#Jim Schoenfeld - Before

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON: HARTFORD WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOL 8

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  The Hartford Wolf Pack and New York Rangers are working hard developing their roster for the 2022-2023 season but joined other teams in congratulating the Colorado Avalanche for gaining the 2021-2022 Lord Stanley Cup. A few local notables got to grip the Cup. They include ex-Bridgeport Sound Tiger Devon Toews, who played at Quinnipiac University. He becomes the first Bobcaever to hold hockey’s golden chalice. He is the third Sound Tiger after Eric Godard (2009 Pittsburgh), who was the first to do it. Carter Verhaeghe (2020 Tampa Bay)s, now with the Florida Panthers, was the second. Ken MacDermid, the son of ex-Hartford Whaler Paul MacDermid, and Bowen Byram, the son of former Springfield Indin, Shawn Byram, also have their name on the Cup. Also as part of the winners is Colorado head coach Jared Bednar. He is a former Springfield Falcons coach. His assistant, Nolan Pratt, is an ex-Beast of New Haven, Hartford Whaler, and Springfield Falcon player and coach. AHL CALDER CUP For the third time in the Chicago Wolves' history, the team captured the AHL title and their fifth minor league title in 25 years (two IHL Turner Cups in 1998 & 2000). The team went 14-4 in the postseason to win the championship in five games over the Springfield Thunderbirds. The Wolves outscored the Thunderbirds 18-4 after losing game one as they plowed through with four straight wins in six days. The championship game was a 4-0 shutout and the first twin shutouts in the finals in 22 years. In the team's championship picture, the AHL suspended Ex-Yale Bulldog Alex Lyon for two games for a two-hand flipping-off of the Springfield crowd, who razzed him all game long. The 29-year-old goalie is a likely Euro candidate. But, should he be signed with another club next year at the beginning of next season, he'll sit out two games after making a Frankie Lessard impression with a two-finger salute done in a late-season game (April 15, 2007) in Portland, Maine, BEFORE the second period started in a scrap with another ex-Pack Trevor Gillies, with then captain Craig Weller at his side. Hartford head coach and GM, the retired Jim Schoenfeld, eventually broke up the battle by wading through a maze of players before a full-scale brawl erupted. MORE ON THE CALDER CUP With 15 goals and 29 points, Josh Leivo won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy playoff MVP with the third highest playoff point total in AHL history. Bill McDougall's unbeatable 52-point performance in 1993 with the Cape Breton Oilers will be forever #1, and Hubie McDonough’s 31 in 1989 with the New Haven Nighthawks, the record McDougall shattered. Jack Drury, son of ex-Hartford Whaler Ted Drury and the nephew of the Rangers President/GM Chris Drury, acquitted himself very well with a 24-point effort (nine goals) in 18 games. The third best on the Wolves team and in the league will get a long look at training camp. Ex-Pack Joey Keane had a good run and deserved a shot up top. Richard Pánik, the ex-Bridgeport Islander, acquired at the trade deadline, got his second Calder Cup (Norfolk 2012) and will likely get another North American offer next year. The Wolves became the third Carolina-affiliated team to capture a Calder Cup. They did it in Charlotte in 2019, as the Whalers affiliate in Springfield, and again in Springfield in 1991, so ironic they won it in Springfield at the Mass Mutual Center, then known as the Springfield Civic Center. This win marked the first Calder Cup awarded in three years because of the pandemic. Former Sacred Heart University player Ryan Warsofsky became the youngest coach to win a Calder Cup. He surpasses Peter Laviolette. It was his second Championship behind the bench. His first came as an assistant in Charlotte. A DEEP TEAM Two players acquired at the trade deadline are both ex-Pack players, Chris Bigras from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Wolf Pack’s Tarmo Reunanen (exchanged for UCONN alum Max Letunov). Unfortunately, he didn’t play one game in the postseason. Reunanen wasted little time after the season ended skedaddling back to Finland to play for Lukko Rauma next year. He played on the third defensive pair in Hartford. Now Bigras will likely be among the next batch to go to Europe. PLAYER MOVES Despite being Florida property, last season, Springfield’s captain, Simsbury resident Tommy Cross (Westminster Prep), was signed by St. Louis the day after the season ended. Despite being just 25 miles from Hartford has never been signed by the Wolf Pack or offered a contract. All his past and present teammates have raved about his leadership skills. He’s been out of the New England area just three times in his playing career as a youth with the Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets (USHL); in his first pro year, he played half a season with South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) and one season with the Cleveland Monsters (Columbus) as an AHL free agent. He has been a New England regional fixture playing at BC in college and Providence in his early AHL years. MEMORIAL CUP The Saint John (NB) Sea Dogs, the Memorial Cup host team, and a long shot at upending the Hamilton Bulldogs, did so in a 5-3 win. Future Bridgeport Islander William Dufour won the Memorial Cup Stafford Smythe MVP with a goal and an assist in the championship win. 39 days after firing head coach former Pack, Ranger, and Springfield Falcon Gordie Dwyer and his entire staff, including his assistant ex-New Haven Nighthawk Paul Boutilier, after a first-round QMJHL President Cup playoff first-round loss exit to Rimouski, they’re crowned champions. They won with an interim head coach in UNB’s Gardiner MacDougall. He had won the Canadian University championship a few months ago, and he acidly replied after the win, while being interviewed by TSN, "I’m glad I picked up the phone.” The Sea Dogs advanced with an improbable semifinal win against the QMJHL Shawinigan Cataractes. They built a first-period 3-0 lead. Dufour then showed why he was the QMJHL scoring champ firing off a natural hat trick and four total in the first ten minutes of the second period to secure a 5-3 come-from-behind win. Dufour already has signed his three-year entry-level contract (ELC) and will likely start next year in BridgeportHowever, heHe is still WJC eligible and was a finalist for the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award. Hamilton upended Shawinigan 4-3 in overtime in the semifinal’s victory. He snatched what seemed to be a narrow win by Shawinigan, who scored late before Jan Mysak (Montreal) ended their dreams. Saint John, the host city, was the home crowd favorite. They became the first QMJHL team since Saint John in 2011 to win the championship in thy last hockey game in North America this season. AND MORE Ex-UCONN defenseman Yan Kuznetsov (Calgary), who missed a wide-open net late in the second, a year removed from Storrs, and undrafted captain Vincent Sévigny, the son of ex-Pack Pierre Sévigny, played his very last junior game both got to hoist the Cup and he scored in the first two minutes of the game. At the QMJHL annual holiday mid-season trading deadline, Victoriaville acquired Sévigny. One other CT connection was winger Cameron MacDonald, a Nova Scotia native from the Selects Academy at South Kent Prep U-15 team, and one game with the CT Jr. Rangers (NCDC) scored in the contest. There were several finalists for Canadian Hockey League (CHL) Awards. Incoming Wolf Pack Dylan Garand (Kamloops-WHL) for Goalie of Year won the award. Coach of the Year honors went to former Springfield King Brian Kilrea Award, a legendary OHL coach, one of the finalists was former Ranger/Whaler James Patrick of the WHL Winnipeg Ice. CHL IMPORT DRAFT Before CHL Draft occurred before the NHL made their selections, only 27 players were chosen out of the 120 slots. One move made before the draft was the rights of Brad Lambert, nephew of former Nighthawks player and Sound Tiger head coach and now the Islanders head coach Lane Lambert was traded by the Saskatoon Blades, who took him in the 2020 Import DraftThen, they were traded to the Seattle (WA) Thunderbirds. He is eligible for next week’s 2022 NHL Draft and is likely to be taken in the top ten picks. Next year is his last junior-eligible season for the Finnish forward. His cousin Jimmy is signed to start next year in Bridgeport. PLAYER AND COACHING MOVEMENT The Florida Panthers signed former Whaler head coach Paul Maurice. The Pack’s Anthony Greco signed with Frölunda HC (Sweden-SHL) for next year. Bridgeport Islander Aatu Räty finished the year in Park City with a solid eight-game audition (two regular season and six playoff games). This follows a stellar Finnish season between Kärpät Oulu and Jukerit. He is one of four Islander Finnish prospects invited to the Finnish camp to try to be on the WJC team for the redux event scheduled for August 9-20. The four include Räty, Eetu Liukas, Matias Rajaniemi and a long shot is Aleksei Malinen. The Rangers have forward Kalle Väisänen from TPS Turku. The US will open up against Germany on August 9th. Latvia was added to the tournament to replace a banned Russian team because of the invasion of Ukraine. All players eligible for WJC in December can play even if they have turned 21 in the eight months preceding the tournament. All games will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, and the WJC 2023 tourney will be played in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, next year. All WJC Games will be on the NHL Network. MORE MOVES Ex-Pack Darren Raddysh signs a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Tampa Bay Lightning paying $750K-$775K-NHL/$250K-AHL. Current teammate and another ex-Pack, Sean Day, gets a one-year extension in Syracuse and a nice raise to a two-way deal for $750K-NHL/$200K-AHL. Mathieu Olivier, the son of former New Haven Knights Simon Olivier, was traded from the Nashville Predators to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fourth-round draft pick. Former Avon Old Farms Winged Beaver, Nick Hutchison, who wandered the hockey map last year with Adirondack (ECHL) and after a brief stay with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and half of a year with the Manitoba Moose and former UCONN Husky and fellow Adirondack Thunder (ECHL) himself, Jarrod Gourley both sign one-year AHL deals with Utica. Ex-Pack Patrick Newell departs Sterjen (Norway-NEL) for Fehérvár AV19 (Hungary-IceHL) next season. Ex-Pack Shawn “Odie” O’Donnell heads from Dornbirner EC (Austria-IceHL) to EHC Freiburg (Germany DEL-2). Ex-Pack Danny Kristo heads from Västerviks IK (Sweden Allsvenskan to HK Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL). He started last year at HC Kladno (Czech Republic-CEL) (Czechia), the Jaromir Jagr owned team he still plays for. Another ex-Pack, Simon Denis, comes back to North America from the Tokohu Free Blades (Japan-ALIH) and signs with Toledo (ECHL). EVEN MORE MOVES Patrick Harper (New Canaan/Avon Old Farms) heads from HPK Hameelina (Finland-FEL) to Mora IK (Sweden-SHL). He started last year in Milwaukee. Phillip Samuelsson, the eldest son of former Whaler/Ranger and assistant coach at Avon Old Farms and the Wolf Pack, leaves Oskarshamn IK (Sweden-SHL) and skates over to Fischtown (Germany-DEL). Ex-Pack/Sound Tiger Joe Whitney, who had the shortest reign as a Pack team captain (two days faster than Cole Schneider) for half a season, hangs them up after a four-year career in Europe with the Iserlohn Roosters (Germany-DEL) after starting in Finland. Ex-Sound Tiger Matt Donovan leaves for Europe again after departing Milwaukee for Adler Mannheim (Germany-DEL) next year. Ex-Sound Tiger Josh Winquist, who split last year between Reading (ECHL) and Allen (ECHL), departs from the Allen (TX) Americans for HC Dukla Michalovce (Slovakia-SLEL). Reunanen joins 33 AHL’ers that have signed in Europe and the first American or AHL’er to sign in Russia defenseman Randy Murphy from Grand Rapids. STILL MORE D3 college commits Kevin MacKay from Aberdeen (NAHL) commits to Trinity College (NESCAC) of Hartford, and Bailey Irwin of Stouffville and Burlington (OJHL) heads to Albertus Magnus (NCAA I independent) in New Haven. One of the state's most prestigious public high school programs has a new coach. Hamden hired just their sixth bench boss in school history in just retired former West  Haven special education school teacher Bill Reynolds. Reynolds, 70, is a former two-time champion at the school in his youth, and his brothers both played there. He coached at the Division II level at Cheshire and Guilford. He has ALWAYS wanted to coach Hamden and is fulfilling à lifelong goal and dream. He wanted the job when Bill Veneris got the job over thirty years ago. He replaces ex-Pack Todd Hall, who stepped down after twenty years back in April. A usually plumb job in high school circles both in Hamden and West Haven, but both schools are experiencing dwindling player numbers, and both could shockingly become co-op programs in a few years. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

#AdirondackThunder #AHL #AnthonyGreco #AvonOldFarms #BeastofNewHaven #CalderCup #CanadianHockeyLeague #ChicagoWolves #CHL #ChrisBigras #ColeSchneider #ColoradoAvalanche #CraigWeller #DannyKristo #ECHL #FloridaPanthers #HamiltonBulldogs #HartfordWolfPack #HCKladno #IserlohnRoosters #JaredBednar #JaromirJagr #JimSchoenfeld #ManitobaMoose #MathieuOlivier #MemorialCup #NewHavenNighthawks #NewYorkRangers #NHL #PatrickNewell

[aquariumdrunkard]

The Aquarium Drunkard Show: SIRIUS/XMU (7pm PDT, Channel 35)

Sketch for summer.. Via satellite, transmitting from northeast Los Angeles — the Aquarium Drunkard Show on SIRIUS/XMU, channel 35. 7pm California time, Wednesdays.

