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PASabreFan

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On 7/4/2020 at 2:01 PM, PASabreFan said:

Correct.

Anybody got the connection between Randy Ireland and Billy Inglis?

I can vividly remember the shock of Inglis as coach wearing off with the apparent return of good times. Someone else also appeared to bring back the good old days that season. That man? (Prepare Paul Harvey voice.)

Randy Ireland played the third period of an 8-1 loss in Montreal on December 2, 1978. The Sabres were already down 7-1 to start the third, so my suggestion above that Ireland played a big role in Inglis becoming coach was off. To explain: the Sabres were 8-9-6 after the loss in Munreal, and they lost again to the Habs the next day, a Sunday, in Buffalo. Gilbert Perreault had asked to be traded earlier in the season, and the lockerroom was reported to be an interpersonal mess. So that was it for GM Punch Imlach and coach Marcel Pronovost, who got canned the next morning in the so-called Monday Morning Massacre. (Paul Wieland claims in his book that the real reason for the firing was that Imlach had booked Memorial Auditorium on a certain day, paying out of his own pocket, so the Sabres couldn't host another Soviet team, against Seymour Knox's explicit wishes.)

Inglis, a scout and original Sabre who helped out with practices as a quasi-assistant coach, got the job. Inglis told the press after his debut that he wore a brown suit so no one would notice if he crapped himself. The Sabres briefly picked up the pace, going 5-0-2 in Inglis' first seven games before cooling off, removing "interim" from his business card. On February 4, 1979 the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHL traded Rick Dudley to whence he came (another report says the Sabres signed Dudley as a free agent with Cincy "selling off assets" due to their not being included in the upcoming WHA-NHL merger). The Sabres beat St. Louis that night at the Aud, and I think I remember that Dudley played in that game (he didn't; he debuted after the break and scored in a 2-1 win on Long Island). I recall the excitement on the postgame show on GR as the Sabres put together a winning streak for the first time since Inglis' hot start.

That brought the All Star break, and two days later new director of player personnel John Andersen, acting as interim GM, traded Gary McAdam to Pittsburgh for Dave Schultz! It was an interesting time to be a fan as the 70s powerhouse team tried to keep itself going and stay relevant with the fans, who were suffering from core-itis and playoff frustration long before 2008-2020 (apparently there might also have been a notion that the Sabres were too soft). They went 14-9-5 to end the season, and Budd Bailey wrote in his 20th anniversary book that Buffalo had the third-best record in the league after the Massacre. Three times in the final 15 games they put up nine goals — including twice on the dastardly Bruins.

But in the first round of the playoffs, in a dreaded best of three series, the Sabres, as was their wont, choked in the postseason. In a series-deciding overtime at the Aud in Game 3, Pittsburgh's George Ferguson did his best Darius Kasparaitis impression and did in a season and an era. April 14, 1979 was a momentous day for a young generation of Sabres fans. Everything was about to change.

And did change that summer as the first decade of Sabres' hockey started winding down. In the end, Ireland also played a small role in bringing Scotty Bowman to Buffalo. In return, he never played another game in the National Hockey League.

Now you know... the rest of the story.

Edited by PASabreFan
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16 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Yep - Even if we consider Russia a European country, although at least 4 former Russian players hail from cities in Asia.

How many countries?

Mogilny was the obvious Asian for me.

I'm not even going to try with the countries.  Too many!

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6 minutes ago, Bopper2 said:

Five players have scored hat tricks while playing for the Sabres, and while playing against the Sabres. Name ‘em. 
Two are pretty easy, two a bit tougher, and one you’ll say “Who?”

Welcome!!

Sent you a beer.

Lets say ... Dave The Chuck and Dale The Other Chuck ... That's all I have without cheating.  Those two are just guesses anyway.

Edited by New Scotland (NS)
maybe LaLa and Alex The Great ?????
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The African player is really hard to remember.  

The country answer is hard, but interesting.  The answer is 16 different countries. I'll give the obvious - Canada, US, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  I'll people guess on the other 8.

 

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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31 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The African player is really hard to remember.  

The country answer is hard, but interesting.  The answer is 16 different countries. I'll give the obvious - Canada, US, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Russia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  I'll people guess on the other 8.

 

Well, we know from Regehr that Brazil is one, and the African player (I don't find him hard to remember) is Nigerian.  Mogilny and others were born in the USSR, not Russia, does that count?  Is Hasek Czech or Czechoslovakian? (Similar question for Satan.)  Latvia certainly is one (Girgensons). Zubrus is Lithuanian. I think Antipin is Kazakh.  There's probably a Ukranian in there somewhere.  There's probably a Belorussian or Estonian in there. I don't think the Sabres ever had a Norwegian player. Maybe a Swiss or Frenchman?

