Archives for May 2006

'Defenseman Brian Campbell said the Sabres might have taken their opponents too lightly after winning Game 1. "Maybe we did," Campbell said. "We won Game 1 and thought the second game was going to be easy and that we could just walk through it. ... Maybe it's a good wake-up call for us."' … [Read more...] about Hurricanes rattle Sabres

'Carolina seemed quite capable of handling the road during the regular season. The Hurricanes won 21 games away from Raleigh, tying a franchise record; the team was fifth in road power plays at 18.8 percent (47 for 250) and tied for eighth in penalty kills (83.1 percent). They outscored opponents 141-133 on the road.' … [Read more...] about Hurricanes not worried about road playoff games

'While the Western Conference final appears to be heading down a short road that has been common this postseason, the series in the East may treat hockey fans to six or seven games. We can only hope.' … [Read more...] about Strong second frame helps Canes net equalizer

'"A few of them just left their feet for no reason at all," Ruff later added. "The game had some strange moments."' … [Read more...] about War of words: Sabres coach Ruff says Hurricanes are the ones diving

'"Due to today's hockey game, the usual three-hour Catholic wedding ceremony will be shrunk to under one so that we may finish in time for the drop of the first puck," Monsignor William Gallagher intoned at the beginning of nuptials for Douglas Wragge and Heather Kowalewski at St. John Vianney Church in Orchard Park. In fact, the groom had been horrified to … [Read more...] about Apocalypse not

'...patrons have been packing the bar on game nights. “We probably get 20 or 30 people in for it,” he said. “We’ve been promoting it hard by hanging flags and flyers.” Fans have been staying to the bitter end to rally around their team. The tavern having a 12-foot big screen television doesn’t hurt.' … [Read more...] about Playoff Fever

'I haven’t gotten that far. We haven’t gotten that far. The ceiling is still likely to cave in on us. Lucy is gonna yank that football away. Buffalo, playing the role of Charlie Brown, will whiff, flip up in the air and fall flat on our collective behinds -- again. It’s probably a good thing, though. We don’t exactly have the best luck with field … [Read more...] about There&#8217s winners, then there&#8217s us

'I've always found women to be the barometer of when a sports team moves from the sports pages onto the front pages...Women, much more apt to sidestep a dead horse than to beat one, find more constructive things to do when lousy teams play and only dedicate their precious time when they feel that it all might be leading somewhere special. (Sort of the way that they … [Read more...] about Sabres offer hope to Western New York weirdos

'"We pushed first," Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said. "They pushed back."' … [Read more...] about ‘Canes are able

'The Sabres have plenty of issues to address as they return home for Games Three and Four of the Eastern Conference finals. They were manhandled, physically overwhelmed, in falling by a deceiving 4-3 score Monday night in the RBC Center. They lost their composure, took reckless, senseless penalties that helped to reawaken Carolina's heretofore hibernating power play.' … [Read more...] about Sabres lose their edge and their composure

'Numminen's status is uncertain for Wednesday night's Game Three in HSBC Arena. He got hurt late in the first period of Buffalo's 3-2 victory in Game One and didn't practice Sunday. He had a smile on his face when he first skated around RBC Center on Monday morning. But when it came time for hard stops and starts during drills he began to favor his right leg. He also was … [Read more...] about Janik called into action as Numminen sits out

'Ratings aside, it is unlikely that most Sabres fans will be lamenting that NBC's coverage of the Carolina series is over. Game One was an advertisement for turning down the TV volume and listening to WGR's team of Rick Jeanneret and Jim Lorentz if the Sabres' radio home synchronizes the action as advertised.' … [Read more...] about Sabres win was a ratings victory for NBC

'Yet the winning margin was only 4-3. And had it not been for a couple of fortuitous bounces, the Sabres easily could have won.' … [Read more...] about ‘Canes bounce back

'It's Ray Whitney's job to score. Anything else is secondary.' … [Read more...] about Whitney finds his touch

'"We basically carried over from the third period last game. and we played the way we we're capable of playing," Carolina veteran Mark Recchi said. "Now we have a tough job ahead of us going into their building."' … [Read more...] about Sabres left defenceless