Jean Michel Bernard — Générique Stephane ++ Bedlam’s Offspring — I’ll Be There ++ The Emperors — I Want My Woman ++ The Blue Rondos — Baby I Go For You ++ The Graham Bond Organisation — Early In The Morning ++ Bo Diddley — Bo Diddley ++ Cat — Do The Watussi ++ Vichan Maneechot — Dance, Dance, Dance ++ The Shangri-Las — How Pretty Can You Get (Radio Spot) ++ Fleur De Lys — Circles ++ Michelle’s Menagerie — Stay Away ++ The Worlocks — I Love You ++ Blue Condition — Coming Home ++ White Fence — Swagger Vets And Double Moon ++ CAN — Mushroom ++ Ty Segall — The Slider (Ty Rex) ++ Atlas Sound — Recent Bedroom ++ No Age — Sun Spots ++ Julian Lynch — Just Enough ++ Lou Reed — Perfect Day (demo) ++ Mac DeMarco — Rock And Roll Night Club ++ Thee Oh Sees – The Sun Goes All Around ++ Lantern – Bleed Me Dry — Everybody Likes Something Good ++ Aguaturbia — Rollin’ ‘N Tumblin’ ++ Sea-Ders — Thanks A Lot ++ The Olivia Tremor Control — Memories of Jacqueline 1906 ++ The Millennium — I Just Don’t Know To Say Goodbye ++ The Beach Boys – Surf’s Up (solo piano) ++ Harry Nilsson — You Can’t Do That (Alternate Take) ++ Roy Wood — Wake Up ++ Emitt Rhodes — Long Time No See ++ Jacques Dutronc — L’Espace D’Une Fille ++ Jim Schoenfeld — Before ++ The Swamp Rats — I’m Going Home ++ Dennis Wilson / Beach Boys — Lady ++ The Kinks — I Go To Sleep (demo) ++ Le Bain Didonc — 4 Cheveux Dans Le Vent ++ The Brummels — Bof! ++ Chaweewan Dumnern — Sao Lam Plearn ++ Nancy Sinatra (w/ Hal Blaine) — Drummer Man ++ The Motions — Beatle Drums ++ Naomi And The Boys — As Tears Go By ++ The Soul Inc. — Love Me When I’m Down ++ Thee Oh Sees – Mincing Around The Frocks ++ The Allah-Las – Busman’s Holiday ++ The Non Travellin’ Band – Two Hands Full Of Fingers | art michael hentz

[hug-your-goalies]

I honor of ‘70s night, I thought I’d (again) share my favorite story from 100 Things Sabres Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.. Thank You Sabres.

From the moment the Sabres came into existence prior to the 1970-71 season, they establish an immediate and undeniable connection to the city, something neither the Buffalo Bills nor the Buffalo Braves had at their births.

Even during their first two seasons, when victories were few and far between, the fans showed remarkable support for the Sabres. And when the team rewarded that loyalty with a stunning performance in 1972-73, earning a Stanley Cup playoff berth in just their third season, that support soared to an unprecedented level.

On the night of April 12, 1973, as the powerful Montreal Canadiens were finishing off a six-game first-round series victory over the Sabres, the fans let it be known what this team meant to them.

It started in the upper balcony, the orange-colored seats where fans were afforded a panoramic view of the ice surface at the expense of a nose bleed. "Thank You, Sabres," they chanted, as the final minute of that magical season ticked away on the big royal blue scoreboard that hovered over the center-ice faceoff circle. Like lava pouring from a volcano, the chant slid down to the blue seats, and then to the reds, "Thank You, Sabres. Thank You, Sabres," they sang in unison, the decibel level increasing with each verse until the folks in the upper and lower golds had joined the chorus--and then it couldn't get any louder.

"Thank You, Sabres. Thank You, Sabres. Thank You, Sabres." Over and over it reverberated throughout the arena, a passionate, appreciative, and heart-warming salute that puddled the eyes of those who were being thanked--Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Rene Robert, Roger Crozier, Jim Schoenfeld, Tim Horton, Craig Ramsay, Don Luce, Gerry Meehan, and the rest of the Sabres.

It did not matter that the Sabres were about to be eliminated by the eventual champion Canadiens. All that mattered was that this young, energetic hockey team had given the citizens of Buffalo-- people in desperate need of an escape from the harsh realities of a failing economy, horrid weather, and the pitiful Bills--a reason to smile, a reason to put their troubles aside.

“I'll never forget it," said Robert, emotion gripping his voice as he recalled that night. "I've never experienced anything like that in my life. Here we are, getting beat out in the playoffs, and the fans are cheering, 'Thank You, Sabres.' This is something that I'll always remember. This is an experience that someone has to have somewhere down the road. It brings tears to your eyes."

"It was kind of the signature of the Buffalo people," said Jim Schoenfeld. "They identified very strongly with their athletes and their teams, and if you gave them an honest day's effort, that's all they asked for. Everybody would like to be associated with a championship team and everybody wants to identify with a winner, but these people went beyond that. If you have them everything you have, that was enough to satisfy them, and they felt that season that we had given everything we had, and this was their way of showing their appreciation for that effort."

#buffalo sabres #i hope they feature this at the game tonight #i would love to actually see and hear it

[ljones41]

"CENTENNIAL" (1978-79) - Episode Eleven "The Winds of Death" Commentary

"CENTENNIAL" (1978-79) - Episode Eleven "The Winds of Death" Commentary A recent critic of "CENTENNIAL" once complained that the miniseries had failed to breach the topic of land environmental issues in an effective manner. Author James Michener allowed this subject to dominate his 1973 novel. But this critic seemed to hint that producer John Wilder had more or less dropped the ball on this topic in the television adaptation. 

Looking back at the previous ten episodes, I do not know if I agree with that critic. I did notice that the subject of who was qualified to be the true inheritors of the land - at least in regard to Northern Colorado - appeared throughout the miniseries."CENTENNIAL" also focused on how the story's many characters used the land. One could argue that the subplot regarding the Wendells' origins as stage performers and scam artists had nothing to do with land environmental issues. And I would disagree. The Wendells' murder of the businessman Mr. Sorenson in "The Crime" and Sheriff Axel Dumire's death in "The Winds of Change"allowed the family to become the biggest landowners in Centennial. They used their ill-gotten money - acquired from Mr. Sorenson's satchel - to not only acquire land, but also become successful owners of a real estate company. The Wendells' new profession allowed them to play a major role in the major subplot featured in "The Winds of Death". This eleventh episode began in 1914, with the arrival of Iowa farmers who had recently purchased land from Mervin Wendell. Among the new arrivals is a young couple named Alice and Earl Grebe. These new farmers are warned by Hans Brumbaugh and Jim Lloyd that they would be wise not to farm the land sold to them by the Wendells - namely the neighborhood's drylands near Rattlesnake Buttes. That particular location had already witnessed previous tragedies such as Elly Zendt's death, the Skimmerhorn Massacre and the range war that led to sheep herders Nate Pearson and Bufe Coker's deaths. Alice and Earl Grebe attempted to create a farm there and were successful for several years. But obstacles such as the land's dry state, the deadly winds that plagued the Great Plains during the 1920s and 1930s finally took their toll, and a free fall in wheat prices after World War I. Earl and his fellow Iowans received good advice from an agricultural consultant hired by the Wendells named Walter Bellamy on how to till their land during potentially bad times. But they ignore Bellamy's advice and pay the price by the end of the episode. Especially the Grebes. "The Winds of Death" focused upon other subplots. It marked the deaths of three major characters - Hans Brumbaugh, Mervin Wendell and Jim Lloyd. Wendell died as a happy real estate tycoon, oblivious of the damage he has caused. His only disappointments seemed to be his continuing lack of knowledge of Mr. Sorenson's final resting place and the contempt his son Philip still harbors. Brumbaugh's labor problems were finally resolved in the last episode with the arrival of Tranquilino Marquez and other Mexican immigrants. In "The Winds of Death", he spent most of his time helping Tranquilino's family settle in Centennial, while the latter endure six years in a Colorado prison on trumped up charges and years of fighting a revolution in Mexico. Unfortunately for the beet farmer, he died minutes before a possible reunion with Tranquilino. Jim Lloyd faced a few crisis during this episode before his untimely death. The cattleman insured that his son-in-law, Beeley Garrett (son of sheep rancher, Messamore Garrett) would continue to manage Venneford Ranch. Jim and his wife, Charlotte, also helped Truinfador Marquez maintain his cantina for Centennial's Latino population in the face of bigotry from the local sheriff and the courts. But Jim's biggest conflict turned out to be his resistance to Charlotte's plans to breed the ranch's cattle to an unnaturally small size for stock shows and fairs. This last conflict led to his fatal heart attack. For me, "The Winds of Death" proved to be the last well-made episode from "CENTENNIAL". Mind you, it did not strike me as perfect. I feel that the episode's running time could have stretched to at least two hours and fifteen minutes, instead of the usual 90 minutes or so. "The Winds of Death" was set during a twenty-year period from 1914 to 1934 or 1935. And there seemed to be a great deal going on in the episode's narrative for a mere 90 to 97 minutes. I also have issue with the story's suggestion that Hans Brumbaugh's labor problems ended with the influx of Latino immigrants. What exactly was Michener trying to say? That Latinos was the only group that lacked the ambition to be something other than agricultural field workers? I also had a problem with the Lloyds' efforts to help Truinfador keep his cantina. The subplot struck me as a bit contrive, politically correct and somewhat reeking of the "white savior" trope. Perhaps Jim seemed capable of understanding Truinfador's problems, considering his past relationships with the likes of "Nacho" Gomez, Nate Pearson and especially Clemma Zendt. However, neither the miniseries or Michner's novel had ever hinted any signs of such ethnic tolerance from Charlotte before this story arc. My last problem with the episode proved to be a minor quibble. I noticed that the generation that featured Philip Wendell and Beeley Garrett seemed to conceive their offspring, while in their late 30s to 40s. Why? I can understand one of them having children so late in life, but all of the characters from this particular generation? Philip Wendell's son (Morgan) will not be introduced until the next episode. But he will prove to be around the same age as Beeley's son, Paul Garrett. Despite my problems with "The Winds of Death", I cannot deny that screenwriter Jerry Ziegman wrote a first-rate script. The episode did an excellent job in re-creating the West of the early 20th century. Not only did it explored the problems that Western farmers faced during that period, it also provided viewers with a more in-depth look into the travails of Latino farm laborers - a subject barely touched upon in American cinema or television. One of the episodes highlights proved to be the two major dust storms that plagued Centennial during the 1930s. Duke Callaghan's photography, along with Ralph Schoenfeld's editing and the Sound Department's effects did an excellent job in creating the nightmarish effects that left parts of the Great Plains covering in dust. The storms sequences left me feeling a bit spooked and sympathetic toward Alice Grebe's reaction. I suspect that many viewers were disappointed to learn that the Wendells failed to suffer the consequences of their crimes. Honestly, I was not that surprised. One cannot deny that they were the kind who usually flourished in the end. After all, "Centennial" was not the first or last work of fiction that mingled reality with drama. However, the episode's pièce de résistancecentered on the experiences of the Grebe family's twenty years in Centennial. It was fascinating, yet heartbreaking to watch Alice and Earl Grebe enjoy their brief success during the 1910s, before the post-World War I years slowly reduced them to a near-poverty state. And considering the tragic event that marked the end of Alice and Earl's stay in Centennial, viewing their experiences seemed like watching a train wreck in slow motion . . . or the unfolding of a Greek tragedy. "The Winds of Death" featured some superb performances by the cast. Truinfador Marquez's efforts to save his cantina led to a conflict between him and his more conservative father, Tranquilino; which also resulted in a superbly acted scene between A Martinez and Byron Gilbert. William Atherton was brilliantly convincing as the aging Jim Lloyd. I found it difficult to remember that he was barely out of his 30s when he shot this episode. Lynn Redgrave was equally superb as the caustic Charlotte Lloyd, who seemed ruthlessly determined to get her own way, whether it meant creating a new breed of cattle for Venneford or helping Truinfador. Anthony Zerbe continued his excellent performance as the charming, yet venal Mervin Wendell. Although Lois Nettleton did not get much of a chance to shine as in this episode as the scheming Maud Wendell, the actress still managed to give a first-rate performance in her brief scenes. Morgan Paul did an excellent job in conveying the many facets of the adult Philip Wendell, who not only remained haunted by Axel Dumire's death, but also proved to be just as ruthless in business as his parents. Claude Jarman was excellent as farmer Earl Grebe, who struggled to keep his farm and family together. The episode also featured solid work from Alex Karras, Silvana Gallardo, William Bogert, Geoffrey Lewis and Alan Vint. But for me, the stand out performance came from actress Julie Sommars. She gave a superb performance as the fragile Alice Grebe, whose doubts about farming in the drylands of Colorado would come to fruition some twenty years later. She never seemed more sympathetic, yet frightening in those last scenes in which the high winds and dust proved to be the last straw for the fractured Alice. I almost regret finishing "The Winds of Death". Not only did it convey an excellent portrait of the West during the early 20th century, the episode featured some excellent performances from the cast. More importantly, it proved to be the last one I would find engrossing. The next and last episode is "The Scream of Eagles" and I have to be brutally honest . . . I am not looking forward to it.