Edited by Eleven
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2 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Well, we know from Regehr that Brazil is one, and the African player is Nigerian.  Mogilny and others were born in the USSR, not Russia, does that count?  Is Hasek Czech or Czechoslovakian? (Similar question for Satan.)  Latvia certainly is one (Girgensons). Zubrus is Lithuanian. I think Antipin is Kazakh.  There's probably a Ukranian in there somewhere.  There's probably a Belorussian or Estonian in there. I don't think the Sabres ever had a Norwegian player. Maybe a Swiss or Frenchman?

Ndur is the Nigerian.  USSR/Russia same thing.  We have had both people born as both Czechoslovakian and the separate republics.  I listed the guys based on where their town in now.  

The Ukrainian and Austrian should be obvious; Zhitnik and Vanek respectively.  

The hardest and most obscure country is England.  Brian Perry played one game for the Sabres is the 1970-71 season.  He was born in Aldershot England of all places.   I wonder if he got an invite to the 50th Anniversary BS?

No Norwegians, Slovenians, Belorussians, Danes, French, or Swiss players so far.   

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50 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

No Norwegians, Slovenians, Belorussians, Danes, French, or Swiss players so far.   

Now that the question is over, I have looked.  The above statement is incorrect.  Which country and who is the player?

 

Can't believe I missed Austria.

 

And Brian Perry is about as obscure as it gets!

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1 hour ago, Eleven said:

Now that the question is over, I have looked.  The above statement is incorrect.  Which country and who is the player?

 

Can't believe I missed Austria.

 

And Brian Perry is about as obscure as it gets!

I checked my list, I don’t see anyone I missed.

DR acquired Timo Heibling of Switzerland but he never played for the Sabres, only Rochester.

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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8 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I checked my list, I don’t see anyone I missed.

DR acquired Timo Heibling of Switzerland but he never played for the Sabres, only Rochester.

Tsyplakov.  Belarus.

28 minutes ago, shrader said:

Do we know if he would actually call himself Brazilian?

He was born there.  I don't see why not.

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5 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Well, wikipedia has a Belarussian flag next to his name.  So one of them is right (probably NHL).  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Buffalo_Sabres_players

They have him as Inta Russia as his birthplace.  He played Internationally for Belarus once the USSR died.  He later coached for Belarus.  I’m happy to call him a Belorussian.   Sadly he died in December at age 50.

Can we call Gates Orlando Italian? 

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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2 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

They have him as Inta Russia as his birthplace.  He played Internationally for Belarus once the USSR died.  He later coached for Belarus.  I’m happy to call him a Belorussian.   

Then we have to call Regehr a Canadian if we're going to be consistent.  Let's just say Tsyplakov is Russian.

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30 minutes ago, Eleven said:

He was born there.  I don't see why not.

His parents were a pair of Canadian missionaries.  It seems pretty similar to a kid born on a military base out of country (granted we consider that American soil).  He had no Brazilian roots and doesn't remember a second of his life there.  I'd be very curious to see what he says about any ties he may feel towards Brazil.

 

Good luck sorting out all of the eastern european birthplaces you guys are talking about right now.  That will keep you guys going for a while.?

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11 minutes ago, shrader said:

His parents were a pair of Canadian missionaries.  It seems pretty similar to a kid born on a military base out of country (granted we consider that American soil).  He had no Brazilian roots and doesn't remember a second of his life there.  I'd be very curious to see what he says about any ties he may feel towards Brazil.

 

Good luck sorting out all of the eastern european birthplaces you guys are talking about right now.  That will keep you guys going for a while.?

Q: You are Canadian, but deep inside can you say you at least feel a little bit Brazilian?

A: Yes growing up in Canada mainly I am a Canadian citizen but I do feel that a part of me is still Brazilian having been born there.

He also supports the Brazilian soccer team.

https://www.nhl.com/kings/news/robyn-regehr-brazil/c-667771

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3 hours ago, Bopper2 said:

A while back I posted a question asking fo the 5 players to score hat tricks playing  for the Sabres and against them.

There was one incorrect guess.

The answer: Turgeneon,  La Fontaine, McKegney,  Sheppard, and Tony Tanti.

Who is Turgeneon? 
 

A French raver?

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