a pretty good training camp and to clear waivers . . . I went down with a good attitude to work my way up, and hopefully I can stick around. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I do kind of pinch myself every day.”‘

‘Winning a Stanley Cup won’t bring us jobs or make the world see Buffalo as a garden spot. But it would be a neon sign of success and a big step toward shedding our communal inferiority complex.’

‘Typical of the series, the Senators had every chance to win Game 5, but the Buffalo Sabres won it on limited opportunities. They’re sneaky dangerous, the Sabres. Deadly, it turned out. Shorthanded, winger Jason Pominville rather impudently skated around Daniel Alfredsson to tuck home the winner, just 2:26 into the fourth period.’

‘“I got the puck in our zone and I put my head up and saw Alfredsson, being a forward, and I thought I’d give it a shot,” he said. “I had a step on him and I pulled it to my forehand, saw the net and just put it in there.”’

‘Beyond the team’s turnaround and strong play of late, it’s just good to see how they’ve brought the community together. Whether it be at a local tavern, HSBC Arena or Dunn Tire Park — where several games have been broadcast on the big screen– the team has given local residents a reason to cheer. That’s no easy feat in this area and we applaud the Sabres for it.’

‘”We won’t back down from anybody,” said Campbell. “I thought that we really showed that in the series against Philly (in the first round). We got run and there was a lot of cheap stuff, but we didn’t back down. (Senators defenceman Zdeno) Chara is a big man, but we didn’t back off. We’re going to be on you non-stop.”‘