#centennial nbc #centennial #james michner #william atherton #lynn redgrave #alex karras #anthony zerbe #lois nettleton #a martinez #alan vint #julie sommars #claude jarman #great depression #world war 1 #dust bowl #morgan paul #william bogert #silvana gallardo #bryan gilbert #geoffrey lewis

[saranwrapall]

#Jim Schoenfeld - Before

[fenedhiss-blog]

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By clicking to run this downloaded data you accept the Microsoft Solution Contract as well as Personal privacy Declaration Installation relates to Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and also Safari. Meet agency-specific demands as specified in the Participant's Agreement, as well as. My biggest inquiry would be: When might we see it all picked up?" she asked, putting on a pink hat for color and also leaning on a rake on Kings Way. Great appartment, close to the gorgeous national forest. Turning Point Therapy Center and New Directions Healthcare hosted the Second yearly HOPE Rally to start healing month. Chief Cataloguer of the National Gallery in Krakow. The Internship Program is mainly provided by each working with firm. We'll additionally offer transparency over the status of sent content. Because of absence of appropriate consent validations, activating this vulnerability does not need any type of individual pairing, interaction or verification, so the targeted customer is completely uninformed of a continuous attack. Cascade Street between Raspberry and also Plum is closed at the Norfolk and Southern Railroad going across. Agencies offer OPM with information regarding their PMF chances and can publish PMF appointment possibilities for those who are Finalists on the PMF web site year-round. Orange goes across mark places where lightning was discovered (over Europe). If returning I would love to spend more time looking into the slopes nearer to Nowy Targ and also experimenting with the jacuzzi (we didn't have time), it looks fantastic. Jest to idealne miejsce na odpoczynek od zgiełku miasta, dogodna lokalizacja pozwala na szybki dojazd do stoków narciarskich w zimie oraz szlaków turystycznych latem. The PMF Program Office provides newly employed PMFs an opportunity to take part in its Positioning and also Training Program. If greater than one person is interested, the agency needs to use the selection procedures under 5 CFR part 302 - including the application of professionals' choice as well as pass over treatments. Checklists the years from those available which are submitted to the JRI-Poland database. Pokoje gościnne w Witowie na Podhalu obok Zakopanego - wypoczynek, wycieczki w góry, ogniska, bryczki, kuligi. It supports remote (also third-party) software installation on tools while keeping strong safety and security guarantees. In return you will certainly get a remarkable stay in the enchanting land. Breaking: The Town Voice is ending its regular print edition. We are talking a small amount of cigarette ash here - something which within secs would need a team of forensic scientists to locate it. More bird feathers and - allow's encounter it once again! Otherwise please wage your reservation without a code. . Points to Do in Nowy Targ, Poland - Nowy Targ Attractions. The background of ex-names is put together immediately from AIS signals as well as gives insight into vessel proprietor changes, charter name modifications and reflaggings. Uber its losses 14 percent in the 2nd quarter from a year earlier, as the ride-hailing giant grew reservations, journeys and also earnings. Mais le géant suédois a tout de même tenu à féliciter les Verts. Congratulations to Podhale Golf Club for its win in the ANNUAL MATCHPLAY with PAGC. Z kolei 4 października 1939 r. żołnierzom Wehrmachtu i armii słowackiej uroczyście wręczono odznaczenia słowackie za udział w wojnie z Polską20. Jest schowana w nieciekawym kącie i może to jest powód, dla którego bardziej się tu starają. Plusieurs décès liés à la prise de médicaments génériques à base de docétaxel ont éveillé les soupçons des autorités sanitaires. To the extent practicable, companies are motivated to perform outreach events making students and current graduates knowledgeable about the USAJOBS site and encourage them to look for settings when they become available. On devices running iOS 8 and also later versions, your personal data is positioned under the protection of your passcode. Lectures, courses, seminars as well as labs are kept in modern-day and also roomy rooms. The bus company that runs this course doesn't enable discount code usage. The progression of this job needs additional explanation; please get in touch with the Town Coordinator listed above. When a person decides out of place sharing, the end outcome need to be that zero data is transferred back to Disclose Mobile. In the second duration the PPWSZ Podhale Nowy Targ scored 4 even more goals (Dmitrii Paramonov, Ruslan Bashirov, Georgii Katin and Vladislav Kurbatov) as well as completed with the result 6:1. Diagenesis in the Podhale and also Orava Paleogene flysch basins as well as in the underlying Mesozoic structural systems was examined by XRD measurement of the percent smectite in the combined- layer illite-smectite from shales and also K-Ar dating of the illite-smectite from bentonites, sustained by XRD quantitative mineral analysis, grain density, and porosity dimensions of the bulk shales. J. ŚRODOŃ, M. KOTARBA, A. BIROŇ, P. SUCH, N. CLAUER, A. WÓJTOWICZ. As CNet reported, it found that AccuWeather and Reveal can locate a customer within meters of their location utilizing their Wi-Fi and MAC address information. Lake County firemens went seeking a rogue python after a sobbing Astor resident informed them he had simply enjoyed a 9-foot one eat his pet cat. To finish producing your account, please click the web link we just sent out to. For consumers outside the United States, please call 1-404-728-8787. A big hole opened up behind Apopka Memorial Intermediate school Wednesday morning, and also authorities state it appears to have actually been triggered by Cyclone Irma. Podhale additionally participates in the annual Niagara-On-The-Lake trip with various other scouts. Volusia Area deputy sheriffs are investigating the death of prison inmate. The Broward Constable's Office arrested a professional replacement Wednesday, charging him of secretly tape-recording security video that showed a gunman shooting at passengers in January at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Flight terminal. The U.S. obtains high marks on Globe Economic Online forum index on human resources advancement, which can reduce bother with college's payment to an abilities space. Actually environment-friendly and describing 2 tunes used FALSE:: ERROR: UNSUPPORTED ENCODING mountains. The community is not a crucial place to see, but it offers a window onto the transforming globe of Polish society. The home is 2.5 kilometres offroad and also just a complete automobile as well as an experienced vehicle driver can arrive in the snow so we left our vehicle at Pawel's residence and he drove us to the home. Nevertheless, the working with firm needs to make sure that such requirements are mentioned in the company's Pathways MOU with OPM, the task chance news, and also the individual arrangement. Podhale is a part of the historical district of Lesser Poland ( Małopolska) with its resources in the Royal city of CRACOW. Right here on SofaScore livescore you could discover all MKS Cracovia Krakow vs MMKS Podhale previous outcomes arranged by their H2H matches. Have a critical recruitment technique based upon labor force planning for loading Pathways settings. Partager sur Facebook Tweeter Google+ 31 partages. Its mythology was brought there primarily by Polish settlers from the Lesser Poland region more north and also partially by Transylvanian inhabitants in the 14th-17th centuries throughout their migrations. We'll use the very same standards and standards for all user-generated content, and for the residential or commercial property reactions to that content. Equipments documents have to be serious about testing either on actual systems or simulations based upon traces from real systems. More than 1 million individuals last month claimed they would certainly suggest to their family and friends. Recommend house with all my heart, there can be a superb cut off from everyday life. Filters by content pictures, which excludes pictures with version releases. You MUST PREVENT COCCIDIA or NONE of your vaccinations will certainly work! This is the 150th yearly meeting for the 3rd area of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. This susceptability can also enable an assaulter to leakage security tricks from the targeted tool as well as be all ears on Bluetooth interactions, in an attack that very much appears like heartbleed. The church as well as parish of Ludzmierz was taken care of by the Cistercian Order till 1824. Cette vidéo contenait une piste sound protégée par des droits d'auteur. Daily weather report in Nowy Targ will aid you to stay clear of catching a cool if unexpectedly night becomes cold, gusty and stormy. It is my honest dream to offer God and Poland with the entire of my life, to carry my ready assistance to others, and also to obey the Precursor and Guide Legislation. Armis thinks much more vulnerabilities await discovery in the different platforms utilizing Bluetooth. This allows us to validate that our reviews come from genuine visitors like you. Beautiful fire place, actually podhale comfy bed linen, and awesome view. The news adheres to information Equifax had cannot successfully set up a patch for a security vulnerability hackers later utilized to swipe client details. The 650-year-old city is the historical funding of the highland area of Podhale 1, which stretches between the Gorce Mountains on the north, and also Tatra Mountains on the south. Marquis WILL NOT ELIMINATE COCCIDIA, only AVOID it from surge development as a result of STRESS AND ANXIETY. Individuals marched around the center to recognize people shed by suicide. A company may designate a Trainee NTE to a various setting, however initially the company has to provide minimal public alert (internal to the firm - not on USAJOBS) to similarly located agency Trainees who may additionally have an interest in the Trainee setting. The name Podhale essentially converts as „ below the hill glen" in English. It took place on U.S. Course 322 near Sugar Creek Drive in Sugarcreek Borough around 5:15 a.m. Suite Podhale provides holiday accommodation in the hills all year long. In the video clip, Hamilton actor, Moana recording artist, as well as Parks 101 ambassador Jordan Fisher leads you on a 360 tour of Channel Islands National forest The park rests a couple of miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, The golden state, and its 5 ecologically abundant islands are only accessible through boat or aircraft. In previous seasons the team played in the Second Department without the right to be advertised in Extraliga. By penetrating the tool, the attacker could identify which operating system his target is utilizing, and readjust his exploit accordingly. With great deals of help from Storm Irma, Ana D'Estrada built a shoulder-high wall surface of sticks and also twigs on the side of her residence in Winter Park. When an unranked checklist is made use of all qualified choice eligibles will be noted in order of preference standing (which will certainly constant of prospects eligible for 10-point experts' preference followed by candidates eligible for 5-point professionals' preference), followed by all various other certified applicants.

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History of the Sabres

History of the Sabres - http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/ Historical Moments:
1970/71: After years of minor league hockey Buffalo finally lands a NHL team as the Sabres are one of two expansion teams added in the second wave of expansion bring the league to 14 teams. With legendary from Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Punch Imlach running the team the Sabres won a special wheel spin for the right to the number one overall pick which they used on the top Junior player Gilbert Perreault. On October 10th Perreault would score a goal in the Sabres very first game a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. Eight days later the Sabres would face the Penguins again skating to a 1-1 tie in the first game ever at the Aud. Gilbert Perreault would go on to lead the Sabres in scoring with 38 goals and 34 assists while winning the Calder Trophy. However, the Sabres would finish in fifth place in the Eastern Division with a typical expansion like 24-39-15 record. 1971/72: The Sabres would draft wisely again selecting Rick Martin who meshed well with Gilbert Perreault as the two led the Sabres in scoring with 74 points. Martin and Perreault would be joined at the end of the season by Rene Robert acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade for Eddie Shack. The trio would form one of the prolific scoring lines of the era known as the French Connection. However, the Sabres would still struggle to win games finishing in sixth place with a 16-43-19 record, as a heart attack forced Coach Punch Imlach to the sidelines. 1972/73: Even though he was no longer able to Coach the Sabres Punch Imlach remained the club’s General Manager again striking gold in the draft with the selection of hard-nosed defenseman Jim Schonfeld. In addition to Schonfeld the Sabres would acquire veteran blue liner Tim Horton to help lead the young team. The added strength on defense combined with the scoring touch of the French Connection would be the right combination for the Sabres who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a solid 37-27-14 record. However the Sabres would be overmatched by the veteran Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs as they found themselves down 3-0. However, the young Sabres would not go down without a fight taking the next two games before falling 4-2 in Game 6. 1973/74: Coming off their first playoff appearance the Sabres came out of the gate flying winning six of their first nine games. However, Gilbert Perreault would suffer a broken leg missing eight weeks; shortly thereafter they would lose Goalie Roger Crozier for the rest of the season after he developed pancreatitis. Without two key players the Sabres would struggle, but none of that would prepare them for what happened on February 20th after a game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs when Tim Horton decided to drive home on his own. Horton, the 44-year old veteran defenseman apparently had his senses dulled, after consuming alcohol and painkillers as he crashed his car into the center guardrail on the Queen Elizabeth Way and died. Injuries and tragedy would be too much for the Sabres to overcome as they missed the playoffs by finishing in fifth place with a record of 32-34-12. 1974/75: After a year of tragedy the Sabres would rebound as The French Connection led the way in an offensive explosion that would see the Sabres score 354 goals. Rene Robert, Gilbert Perreault, and Rick Martin each finished in the top ten in scoring, as the Sabres finished in first place in the newly established Adams Division with a record of 49-16-15. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a strong start beating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games to reach the Semifinals. In the semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens the Sabres would get off to a dramatic start as Danny Gare scored in overtime to give the Sabres a 6-5. The Sabres would go on to take a 2-0 series lead before losing the next two games in Montreal to set up a crucial fifth game at the Aud where Rene Robert scored in overtime to give the Sabres a 5-4 win. Not wanting to chance things the Sabres closed the series out in Montreal in Game 6 with a 4-3 win. In the Stanley Cup Finals against the defending Champion Philadelphia Flyers the Sabres would get off to a slow start losing the first two games on the road. Desperately needing to win Game 3 at the home the Sabres were hampered by 90-degree temperatures that created a fog in the Aud as the game went into overtime. However, Rene Robert would be the hero again netting the game winner to keep the Sabres hopes alive. The Sabres would go on to even the series in Game 4 with a 4-2 win. However, Flyers Goalie Bernie Parent would prove too strong as the Flyers went on to win the Cup in six games. 1975/76: Coming off their run to the Stanley Cup Finals the Sabres were again one of the top teams in the NHL finishing in second place with a solid record of 46-21-13. The French Connection again led the way all finishing with at least 86 points including Gilbert Perreault who finished third in the league with 113 points. However, the highlight of the season according to General Manager Punch Imlach occurred in January 4th exhibition game against the Soviet Red Army team who had beaten all NHL teams up to that point on a barnstorming tour. Imlach worked hard to make sure the Sabres would not be added to the list of the conquered so he studied game tapes looking for an edge. He found one as the Sabres quickly jumped out to a lead on the way to a convincing 12-6 victory. In the playoffs it would not be as easy as they needed two overtime wins to get past the St. Louis Blues in a three game series. In the second round the Sabres would jump out to a 2-0 lead over the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders would rally to win the next four games advancing to the semifinals in six games. 1976/77: The Sabres would struggle out of the gate prompting General Manager Punch Imlach to threaten to trade all players if the team did not turn it around quickly. The move worked as the Sabres lost just four games in November and December, on the way to another solid second place finish with a 48-24-8 record. The Sabres would get off to a quick start in the playoffs as they beat the Minnesota North Stars in two straight games winning by a combine 11-3 score. However, in the second round they would be swept by the New York Islanders in four straight close games. 1977/78: After Gerry Desjardins was hit in the eye with a puck and developed a cataract the previous season, goaltender Don Edwards was recalled from Hershey. Desjardins would return in December but struggle badly leaving Edwards would have to carry the load for the rest of the season. Edward would do a solid job posting a 2.64 GAA as the Sabres topped 100 points for the fourth straight season finishing in second place with a solid record of 44-19-17. In the playoffs the Sabres would slip past the New York Rangers in a three game series, before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. 1978/79: The Sabres would again get off to a slow start. However, this time General Manager Punch Imlach would not be able to threaten to trade everyone away as he himself was fired on December 4th. In addition Coach Marcel Pronovost was shown the door. Under interim Coach Billy Inglis the Sabres respond by going unbeaten in their next seven games. The Sabres would go on to finish in second place again with a record of 36-28-16. However, the Sabres would make a quick exit out of the playoffs as they lost a three game series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime. 1979/80: After their first round exit Owner George H. Knox III looked for a way to get the Sabres back on track. Knox would take advantage of a two week window to interview Scotty Bowman who had led the Montreal Canadiens to the last four Stanley Cup Championships, giving him deal to become the Sabres Coach and General Manager. However, the Bowman era would single an end to the French Connection as Rene Robert is traded to the Colorado Rockies for defenseman John Van Boxmeer. The move would work out as the Sabres won the Adams Division with a 47-17-16 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a fast start beating the Vancouver Canucks in four games. Moving on to the second round the Sabres continued to roll as the swept their way to the semifinals by beating the Chicago Blackhawks in four straight games. However, in the semifinals the Sabres would get off to rough start as they fell behind 3-0 to the New York Islanders. The Sabres would battle back to win the next two games. However, the hole was too deep as the Islanders advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-2 win in Game 6. 1980/81: Scotty Bowman would step aside as coach to concentrate on his duties as General Manager. With Roger Nielsen who earned the nickname Captain Video for his constant study of game tapes the Sabres won their second straight division title with a solid record of 39-20-21, despite losing Gilbert Perreault for 22 games with rib injuries. Along the way Perreault would lose another French Connection line mate as Rick Martin is traded to the Los Angeles Kings for draft picks on March 11th. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a fast start sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in three straight. However, in the second round the Sabres would be stunned by the Minnesota North Stars in five games. 1981/82: Scotty Bowman returned to the bench after Roger Neilson left to Coach the Vancouver Canucks. With Bowman behind the bench the Sabres got off to a solid start as they entered December with a 12-5-7 record. However, the Sabres would make a stunning deal trading Jim Schoenfeld, Danny Gare, Derek Smith and Bob Sauve to the Detroit Red Wings for Mike Foligno, Dale McCourt, Brent Peterson and a first round draft choice. Shortly after the trade Bowman would relinquish the coaching duties to assistant Jim Roberts. However, Bowman would reassume the coaching duties in mid-March. Despite the turmoil the Sabres would still play solid hockey finishing in third place with a 39-26-15 record. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make a quick exit as they are beaten by the Boston Bruins in four games. 1982/83: The Sabres began to make moves with an eye on the future by drafting Phil Housley, Paul Cyr, Dave Andreychuk with picks acquired in a variety of trades. The current Sabres were not to bad either as Gilbert Perreault shook was healthy for the first time in a few season with a team high 76 points, as the Sabres finished in third place with a 38-29-13 record. In the playoff Bob Suave who was reacquired from the Detroit Red Wings prior to the season would star shutting the Montreal Canadiens out twice as the Sabres swept the Habs in three straight games. In the Adams Division finals the Sabres would battle the Boston Bruins in a hard fought seven game series, which the Sabres lost in overtime on a goal by Brad Park. 1983/84: Rookie goalie Tom Barrasso selected with the fifth overall pick in the draft would have an auspicious debut winning both the Calder Trophy and Vezina with an outstanding 2.66 GAA, as the Sabres finished in second place with a solid 48-25-7 record. However, in the playoffs Barrasso would struggle as the Sabres were swept by the Quebec Nordiques in three straight games. 1984/85: Popular defenseman Jim Schonfeld would return as Scotty Bowman felt his presence would help the younger players like Phil Housley and Dave Adreychuk, both who had solid season finishing just behind Gilbert Perreault in team scoring, as the Sabres finished in third place with a record of 38-28-14. In the playoffs the Sabres were put on the brink right away as they dropped the first two games on the road against the Quebec Nordiques. However, the Sabres would rally taking the next two games at home and leading in Game 5 with nine minutes left to play 5-3. However, the Nords would rally scoring three goals to win the game 6-5. 1985/86: Gilbert Perreault would make history on March 7th as he scored his 500th career goal in front of a sold out crowd at the Aud against the New Jersey Devils. However, it would be the only highlight of the season as the Sabres played mediocre hockey all season missing the playoff for the first time in 12 years by finishing in last place with a 37-37-6. 1986/87: Gilbert Perreault got off to a solid start scoring nine goals in his first 14 games, however with the Sabres struggling Perreault would retire on November 24th. Meanwhile Scotty Bowman not wanting to coach anymore turned the reigns over again this time to Craig Ramsay. However, under Ramsay the Sabres held a 5-15-3 record on December 2nd, when Bowman was relieved of his duties as General Manager. New GM Gerry Meehan would bring in a new coach, Ted Sator 20 days later. However, it was too late to save the Sabres season, as they finished in last place again missing the playoffs for the second straight season with a horrible 28-44-8 record that was the worst in the NHL. 1987/88: After finishing with the worst record in the NHL the Sabres owned the top overall draft pick which they used on Pierre Turgeon. Turegon would have a solid rookie season finishing sixth place in the team in scoring with 42 points as the Sabres got back to the playoffs by finishing in third place with a record of 37-32-11. However, the return of the playoffs was thanks to the mergence of Dave Adreychuk, who scored a team high 78 points. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would be beaten by the Boston Bruins in six games. 1988/89: The Sabres, who traded Tom Barrasso early in the season, are forced to play musical goalie after Darren Puppa is breaks his arm on January 27th. This put the load on backup Jacques Cloutier struggled. In March the Sabres would acquire Clint Malarchuk from the Washington Capitals for Calle Johansson. However Malarchuk would suffer a horrific injury on the night of March 22nd as the Sabres faced the St. Louis Blues at the Aud. In the first period, Blues winger Steve Tuttle and Sabers defender Uwe Krupp crashed into Malarchuk. When the pile untangled, blood gushed from Malarchuk’s neck. The six-inch cut in Malarchuk’s neck had struck his jugular vein. Had Sabres trainers and doctors not acted quickly Clint Malarchuk would have died on the ice. However, the cut was sewn up that night and incredibly, he left the hospital the next afternoon. Despite the rotating goalies the Sabres would still make the playoffs by finishing in third place with a record of 38-38-7. However, in the playoffs it would be a quick exit as they are beaten by the Boston Bruins in 5 games. 1989/90: A gamble the Sabres took a few years earlier pays off as Alexander Mogilny defects from the Soviet Union, during the World Junior Championships, signing a deal to play for the Sabres who drafted him in 1988. Mogilny would have a solid rookie season with 43 points, as Pierre Turgeon had a break out season by topping the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. The young 1-2 scoring punch and the solid goaltending of Darren Puppa would be the catalyst as the Sabres challenged for the Adams Division and first place overall all season before falling three points short with a solid 45-27-8 record. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would falter as they are beaten by the Montreal Canadiens in six games. 1990/91: On draft day the Sabres would pull off a blockbuster trade acquiring Dale Hawerchuk from the Winnipeg Jets for Jeff Parker, Scott Amiel, and Phil Housley. The Sabres would get off to a shaky start, as they didn’t win any of their first seven games. However, Hawerchuk would have a solid first season in Buffalo leading the team with 89 points as the Sabres overcame their slow start by finishing in third place with a record of 31-30-19. However, it would be another first round exit as the Sabres are beaten by the Montreal Canadiens in five games. 1991/92: The Sabres would get off to a shaky start again as they sat at 2-5-1 on October 25th when they pulled the trigger on another blockbuster trade, sending Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Benoit Hogue and Dave McLlwain to the New York Islanders for Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood, and Randy Hillier. Things looked bleak when LaFontaine suffered a broken jaw on November 16th, most expected him to miss the rest of the season. However, LaFontaine was determined to return right away and on December 21st he returned to the lineup. LaFontaine would end up with 93 points in just 57 games as the Sabers finished in third place with a 31-37-12 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would be bounced out in the first round again. However, this time they would not go down without a fight as they pushed the Boston Bruins to seven games. 1992/93: The scoring tandem of Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny had Buffalo fans cheering all season as both topped the 100-point mark in scoring. Mogilny tied for the league in scoring with 76 points while LaFontaine notch 53 goals and an incredible 95 assists. However, the Sabres would allow 297 goals as they finished in fourth place with a mediocre 38-36-10 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would end a decade long playoff slump by sweeping the first place Boston Bruins in four straight games, which included three wins in overtime topped by Brad May’s dramatic goal in Game 4 at the Aud. However, in the Adams Division finals the Sabres would have the tables turned on them as they are swept by the Montreal Canadiens in four straight games, three of which were in overtime. 1993/94: On November 19th the Sabres season appeared in jeopardy as Pat LaFontaine underwent season ending knee surgery. Coach John Muckler decided to switchgears, and play a tight defensive game instead of a wide-open attack based on speedy forwards. Things appeared to get bleaker as Goalie Grant Fuhr underwent knee surgery that would cause his to miss at least 6 weeks. Instead of folding the Sabres only got stronger as back up Dominik Hasek established himself as a star with outstanding performances night after night on the way to capturing Vezina with an outstanding GAA of 1.95. In the playoffs the Sabres would battle the New Jersey Devils in a tight low scoring series. Needing to win Game 6 at him to force a seventh game Dominik Hasek was simply dominating stopping everything the Devils threw at him stopping all 70 shots. However the Sabres could not get anything past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur either and the two teams battled deep into overtime, before Dave Hannan scored the game’s only goal at 65:43 of overtime to force a seventh game. However in Game 7 in New Jersey The Sabres would fall 2-1. 1994/95: After a four month lockout wiped out half the season the continued solid play of Dominik Hasek allowed the Sabres to trade Grant Fuhr to the Los Angeles Kings along with Philippe Boucher and Denis Tsygurow for Charlie Huddy, Robb Stauber and Alexei Zhitnik. Hasek would again capture the Vezina Trophy as the Sabres finished in with a 22-19-7 record as injuries limited Pat LaFontaine to just 22 games. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make another first round exit as they are beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. 1995/96: In a continued change of direction the Sabres would trade Alexander Mogilny to the Vancouver Canucks for Michael Peca, and Mike Wilson. In the final season of hockey at the Memorial Auditorium the Sabres would struggle, as the clearly missed the scoring touch of Mogilny, while missing the playoffs and finishing in fifth place in the Northeast Division with a disappointing record of 33-42-7. 1996/97: A new era dawned in Buffalo as the Sabres prepared to open the brand new state of the art Marine Midland Area, with a new Red and Black color scheme that replaced the traditional Blue and Yellow scheme that had been worn since the Sabres inception. However, sadly Seymour H. Knox III who had been their every step of the way was not around to see the team he founded open its new arena he fought hard to get built, passed away in the spring. Not much was expected for the Sabres especially after Pat LaFontaine was lost to a severe concussion early in the season. However, goalie Dominik Hasek would bounce back of a mediocre season to dominate the NHL becoming the first goalie in 35 years to win both the Vezina and Hart Trophies as the Sabres won the Northeast Division with a 40-30-12 record. However, Hasek would struggle in the playoffs bring controversy in when he got into a scuffle with reporter Jim Kelly. With Hasek suffering a hurt groin serving a suspension, backup Steve Shields played solid hockey as the Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators in seven games. Shields would remain in net in the second round as the Sabres were beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. Following the season Coach Ted Nolan would be fired despite earning the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year. 1997/98: Under new Coach Lindy Ruff continued to rely solely on goalie Dominik Hasek who again won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies as eth Sabres finished in third place with a record of 36-29-17. However, it would be during the Winter Olympic break that Hasek shined the most, as he was unbeatable leading the Czech Republic to a gold medal as NHL players were used during the Hockey Competition in Nagano. In the playoffs Hasek would shake off past struggles as the Sabres finally beat the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. The Sabres continued to roll sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in four straight to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. However in the Conference Finals the Sabres would be burnt in overtime three times as they were beaten by the Washington Capitals in six games. Following the season the Sabres would be sold to John, Tim, Michael, and James Rigas of Adelphia Cable Communications. 1998/99: The Sabres continue to win with defense and the solid goaltending of the Dominik Hasek who was dominate again winning his third straight Vezina and fifth in six years with an outstanding 1.87 GAA, as the Sabres finished in fourth place with a record of 37-28-17. Entering the playoffs as the seventh seed the Sabres would get off to a fast start in the playoffs sweeping the Northeast Champion Ottawa Senators in four straight games. In the second round the Sabres continued to roll as they beat the Boston Bruins in six games to reach their second straight conference finals. Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Finals the Sabres would split the first two games on the road before winning two straight games at the Marine Midland Arena to establish a 3-1 series lead. The Sabres would go on to close the series out in five games with a 4-2 win in Toronto. Facing the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals the Sabres took Game 1 on the road in overtime 3-2 on a goal by Jason Wooley. After the Stars bounced back to win Game 2 the Sabres blew an opportunity to take control of the series by losing Game 3 at home 2-1. The Sabres would even the series with a 2-1-win over their in Game 4. However, after losing Game 5 in Dallas 2-0 the Sabres need to win Game 6 at home to force a seventh game. The game would go down to battle of goalies, as the game remained tied 1-1 through two overtime periods. Finally the Dallas Stars won the cup when Brett Hull slid the puck past Dominik Hasek in the third overtime. Replays would later show that Hull’s skate was in the crease, which was against the rules at that time. However, officials let the goal stand, adding a tinge of controversy to the Sabres heartbreak. 1999/00: Injuries would limit Dominik Hasek to just 35 games. However rookie Martin Biron would pick up the slack posting a solid 2.42 GAA average as the Sabres finished in third place with a 35-36-11-4 record holding off the Carolina Hurricanes for the final playoff spot by one point. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make a quick exit as they are beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. 2000/01: After a seasons filled with injuries Dominik Hasek would return winning the Vezina Trophy for the sixth time in eight years with an outstanding 2.11 GAA as the Sabres playing without Captain Michael Peca who was holding out the entire season finished in second place with a solid 46-30-5-1 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a terrific start jumping out to a 3-1 series lead before beating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. In the second round the Sabres got off to a shaky start as they dropped the first two games at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Sabres would recover winning the next two games in Pittsburgh to even the series. After taking Game 5 at home the Sabres looked poised to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four years. However, the Penguins would win the next two games in overtime eliminating the Sabres in seven games. 2001/02: Prior to the start of the season the Sabres decide to turn the page trading away both Dominik Hasek and Michael Peca. Replacing Hasek would be Martin Biron would play solid hockey. However, the Sabres played only mediocre hockey all season missing the playoffs for the first time in six years while finishing in last place with a record of 35-35-11-1. 2002/03: The Sabres began the season with a dark cloud surrounding the future of the franchise as the NHL was forced to assume control of the team after owners John, Tim, Michael, and James Rigas of Adelphia Cable Communications were forced to declare bankruptcy. John Rigas along with his sons Tim and Michael would be among the first arrested and charged with cooperate fraud and embezzlement under a crackdown after the Enron scandal. As new owners were sought the Sabres naturally struggled sitting in last place almost from the start of the season until the end posting a horrible record of 27-37-10-8. As the season wound down Tom Gollisano a New York billionaire who was just coming off an unsuccessful run for Governor purchased the team for $92 Million, ending rumors the Sabres would move or fold. 2003/04: After playing an entire season under the clouds of bankruptcy the Sabres began to emerge by acquiring Chris Drury from the Calgary Flames. Drury would be one of five Sabres to post over 50 points as the team started down the road to recovery. However the road from financial ruin to becoming a competitive team again was not a short one as the Sabres struggled much of the first half of the season falling as low as 18-25-5-1 on January 25th. However as the season wore on the Sabres would play better as the Sabres would win nine of their next 11 games. The Sabres would go on to have a strong second half posting a 37-34-7-4 record. However, they would fall six points shy of the playoffs, and would even end up in last place in the highly competitive Northeast Division. 2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out 2005/06: During the Lock out the Sabres were one of the teams that were able to get back on track as they emerged from bankruptcy thanks in part to their new Billionaire Owner Tom Gollisano. When the Sabres hit the ice they were able to be competitive again getting off to a solid start with six wins in their first eight games. However, a bump in the road arrived at the start of November as they dropped four in a row while losing seven of nine and fell below .500. However, they would quickly recover and would play well most of the season, as Ryan Miller eventually established himself as the number one goalie with Maxim Afinogenov leading team with 73 points and Chris Drury leading the way with 30 goals. A 6-game losing streak in March would drop the Sabres out of first place, but thanks to a 52-24-6 record their 110 points were among the best in the Eastern Conference as they finished just three points back of the Ottawa Senators for the division title and the overall best record in the East, helping to earn a Jack Adams Award for longtime Coach Lindy Ruff. In the playoffs the Sabres got off to a fast start winning the first two games against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, after dropping the next two in Philly they were faced with a must win game in Game 5 at HSBC Arena. Thanks to Ryan Miller who stopped all 24 shots, the Sabres regained control of the series with a 3-0 win as they went to eliminate the Flyers in six games behind a 7-1 explosion in the finale in Philly. The second round would bring a showdown with the Senators as Game 1 turned into a shoot out for the ages with each team trading goals back and forth for 60 minutes. The final two minutes of regulation was pure excitement as the Sabres tied the game 5-5 on a shorthanded goal by Derek Roy, with 97 seconds left in the game. The Senators would quickly retake the lead 24 seconds later as Bryan Smolinski scored on the power play, but the Sabres would tie the game again on a goal by Tim Connolly with 11 seconds left in regulation. Overtime would be over just as quickly as Chris Drury delivered the 7-6 game winner after just 18 seconds of extra time. Game 2 would see fewer goals but the same result as the Sabres skated home to Buffalo for Game 3 with a 2-0 lead after a 2-1 win, as Ryan Miller stopped 43 of 44 shots. As the series shifted to HSBC Arena overtime rose up again as the Sabres took a commanding 3-0 lead as J.P. Dumont netted the game winner in a 3-2 game. After a disappointing 2-1 loss in Game 4, the Sabres went back to Ottawa and eliminated the Senators with another 3-2 win in overtime as Jason Pominville scored the game winner shorthanded 2:26 into OT. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres were matched up against the Carolina Hurricanes, taking Game 1 again on the road 3-2. After losing Game 2 the series shifted to Buffalo, where the Sabres used a 3-goal outburst in the second period to win 4-3, and take back control of the series. After a disappointing 4-0 loss at home in Game 4, the Sabres found themselves on the brink thanks to a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5. Back at HSBC Arena for Game 6 the Sabres turned the tables and won in overtime 2-1 on a power play goal by Daniel Briere. In Game 7 in Carolina the Sabres would take a 2-1 lead into the final period, but the home standing Hurricanes scored three times to win the game 4-2, and went on to finals, where they would win the Stanley Cup. 2006/07: Coming off their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres entered the season in new uniforms that though utilizing the old bellow and yellow color scheme were not warmly received by fans who nicknamed their new logo the “Buffaslug.” However, when the Sabres started the season with ten straight wins, fans seemed to warm up to the new logo. After losing a shootout the Sabres remained hot winning five of their next six games as they got off to a 15-1-1 start. The Sabres would spend the entire season in first place as they posted their best season in franchise history winning the President’s Trophy for the best overall record in the regular season at 53-22-7. In the playoffs the Sabres got off to a fast start beating the New York Islanders, as Brian Campbell scored twice, as they went on to eliminate the Islanders in five games. In the second round it was another Empire State showdown as the Sabres faced the New York Rangers. This time it would not be as easy as the series was even after four games, with the Rangers taking both games at MSG, after losing the first two in Buffalo. Things looked bleak in Game 5 back in Buffalo as the Rangers broke open a scoreless game with 3:29 left. However, with 7.7 seconds left Chris Drury sent the game to overtime finally beating Henrik Lundqvist on the Sabres 37th shot. In Overtime it would be Maxim Afinogenov who would play the role of hero scoring a power play goal to give the Sabres a dramatic 2-1 win. The Sabres would use the momentum from Game 5 to win the series in six as they scored four times in the second period as they held on for a 5-4 win. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres got off to a bad start as they dropped Game 1 at home 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators. Things would not get much better in Game 2 as they lost an overtime heartbreaker 4-3, as they traveled to Ottawa in a 2-0 hole. The hole would get deeper as they managed just 15 shots on goal losing 1-0 in Game 3. The Sabres would avoid the sweep with a 3-2 win in Game 4, but their would be no comeback as the Senators won the series with another 3-2 overtime win in Buffalo in Game 5. Following the season the Sabres losses got worse as Co-Captains Daniel Briere signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, and Chris Drury signed with the Rangers. 2007/08: Losing two key players the Sabres entered the season knowing it would be hard to equal their performance of the previous two seasons. Through the first two months the Sabres played mediocre hockey as they posted an 11-11-1 record. In December the Sabres made a little run as they posted a six game winning streak. However heading into the New Year the Sabres dropped three games in a row, as they prepared to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a special New Year’s Day Game aired nationally on NBC. Billed “The Winter Classic” the game was played in Ralph Wilson Stadium home of the Buffalo Bills, and it was the first outdoor regular season game played in the United States. With snow lightly falling through out the game went to a shootout, where the Sabres lost again 2-1, with Sidney Crosby blasting the winner past Ryan Miller. The Sabres struggles would continue as they won just one of their next eight games. The Sabres would play better in February as they remained in playoff contention. However, a subpar March would leave the Sabres on the outside looking in as they finished the season with a record of 39-31-12. 2008/09: After missing the playoffs, the Sabres looked to rebound as they got off to a fast start winning their first four games, on the way to a 6-0-1 start. However, the strong beginning was a memory in November as the Sabres struggled, losing seven of eight games during a rough stretch. When the New Year began the Sabres were playing only mediocre hockey as they held a 17-15-6 record. However, a strong January gave them hope for reaching the playoffs. After a disappointing February the Sabres were active at the trade deadline signing Tim Connolly to an extension worth $4.2 million for two years. They also acquired Mikael Tellqvist from the Phoenix Coyotes for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft. Then Dominic Moore came from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft. Finally, they received a second-round pick in the 2009 draft from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for their shootout weapon Ales Kotalik. However, the deals were not able to work any magic as the Sabres lost six of seven games and slid out of the playoffs. The Sabres would win their final three games, but would fall two points short of the playoffs with a record of 41-32-9. 2009/10: After missing the playoffs two straight seasons, the Sabres came out of the gate flying, posting a record of 8-1-1 in their first ten games. Despite a four game losing streak in November the Sabres maintained their strong start into the New Year. The Sabres were able to demonstrate their ability to comeback as 2010 began, as they won consecutive games after trailing 3-0. Beating the Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers 4-3. However, January was a tough month for the Sabres as they lost four straight games. The struggles continued into February as they lost six in a row, posting a 3-6-5 record during a 14 game stretch. The Sabres were able to get a win before the Olympic break, beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1. During the Olympics in Vancouver, Sabres Goalie Ryan Miller shined as he helped lead Team USA to Silver Medal, losing just the Gold Medal game to Canada 3-2 on a goal by Sidney Crosby in overtime. After the break the Sabres began to show the type of play that enabled them to take control of the Northeast Division as they won seven of eight games. They would go on to win the division with a 45-27-10 record. Earning individual honors was Ryan Miller who captured the Vezina, while Defenseman Tyler Myers took home the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. In the playoffs the Sabres faced a divisional foe in the Boston Bruins. In the opener at HSBC Arena, Ryan Miller stopped 38 of 39 shots as the Sabres won 2-1. However, the Bruins bounced back to take the next two games as leading scorer Thomas Vanek was lost to an injury in Game 2. Needing a win in Boston for Game 4, the Sabres held an early 2-0 lead. However, the Bruins battled back to win in double overtime 3-2, as former Sabre Miroslav Satan netted the game winner to give the Bruins a 3-1 series lead. The Sabres would stay alive with a 4-1 win in Game 5. Vanek would return for Game 6, and would score a goal but it would not be enough as the Bruins eliminated the Sabres with a 4-3 win. 2010/11: It was something old, something new, and something blue as the season began for the Sabres, who returned to the classic logo and blue sweaters as they got new ownership. Early on the Sabres would struggle, as they started 3-9-2. However, in November they began to turn things around, winning four of their next five games. In December, Terrence Pegula one of the richest men in the world expressed interest in buying the Sabres, as they continued their climb out of the early season hole. While the club sale was finalized, the Sabres ran off an 8-3-1 record in January. In February they would say good bye to Captain Craig Rivet, who was waived and later claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In February, Pegula would take over ownership, buying the Sabres for a reported $189 million. He would be introduced to fans in Buffalo on February 23rd, pledging to keep the Sabres in Buffalo, and bring them a Stanley Cup, among those on hand where Sabres legends, including Rick Martin. It would be the final appearance for Martin who was a member of the famous French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert, as he passed away from heart disease just three weeks later. The Sabres would acquire Brad Boyes for a draft pick from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline, as they finished the season strong, posting a record of 13-3-3 down the stretch to reach the playoffs with a record of 43-29-10. In the playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Sabres would get off to a great start, as Ryan Miller stopped all 35 shots, as the Sabres beat the Flyers 1-0 on a goal by Patrick Kaleta in the third period. Game 2 would be a completely different affair, as the Flyers evened the series with a 5-4 win. After losing 4-2 in Game 3, at home, the Sabres got another 1-0 win in Game 4, as Miller stopped 32 shots, with Jason Pominville scoring the game’s lone goal in the first period. In Game 5 in Philadelphia, despite blowing a 3-0 lead, the Sabres would win 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Tyler Ennis. The Sabres would take an early 3-1 lead in Game 6, with a chance to win the series at home, however the Flyers would rally as the game went to overtime. In OT, the Flyers would win the game 5-4 on a goal by Ville Leino. The Flyers would go on to win the series with a 5-2 win in Game 7. 2011/12: Before the season started, the Sabres would name Jason Pominville as their new Captain. The Sabres would begin the season in Europe with two wins, as they beat the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland 4-1 and the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 in Berlin, Germany. Returning home, the Sabres would drop their home opener to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3, before winning their next three games on the road. The Sabres got off to a solid start and held a record of 10-5-0 as they faced the Boston Bruins on November 12th. The Sabres would lose the game 6-2, but even worse they lost Goalie Ryan Miller to a concussion when he was kneed in the head by Milan Lucic trying to cover the puck. Miller would miss the next nine games, as the Sabres went through a series of injuries, losing 225 man games to various injuries. Over the next 33 games the Sabres won just nine games and found themselves falling far behind in the playoff chase. Just before the All-Star Break, the Sabres began to turn things around as they scored a 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on the road. The game singled a return to health for Ryan Miller who still had lingering concussion symptoms. The Sabres would start climbing the standings in February, as they posted a record of 7-3-3. As February became March the Sabres had one of the best stretches in franchise history as they would post a record of 14-1-3 as they got back into playoff position. However, back to back losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of March would doom their playoff hopes. The Sabres would miss the playoffs by just three points, with a record of 39-32-11. 2012/13: After a strong finish that nearly propelled them into the playoffs, the Sabres hoped to carry the momentum as they added Steve Ott in the off-season in a trade with the Dallas Stars for Derek Roy. However, any chance to get a boost was blunted as the NHL endured another long lockout that delayed the season three months. The truncated 48 game season would begin on January 20th with the Sabres upending the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at the First Niagara Center. The Sabres would split their first six games, but found themselves going in the wrong direction at the beginning of February as they lost five out of seven games to start the month. After a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins, the Sabres troubles continued as they dropped their next two games to slip to 6-10-1. This would lead to the dismissal of longtime Coach Lind Ruff, who was fired after 16 seasons behind the Buffalo Sabres bench. Ruff would be replaced by Ron Rolston, who lost his first two games before the Sabres earned a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road. The Sabres would not play much better in March as they found themselves mired in last place, while posting a 5-5-5 mark that erased any hope for the playoffs. As the trade deadline approached the Sabres would begin breaking down the team to rebuild for the future, as Jordan Leopold was sent to the St. Louis Blues for a pair of draft picks, while they picked up two other picks from the Los Angeles Kings for Robyn Regehr. They would than send Captain Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild for Matt Hackett, Johan Larsson and two draft picks. Despite appearing to waive the white flag and focus on the future, the Sabres showed some pride in April and won eight games. However, the Sabres could not escape last place in the Northeast Division as they finished with a record of 21-21-6. 2013/14: Even before the season began it was clear the Buffalo Sabres were in for a long year, as they looked to make a commitment to rebuilding. With stars Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller both playing in the last year of their contracts it was clear the Sabres would shuffling players in and out of Buffalo all season. Vanek would be the first to go, as he was traded to the New York Islanders on October 27th for Matt Moulson and a pair of draft picks. The Sabres would be as bad as expected, as they posted a 4-15-1 record in the first 20 games. The bad start would lead to the dismissal of both General Manager Darcy Regier and Coach Ron Rolston on November 13th. The Sabres would hire Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine to be the team’s new President of Hockey Operations, while Ted Nolan took over as coach. The Sabres would later name Tim Murray as their General Manager. The Sabres would win their first game in Nolan’s return to the bench, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. However, wins remained hard to come by as they held a record of 11-25-4 at the start of the New Year. The Sabres would win just four games in January, and lost four straight games before the Olympic Break. When the season resumed trades would be the story for the Sabres, as Ryan Miller was traded along with Captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier and a pair of draft picks. Halak would be traded himself a week later to the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla. The Sabres also made deals with the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline sending Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Parker to LA for Nicolas Deslauriers, while they picked up Torrey Mitchell and two draft picks from the Wild for Cody McCormick and Matt Moulson. So shorthanded were the Sabres do to the trades they needed to dress Videographer Ryan Vinz as a backup goalie. The Sabres would win twice in their final 20 games, posting the second worst record in franchise history at 21-51-10, which would lead to the dismissal of Coach Ted Nolan. 2015/16: The Buffalo Sabres looked to make strides as they named Dan Bylsma who had won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins to replace Ted Nolan behind the bench. One key piece to the Sabres future was Jack Eichel who was chosen with the second overall pick after winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA at Boston University. Eichel had a fantastic season in his rookie year, posting 56 points as he led the Sabres with 24 goals. Another key piece for the Sabres is Ryan O'Reilly who was acquired with Jamie McGinn from the Colorado Avalanche for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J. T. Compher and draft pick. In his first season in Buffalo, O'Reilly led the Sabres in scoring with 60 points. Despite two key players providing an instant boost, the Sabres still were a long way from making the playoffs as they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division with a record of 35-36-11. 2016/2017: You already know what happened. Now…we wait.

[hockeyhotline-blog]

History of the Sabres

 - http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/

Historical Moments: 1970/71: After years of minor league hockey Buffalo finally lands a NHL team as the Sabres are one of two expansion teams added in the second wave of expansion bring the league to 14 teams. With legendary from Toronto Maple Leafs Coach Punch Imlach running the team the Sabres won a special wheel spin for the right to the number one overall pick which they used on the top Junior player Gilbert Perreault. On October 10th Perreault would score a goal in the Sabres very first game a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. Eight days later the Sabres would face the Penguins again skating to a 1-1 tie in the first game ever at the Aud. Gilbert Perreault would go on to lead the Sabres in scoring with 38 goals and 34 assists while winning the Calder Trophy. However, the Sabres would finish in fifth place in the Eastern Division with a typical expansion like 24-39-15 record.   1971/72: The Sabres would draft wisely again selecting Rick Martin who meshed well with Gilbert Perreault as the two led the Sabres in scoring with 74 points. Martin and Perreault would be joined at the end of the season by Rene Robert acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade for Eddie Shack. The trio would form one of the prolific scoring lines of the era known as the French Connection. However, the Sabres would still struggle to win games finishing in sixth place with a 16-43-19 record, as a heart attack forced Coach Punch Imlach to the sidelines.   1972/73: Even though he was no longer able to Coach the Sabres Punch Imlach remained the club's General Manager again striking gold in the draft with the selection of hard-nosed defenseman Jim Schonfeld. In addition to Schonfeld the Sabres would acquire veteran blue liner Tim Horton to help lead the young team. The added strength on defense combined with the scoring touch of the French Connection would be the right combination for the Sabres who made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a solid 37-27-14 record. However the Sabres would be overmatched by the veteran Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs as they found themselves down 3-0. However, the young Sabres would not go down without a fight taking the next two games before falling 4-2 in Game 6.   1973/74: Coming off their first playoff appearance the Sabres came out of the gate flying winning six of their first nine games. However, Gilbert Perreault would suffer a broken leg missing eight weeks; shortly thereafter they would lose Goalie Roger Crozier for the rest of the season after he developed pancreatitis. Without two key players the Sabres would struggle, but none of that would prepare them for what happened on February 20th after a game in Toronto against the Maple Leafs when Tim Horton decided to drive home on his own. Horton, the 44-year old veteran defenseman apparently had his senses dulled, after consuming alcohol and painkillers as he crashed his car into the center guardrail on the Queen Elizabeth Way and died. Injuries and tragedy would be too much for the Sabres to overcome as they missed the playoffs by finishing in fifth place with a record of 32-34-12. 1974/75: After a year of tragedy the Sabres would rebound as The French Connection led the way in an offensive explosion that would see the Sabres score 354 goals. Rene Robert, Gilbert Perreault, and Rick Martin each finished in the top ten in scoring, as the Sabres finished in first place in the newly established Adams Division with a record of 49-16-15.  In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a strong start beating the Chicago Blackhawks in five games to reach the Semifinals. In the semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens the Sabres would get off to a dramatic start as Danny Gare scored in overtime to give the Sabres a 6-5. The Sabres would go on to take a 2-0 series lead before losing the next two games in Montreal to set up a crucial fifth game at the Aud where Rene Robert scored in overtime to give the Sabres a 5-4 win. Not wanting to chance things the Sabres closed the series out in Montreal in Game 6 with a 4-3 win. In the Stanley Cup Finals against the defending Champion Philadelphia Flyers the Sabres would get off to a slow start losing the first two games on the road. Desperately needing to win Game 3 at the home the Sabres were hampered by 90-degree temperatures that created a fog in the Aud as the game went into overtime. However, Rene Robert would be the hero again netting the game winner to keep the Sabres hopes alive. The Sabres would go on to even the series in Game 4 with a 4-2 win. However, Flyers Goalie Bernie Parent would prove too strong as the Flyers went on to win the Cup in six games.   1975/76: Coming off their run to the Stanley Cup Finals the Sabres were again one of the top teams in the NHL finishing in second place with a solid record of 46-21-13. The French Connection again led the way all finishing with at least 86 points including Gilbert Perreault who finished third in the league with 113 points. However, the highlight of the season according to General Manager Punch Imlach occurred in January 4th exhibition game against the Soviet Red Army team who had beaten all NHL teams up to that point on a barnstorming tour. Imlach worked hard to make sure the Sabres would not be added to the list of the conquered so he studied game tapes looking for an edge. He found one as the Sabres quickly jumped out to a lead on the way to a convincing 12-6 victory. In the playoffs it would not be as easy as they needed two overtime wins to get past the St. Louis Blues in a three game series. In the second round the Sabres would jump out to a 2-0 lead over the New York Islanders. However, the Islanders would rally to win the next four games advancing to the semifinals in six games. 1976/77: The Sabres would struggle out of the gate prompting General Manager Punch Imlach to threaten to trade all players if the team did not turn it around quickly. The move worked as the Sabres lost just four games in November and December, on the way to another solid second place finish with a 48-24-8 record. The Sabres would get off to a quick start in the playoffs as they beat the Minnesota North Stars in two straight games winning by a combine 11-3 score. However, in the second round they would be swept by the New York Islanders in four straight close games. 1977/78: After Gerry Desjardins was hit in the eye with a puck and developed a cataract the previous season, goaltender Don Edwards was recalled from Hershey. Desjardins would return in December but struggle badly leaving Edwards would have to carry the load for the rest of the season. Edward would do a solid job posting a 2.64 GAA as the Sabres topped 100 points for the fourth straight season finishing in second place with a solid record of 44-19-17. In the playoffs the Sabres would slip past the New York Rangers in a three game series, before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. 1978/79: The Sabres would again get off to a slow start. However, this time General Manager Punch Imlach would not be able to threaten to trade everyone away as he himself was fired on December 4th. In addition Coach Marcel Pronovost was shown the door. Under interim Coach Billy Inglis the Sabres respond by going unbeaten in their next seven games. The Sabres would go on to finish in second place again with a record of 36-28-16. However, the Sabres would make a quick exit out of the playoffs as they lost a three game series to the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime. 1979/80: After their first round exit Owner George H. Knox III looked for a way to get the Sabres back on track. Knox would take advantage of a two week window to interview Scotty Bowman who had led the Montreal Canadiens to the last four Stanley Cup Championships, giving him deal to become the Sabres Coach and General Manager. However, the Bowman era would single an end to the French Connection as Rene Robert is traded to the Colorado Rockies for defenseman John Van Boxmeer. The move would work out as the Sabres won the Adams Division with a 47-17-16 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a fast start beating the Vancouver Canucks in four games. Moving on to the second round the Sabres continued to roll as the swept their way to the semifinals by beating the Chicago Blackhawks in four straight games. However, in the semifinals the Sabres would get off to rough start as they fell behind 3-0 to the New York Islanders. The Sabres would battle back to win the next two games. However, the hole was too deep as the Islanders advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-2 win in Game 6. 1980/81: Scotty Bowman would step aside as coach to concentrate on his duties as General Manager. With Roger Nielsen who earned the nickname Captain Video for his constant study of game tapes the Sabres won their second straight division title with a solid record of 39-20-21, despite losing Gilbert Perreault for 22 games with rib injuries. Along the way Perreault would lose another French Connection line mate as Rick Martin is traded to the Los Angeles Kings for draft picks on March 11th. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a fast start sweeping the Vancouver Canucks in three straight. However, in the second round the Sabres would be stunned by the Minnesota North Stars in five games. 1981/82: Scotty Bowman returned to the bench after Roger Neilson left to Coach the Vancouver Canucks. With Bowman behind the bench the Sabres got off to a solid start as they entered December with a 12-5-7 record. However, the Sabres would make a stunning deal trading Jim Schoenfeld, Danny Gare, Derek Smith and Bob Sauve to the Detroit Red Wings for Mike Foligno, Dale McCourt, Brent Peterson and a first round draft choice. Shortly after the trade Bowman would relinquish the coaching duties to assistant Jim Roberts. However, Bowman would reassume the coaching duties in mid-March. Despite the turmoil the Sabres would still play solid hockey finishing in third place with a 39-26-15 record. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make a quick exit as they are beaten by the Boston Bruins in four games. 1982/83: The Sabres began to make moves with an eye on the future by drafting Phil Housley, Paul Cyr, Dave Andreychuk with picks acquired in a variety of trades. The current Sabres were not to bad either as Gilbert Perreault shook was healthy for the first time in a few season with a team high 76 points, as the Sabres finished in third place with a 38-29-13 record. In the playoff Bob Suave who was reacquired from the Detroit Red Wings prior to the season would star shutting the Montreal Canadiens out twice as the Sabres swept the Habs in three straight games. In the Adams Division finals the Sabres would battle the Boston Bruins in a hard fought seven game series, which the Sabres lost in overtime on a goal by Brad Park. 1983/84: Rookie goalie Tom Barrasso selected with the fifth overall pick in the draft would have an auspicious debut winning both the Calder Trophy and Vezina with an outstanding 2.66 GAA, as the Sabres finished in second place with a solid 48-25-7 record. However, in the playoffs Barrasso would struggle as the Sabres were swept by the Quebec Nordiques in three straight games. 1984/85: Popular defenseman Jim Schonfeld would return as Scotty Bowman felt his presence would help the younger players like Phil Housley and Dave Adreychuk, both who had solid season finishing just behind Gilbert Perreault in team scoring, as the Sabres finished in third place with a record of 38-28-14. In the playoffs the Sabres were put on the brink right away as they dropped the first two games on the road against the Quebec Nordiques. However, the Sabres would rally taking the next two games at home and leading in Game 5 with nine minutes left to play 5-3. However, the Nords would rally scoring three goals to win the game 6-5.     1985/86: Gilbert Perreault would make history on March 7th as he scored his 500th career goal in front of a sold out crowd at the Aud against the New Jersey Devils. However, it would be the only highlight of the season as the Sabres played mediocre hockey all season missing the playoff for the first time in 12 years by finishing in last place with a 37-37-6.   1986/87: Gilbert Perreault got off to a solid start scoring nine goals in his first 14 games, however with the Sabres struggling Perreault would retire on November 24th. Meanwhile Scotty Bowman not wanting to coach anymore turned the reigns over again this time to Craig Ramsay. However, under Ramsay the Sabres held a 5-15-3 record on December 2nd, when Bowman was relieved of his duties as General Manager. New GM Gerry Meehan would bring in a new coach, Ted Sator 20 days later. However, it was too late to save the Sabres season, as they finished in last place again missing the playoffs for the second straight season with a horrible 28-44-8 record that was the worst in the NHL. 1987/88: After finishing with the worst record in the NHL the Sabres owned the top overall draft pick which they used on Pierre Turgeon. Turegon would have a solid rookie season finishing sixth place in the team in scoring with 42 points as the Sabres got back to the playoffs by finishing in third place with a record of 37-32-11. However, the return of the playoffs was thanks to the mergence of Dave Adreychuk, who scored a team high 78 points. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would be beaten by the Boston Bruins in six games. 1988/89: The Sabres, who traded Tom Barrasso early in the season, are forced to play musical goalie after Darren Puppa is breaks his arm on January 27th. This put the load on backup Jacques Cloutier struggled. In March the Sabres would acquire Clint Malarchuk from the Washington Capitals for Calle Johansson. However Malarchuk would suffer a horrific injury on the night of March 22nd as the Sabres faced the St. Louis Blues at the Aud. In the first period, Blues winger Steve Tuttle and Sabers defender Uwe Krupp crashed into Malarchuk. When the pile untangled, blood gushed from Malarchuk's neck. The six-inch cut in Malarchuk's neck had struck his jugular vein. Had Sabres trainers and doctors not acted quickly Clint Malarchuk would have died on the ice. However, the cut was sewn up that night and incredibly, he left the hospital the next afternoon. Despite the rotating goalies the Sabres would still make the playoffs by finishing in third place with a record of 38-38-7. However, in the playoffs it would be a quick exit as they are beaten by the Boston Bruins in 5 games. 1989/90: A gamble the Sabres took a few years earlier pays off as Alexander Mogilny defects from the Soviet Union, during the World Junior Championships, signing a deal to play for the Sabres who drafted him in 1988. Mogilny would have a solid rookie season with 43 points, as Pierre Turgeon had a break out season by topping the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. The young 1-2 scoring punch and the solid goaltending of Darren Puppa would be the catalyst as the Sabres challenged for the Adams Division and first place overall all season before falling three points short with a solid 45-27-8 record. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would falter as they are beaten by the Montreal Canadiens in six games. 1990/91: On draft day the Sabres would pull off a blockbuster trade acquiring Dale Hawerchuk from the Winnipeg Jets for Jeff Parker, Scott Amiel, and Phil Housley. The Sabres would get off to a shaky start, as they didn't win any of their first seven games. However, Hawerchuk would have a solid first season in Buffalo leading the team with 89 points as the Sabres overcame their slow start by finishing in third place with a record of 31-30-19. However, it would be another first round exit as the Sabres are beaten by the Montreal Canadiens in five games. 1991/92: The Sabres would get off to a shaky start again as they sat at 2-5-1 on October 25th when they pulled the trigger on another blockbuster trade, sending Pierre Turgeon, Uwe Krupp, Benoit Hogue and Dave McLlwain to the New York Islanders for Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood, and Randy Hillier. Things looked bleak when LaFontaine suffered a broken jaw on November 16th, most expected him to miss the rest of the season. However, LaFontaine was determined to return right away and on December 21st he returned to the lineup. LaFontaine would end up with 93 points in just 57 games as the Sabers finished in third place with a 31-37-12 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would be bounced out in the first round again. However, this time they would not go down without a fight as they pushed the Boston Bruins to seven games.   1992/93: The scoring tandem of Pat LaFontaine and Alexander Mogilny had Buffalo fans cheering all season as both topped the 100-point mark in scoring. Mogilny tied for the league in scoring with 76 points while LaFontaine notch 53 goals and an incredible 95 assists. However, the Sabres would allow 297 goals as they finished in fourth place with a mediocre 38-36-10 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would end a decade long playoff slump by sweeping the first place Boston Bruins in four straight games, which included three wins in overtime topped by Brad May's dramatic goal in Game 4 at the Aud. However, in the Adams Division finals the Sabres would have the tables turned on them as they are swept by the Montreal Canadiens in four straight games, three of which were in overtime.   1993/94: On November 19th the Sabres season appeared in jeopardy as Pat LaFontaine underwent season ending knee surgery. Coach John Muckler decided to switchgears, and play a tight defensive game instead of a wide-open attack based on speedy forwards. Things appeared to get bleaker as Goalie Grant Fuhr underwent knee surgery that would cause his to miss at least 6 weeks. Instead of folding the Sabres only got stronger as back up Dominik Hasek established himself as a star with outstanding performances night after night on the way to capturing Vezina with an outstanding GAA of 1.95. In the playoffs the Sabres would battle the New Jersey Devils in a tight low scoring series. Needing to win Game 6 at him to force a seventh game Dominik Hasek was simply dominating stopping everything the Devils threw at him stopping all 70 shots. However the Sabres could not get anything past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur either and the two teams battled deep into overtime, before Dave Hannan scored the game's only goal at 65:43 of overtime to force a seventh game. However in Game 7 in New Jersey The Sabres would fall 2-1. 1994/95: After a four month lockout wiped out half the season the continued solid play of Dominik Hasek allowed the Sabres to trade Grant Fuhr to the Los Angeles Kings along with Philippe Boucher and Denis Tsygurow for Charlie Huddy, Robb Stauber and Alexei Zhitnik. Hasek would again capture the Vezina Trophy as the Sabres finished in with a 22-19-7 record as injuries limited Pat LaFontaine to just 22 games. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make another first round exit as they are beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. 1995/96: In a continued change of direction the Sabres would trade Alexander Mogilny to the Vancouver Canucks for Michael Peca, and Mike Wilson. In the final season of hockey at the Memorial Auditorium the Sabres would struggle, as the clearly missed the scoring touch of Mogilny, while missing the playoffs and finishing in fifth place in the Northeast Division with a disappointing record of 33-42-7.   1996/97: A new era dawned in Buffalo as the Sabres prepared to open the brand new state of the art Marine Midland Area, with a new Red and Black color scheme that replaced the traditional Blue and Yellow scheme that had been worn since the Sabres inception. However, sadly Seymour H. Knox III who had been their every step of the way was not around to see the team he founded open its new arena he fought hard to get built, passed away in the spring. Not much was expected for the Sabres especially after Pat LaFontaine was lost to a severe concussion early in the season. However, goalie Dominik Hasek would bounce back of a mediocre season to dominate the NHL becoming the first goalie in 35 years to win both the Vezina and Hart Trophies as the Sabres won the Northeast Division with a 40-30-12 record. However, Hasek would struggle in the playoffs bring controversy in when he got into a scuffle with reporter Jim Kelly. With Hasek suffering a hurt groin serving a suspension, backup Steve Shields played solid hockey as the Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators in seven games. Shields would remain in net in the second round as the Sabres were beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. Following the season Coach Ted Nolan would be fired despite earning the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year. 1997/98: Under new Coach Lindy Ruff continued to rely solely on goalie Dominik Hasek who again won both the Vezina and Hart Trophies as eth Sabres finished in third place with a record of 36-29-17. However, it would be during the Winter Olympic break that Hasek shined the most, as he was unbeatable leading the Czech Republic to a gold medal as NHL players were used during the Hockey Competition in Nagano. In the playoffs Hasek would shake off past struggles as the Sabres finally beat the Philadelphia Flyers in five games. The Sabres continued to roll sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in four straight to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. However in the Conference Finals the Sabres would be burnt in overtime three times as they were beaten by the Washington Capitals in six games. Following the season the Sabres would be sold to John, Tim, Michael, and James Rigas of Adelphia Cable Communications.   1998/99: The Sabres continue to win with defense and the solid goaltending of the Dominik Hasek who was dominate again winning his third straight Vezina and fifth in six years with an outstanding 1.87 GAA, as the Sabres finished in fourth place with a record of 37-28-17. Entering the playoffs as the seventh seed the Sabres would get off to a fast start in the playoffs sweeping the Northeast Champion Ottawa Senators in four straight games. In the second round the Sabres continued to roll as they beat the Boston Bruins in six games to reach their second straight conference finals. Facing the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Finals the Sabres would split the first two games on the road before winning two straight games at the Marine Midland Arena to establish a 3-1 series lead. The Sabres would go on to close the series out in five games with a 4-2 win in Toronto. Facing the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals the Sabres took Game 1 on the road in overtime 3-2 on a goal by Jason Wooley. After the Stars bounced back to win Game 2 the Sabres blew an opportunity to take control of the series by losing Game 3 at home 2-1. The Sabres would even the series with a 2-1-win over their in Game 4. However, after losing Game 5 in Dallas 2-0 the Sabres need to win Game 6 at home to force a seventh game. The game would go down to battle of goalies, as the game remained tied 1-1 through two overtime periods. Finally the Dallas Stars won the cup when Brett Hull slid the puck past Dominik Hasek in the third overtime. Replays would later show that Hull's skate was in the crease, which was against the rules at that time. However, officials let the goal stand, adding a tinge of controversy to the Sabres heartbreak. 1999/00: Injuries would limit Dominik Hasek to just 35 games. However rookie Martin Biron would pick up the slack posting a solid 2.42 GAA average as the Sabres finished in third place with a 35-36-11-4 record holding off the Carolina Hurricanes for the final playoff spot by one point. However, in the playoffs the Sabres would make a quick exit as they are beaten by the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.   2000/01: After a seasons filled with injuries Dominik Hasek would return winning the Vezina Trophy for the sixth time in eight years with an outstanding 2.11 GAA as the Sabres playing without Captain Michael Peca who was holding out the entire season finished in second place with a solid 46-30-5-1 record. In the playoffs the Sabres would get off to a terrific start jumping out to a 3-1 series lead before beating the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. In the second round the Sabres got off to a shaky start as they dropped the first two games at home to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, the Sabres would recover winning the next two games in Pittsburgh to even the series. After taking Game 5 at home the Sabres looked poised to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four years. However, the Penguins would win the next two games in overtime eliminating the Sabres in seven games. 2001/02: Prior to the start of the season the Sabres decide to turn the page trading away both Dominik Hasek and Michael Peca. Replacing Hasek would be Martin Biron would play solid hockey. However, the Sabres played only mediocre hockey all season missing the playoffs for the first time in six years while finishing in last place with a record of 35-35-11-1. 2002/03: The Sabres began the season with a dark cloud surrounding the future of the franchise as the NHL was forced to assume control of the team after owners John, Tim, Michael, and James Rigas of Adelphia Cable Communications were forced to declare bankruptcy. John Rigas along with his sons Tim and Michael would be among the first arrested and charged with cooperate fraud and embezzlement under a crackdown after the Enron scandal. As new owners were sought the Sabres naturally struggled sitting in last place almost from the start of the season until the end posting a horrible record of 27-37-10-8. As the season wound down Tom Gollisano a New York billionaire who was just coming off an unsuccessful run for Governor purchased the team for $92 Million, ending rumors the Sabres would move or fold.   2003/04: After playing an entire season under the clouds of bankruptcy the Sabres began to emerge by acquiring Chris Drury from the Calgary Flames. Drury would be one of five Sabres to post over 50 points as the team started down the road to recovery. However the road from financial ruin to becoming a competitive team again was not a short one as the Sabres struggled much of the first half of the season falling as low as 18-25-5-1 on January 25th. However as the season wore on the Sabres would play better as the Sabres would win nine of their next 11 games. The Sabres would go on to have a strong second half posting a 37-34-7-4 record. However, they would fall six points shy of the playoffs, and would even end up in last place in the highly competitive Northeast Division. 2004/05: Season Cancelled Due to Lock Out 2005/06: During the Lock out the Sabres were one of the teams that were able to get back on track as they emerged from bankruptcy thanks in part to their new Billionaire Owner Tom Gollisano. When the Sabres hit the ice they were able to be competitive again getting off to a solid start with six wins in their first eight games. However, a bump in the road arrived at the start of November as they dropped four in a row while losing seven of nine and fell below .500. However, they would quickly recover and would play well most of the season, as Ryan Miller eventually established himself as the number one goalie with Maxim Afinogenov leading team with 73 points and Chris Drury leading the way with 30 goals. A 6-game losing streak in March would drop the Sabres out of first place, but thanks to a 52-24-6 record their 110 points were among the best in the Eastern Conference as they finished just three points back of the Ottawa Senators for the division title and the overall best record in the East, helping to earn a Jack Adams Award for longtime Coach Lindy Ruff. In the playoffs the Sabres got off to a fast start winning the first two games against the Philadelphia Flyers. However, after dropping the next two in Philly they were faced with a must win game in Game 5 at HSBC Arena. Thanks to Ryan Miller who stopped all 24 shots, the Sabres regained control of the series with a 3-0 win as they went to eliminate the Flyers in six games behind a 7-1 explosion in the finale in Philly. The second round would bring a showdown with the Senators as Game 1 turned into a shoot out for the ages with each team trading goals back and forth for 60 minutes. The final two minutes of regulation was pure excitement as the Sabres tied the game 5-5 on a shorthanded goal by Derek Roy, with 97 seconds left in the game. The Senators would quickly retake the lead 24 seconds later as Bryan Smolinski scored on the power play, but the Sabres would tie the game again on a goal by Tim Connolly with 11 seconds left in regulation. Overtime would be over just as quickly as Chris Drury delivered the 7-6 game winner after just 18 seconds of extra time. Game 2 would see fewer goals but the same result as the Sabres skated home to Buffalo for Game 3 with a 2-0 lead after a 2-1 win, as Ryan Miller stopped 43 of 44 shots. As the series shifted to HSBC Arena overtime rose up again as the Sabres took a commanding 3-0 lead as J.P. Dumont netted the game winner in a 3-2 game. After a disappointing 2-1 loss in Game 4, the Sabres went back to Ottawa and eliminated the Senators with another 3-2 win in overtime as Jason Pominville scored the game winner shorthanded 2:26 into OT. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres were matched up against the Carolina Hurricanes, taking Game 1 again on the road 3-2. After losing Game 2 the series shifted to Buffalo, where the Sabres used a 3-goal outburst in the second period to win 4-3, and take back control of the series. After a disappointing 4-0 loss at home in Game 4, the Sabres found themselves on the brink thanks to a 4-3 overtime loss in Game 5. Back at HSBC Arena for Game 6 the Sabres turned the tables and won in overtime 2-1 on a power play goal by Daniel Briere. In Game 7 in Carolina the Sabres would take a 2-1 lead into the final period, but the home standing Hurricanes scored three times to win the game 4-2, and went on to finals, where they would win the Stanley Cup. 2006/07: Coming off their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres entered the season in new uniforms that though utilizing the old bellow and yellow color scheme were not warmly received by fans who nicknamed their new logo the "Buffaslug." However, when the Sabres started the season with ten straight wins, fans seemed to warm up to the new logo. After losing a shootout the Sabres remained hot winning five of their next six games as they got off to a 15-1-1 start. The Sabres would spend the entire season in first place as they posted their best season in franchise history winning the President's Trophy for the best overall record in the regular season at 53-22-7. In the playoffs the Sabres got off to a fast start beating the New York Islanders, as Brian Campbell scored twice, as they went on to eliminate the Islanders in five games. In the second round it was another Empire State showdown as the Sabres faced the New York Rangers. This time it would not be as easy as the series was even after four games, with the Rangers taking both games at MSG, after losing the first two in Buffalo. Things looked bleak in Game 5 back in Buffalo as the Rangers broke open a scoreless game with 3:29 left. However, with 7.7 seconds left Chris Drury sent the game to overtime finally beating Henrik Lundqvist on the Sabres 37th shot. In Overtime it would be Maxim Afinogenov who would play the role of hero scoring a power play goal to give the Sabres a dramatic 2-1 win. The Sabres would use the momentum from Game 5 to win the series in six as they scored four times in the second period as they held on for a 5-4 win. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Sabres got off to a bad start as they dropped Game 1 at home 5-2 to the Ottawa Senators. Things would not get much better in Game 2 as they lost an overtime heartbreaker 4-3, as they traveled to Ottawa in a 2-0 hole. The hole would get deeper as they managed just 15 shots on goal losing 1-0 in Game 3. The Sabres would avoid the sweep with a 3-2 win in Game 4, but their would be no comeback as the Senators won the series with another 3-2 overtime win in Buffalo in Game 5. Following the season the Sabres losses got worse as Co-Captains Daniel Briere signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, and Chris Drury signed with the Rangers. 2007/08: Losing two key players the Sabres entered the season knowing it would be hard to equal their performance of the previous two seasons. Through the first two months the Sabres played mediocre hockey as they posted an 11-11-1 record. In December the Sabres made a little run as they posted a six game winning streak. However heading into the New Year the Sabres dropped three games in a row, as they prepared to face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a special New Year's Day Game aired nationally on NBC. Billed "The Winter Classic" the game was played in Ralph Wilson Stadium home of the Buffalo Bills, and it was the first outdoor regular season game played in the United States. With snow lightly falling through out the game went to a shootout, where the Sabres lost again 2-1, with Sidney Crosby blasting the winner past Ryan Miller. The Sabres struggles would continue as they won just one of their next eight games. The Sabres would play better in February as they remained in playoff contention. However, a subpar March would leave the Sabres on the outside looking in as they finished the season with a record of 39-31-12. 2008/09: After missing the playoffs, the Sabres looked to rebound as they got off to a fast start winning their first four games, on the way to a 6-0-1 start. However, the strong beginning was a memory in November as the Sabres struggled, losing seven of eight games during a rough stretch. When the New Year began the Sabres were playing only mediocre hockey as they held a 17-15-6 record. However, a strong January gave them hope for reaching the playoffs. After a disappointing February the Sabres were active at the trade deadline signing Tim Connolly to an extension worth $4.2 million for two years. They also acquired Mikael Tellqvist from the Phoenix Coyotes for a fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft. Then Dominic Moore came from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft. Finally, they received a second-round pick in the 2009 draft from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for their shootout weapon Ales Kotalik. However, the deals were not able to work any magic as the Sabres lost six of seven games and slid out of the playoffs. The Sabres would win their final three games, but would fall two points short of the playoffs with a record of 41-32-9. 2009/10: After missing the playoffs two straight seasons, the Sabres came out of the gate flying, posting a record of 8-1-1 in their first ten games. Despite a four game losing streak in November the Sabres maintained their strong start into the New Year. The Sabres were able to demonstrate their ability to comeback as 2010 began, as they won consecutive games after trailing 3-0. Beating the Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers 4-3. However, January was a tough month for the Sabres as they lost four straight games. The struggles continued into February as they lost six in a row, posting a 3-6-5 record during a 14 game stretch. The Sabres were able to get a win before the Olympic break, beating the San Jose Sharks 3-1. During the Olympics in Vancouver, Sabres Goalie Ryan Miller shined as he helped lead Team USA to Silver Medal, losing just the Gold Medal game to Canada 3-2 on a goal by Sidney Crosby in overtime. After the break the Sabres began to show the type of play that enabled them to take control of the Northeast Division as they won seven of eight games. They would go on to win the division with a 45-27-10 record. Earning individual honors was Ryan Miller who captured the Vezina, while Defenseman Tyler Myers took home the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. In the playoffs the Sabres faced a divisional foe in the Boston Bruins. In the opener at HSBC Arena, Ryan Miller stopped 38 of 39 shots as the Sabres won 2-1. However, the Bruins bounced back to take the next two games as leading scorer Thomas Vanek was lost to an injury in Game 2. Needing a win in Boston for Game 4, the Sabres held an early 2-0 lead. However, the Bruins battled back to win in double overtime 3-2, as former Sabre Miroslav Satan netted the game winner to give the Bruins a 3-1 series lead. The Sabres would stay alive with a 4-1 win in Game 5. Vanek would return for Game 6, and would score a goal but it would not be enough as the Bruins eliminated the Sabres with a 4-3 win. 2010/11: It was something old, something new, and something blue as the season began for the Sabres, who returned to the classic logo and blue sweaters as they got new ownership. Early on the Sabres would struggle, as they started 3-9-2. However, in November they began to turn things around, winning four of their next five games. In December, Terrence Pegula one of the richest men in the world expressed interest in buying the Sabres, as they continued their climb out of the early season hole. While the club sale was finalized, the Sabres ran off an 8-3-1 record in January. In February they would say good bye to Captain Craig Rivet, who was waived and later claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In February, Pegula would take over ownership, buying the Sabres for a reported $189 million. He would be introduced to fans in Buffalo on February 23rd, pledging to keep the Sabres in Buffalo, and bring them a Stanley Cup, among those on hand where Sabres legends, including Rick Martin. It would be the final appearance for Martin who was a member of the famous French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert, as he passed away from heart disease just three weeks later. The Sabres would acquire Brad Boyes for a draft pick from the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline, as they finished the season strong, posting a record of 13-3-3 down the stretch to reach the playoffs with a record of 43-29-10. In the playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Sabres would get off to a great start, as Ryan Miller stopped all 35 shots, as the Sabres beat the Flyers 1-0 on a goal by Patrick Kaleta in the third period. Game 2 would be a completely different affair, as the Flyers evened the series with a 5-4 win. After losing 4-2 in Game 3, at home, the Sabres got another 1-0 win in Game 4, as Miller stopped 32 shots, with Jason Pominville scoring the game's lone goal in the first period. In Game 5 in Philadelphia, despite blowing a 3-0 lead, the Sabres would win 4-3 in overtime on a goal by Tyler Ennis. The Sabres would take an early 3-1 lead in Game 6, with a chance to win the series at home, however the Flyers would rally as the game went to overtime. In OT, the Flyers would win the game 5-4 on a goal by Ville Leino. The Flyers would go on to win the series with a 5-2 win in Game 7. 2011/12: Before the season started, the Sabres would name Jason Pominville as their new Captain. The Sabres would begin the season in Europe with two wins, as they beat the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki, Finland 4-1 and the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 in Berlin, Germany. Returning home, the Sabres would drop their home opener to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3, before winning their next three games on the road. The Sabres got off to a solid start and held a record of 10-5-0 as they faced the Boston Bruins on November 12th. The Sabres would lose the game 6-2, but even worse they lost Goalie Ryan Miller to a concussion when he was kneed in the head by Milan Lucic trying to cover the puck. Miller would miss the next nine games, as the Sabres went through a series of injuries, losing 225 man games to various injuries. Over the next 33 games the Sabres won just nine games and found themselves falling far behind in the playoff chase. Just before the All-Star Break, the Sabres began to turn things around as they scored a 2-1 shootout win over the New Jersey Devils on the road. The game singled a return to health for Ryan Miller who still had lingering concussion symptoms. The Sabres would start climbing the standings in February, as they posted a record of 7-3-3. As February became March the Sabres had one of the best stretches in franchise history as they would post a record of 14-1-3 as they got back into playoff position. However, back to back losses to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs at the end of March would doom their playoff hopes. The Sabres would miss the playoffs by just three points, with a record of 39-32-11. 2012/13: After a strong finish that nearly propelled them into the playoffs, the Sabres hoped to carry the momentum as they added Steve Ott in the off-season in a trade with the Dallas Stars for Derek Roy. However, any chance to get a boost was blunted as the NHL endured another long lockout that delayed the season three months. The truncated 48 game season would begin on January 20th with the Sabres upending the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 at the First Niagara Center. The Sabres would split their first six games, but found themselves going in the wrong direction at the beginning of February as they lost five out of seven games to start the month. After a 4-2 win over the Boston Bruins, the Sabres troubles continued as they dropped their next two games to slip to 6-10-1. This would lead to the dismissal of longtime Coach Lind Ruff, who was fired after 16 seasons behind the Buffalo Sabres bench. Ruff would be replaced by Ron Rolston, who lost his first two games before the Sabres earned a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road. The Sabres would not play much better in March as they found themselves mired in last place, while posting a 5-5-5 mark that erased any hope for the playoffs. As the trade deadline approached the Sabres would begin breaking down the team to rebuild for the future, as Jordan Leopold was sent to the St. Louis Blues for a pair of draft picks, while they picked up two other picks from the Los Angeles Kings for Robyn Regehr. They would than send Captain Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild for Matt Hackett, Johan Larsson and two draft picks. Despite appearing to waive the white flag and focus on the future, the Sabres showed some pride in April and won eight games. However, the Sabres could not escape last place in the Northeast Division as they finished with a record of 21-21-6. 2013/14: Even before the season began it was clear the Buffalo Sabres were in for a long year, as they looked to make a commitment to rebuilding. With stars Thomas Vanek and Ryan Miller both playing in the last year of their contracts it was clear the Sabres would shuffling players in and out of Buffalo all season. Vanek would be the first to go, as he was traded to the New York Islanders on October 27th for Matt Moulson and a pair of draft picks. The Sabres would be as bad as expected, as they posted a 4-15-1 record in the first 20 games. The bad start would lead to the dismissal of both General Manager Darcy Regier and Coach Ron Rolston on November 13th. The Sabres would hire Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine to be the team's new President of Hockey Operations, while Ted Nolan took over as coach. The Sabres would later name Tim Murray as their General Manager. The Sabres would win their first game in Nolan's return to the bench, beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1. However, wins remained hard to come by as they held a record of 11-25-4 at the start of the New Year. The Sabres would win just four games in January, and lost four straight games before the Olympic Break. When the season resumed trades would be the story for the Sabres, as Ryan Miller was traded along with Captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, William Carrier and a pair of draft picks. Halak would be traded himself a week later to the Washington Capitals for Michal Neuvirth and Rostislav Klesla. The Sabres also made deals with the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline sending Brayden McNabb and Jonathan Parker to LA for Nicolas Deslauriers, while they picked up Torrey Mitchell and two draft picks from the Wild for Cody McCormick and Matt Moulson. So shorthanded were the Sabres do to the trades they needed to dress Videographer Ryan Vinz as a backup goalie. The Sabres would win twice in their final 20 games, posting the second worst record in franchise history at 21-51-10, which would lead to the dismissal of Coach Ted Nolan. 2015/16: The Buffalo Sabres looked to make strides as they named Dan Bylsma who had won a Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins to replace Ted Nolan behind the bench. One key piece to the Sabres future was Jack Eichel who was chosen with the second overall pick after winning the Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in the NCAA at Boston University. Eichel had a fantastic season in his rookie year, posting 56 points as he led the Sabres with 24 goals. Another key piece for the Sabres is Ryan O'Reilly who was acquired with Jamie McGinn from the Colorado Avalanche for Nikita Zadorov, Mikhail Grigorenko, J. T. Compher and draft pick. In his first season in Buffalo, O'Reilly led the Sabres in scoring with 60 points. Despite two key players providing an instant boost, the Sabres still were a long way from making the playoffs as they finished seventh in the Atlantic Division with a record of 35-36-11. 

2016/2017: You already know what happened.

Now...we wait.  

#nhl sabres buffalo onebuffalo

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CANTLON'S CORNER: SCHOENFELD STEPS DOWN

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  With New York Rangers' President, Glen Sather announcing his departure near the end of the season, it comes as no big surprise the team declared that Senior Vice President and Assistant GM, Jim Schoenfeld, 66, has officially stepped down from his positions.  This move was seen as a fait accompli. Schoenfeld served 14 seasons as the General Manager of the Hartford Wolf Pack / CT Whale from 2003-04 until the 2016-17 season, He served as the Pack’s Head Coach for two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07) where he mentored his replacements, Ken Gernander, and JJ Daigneault, who were just starting out their pro coaching careers. During his tenure as General Manager in Connecticut's capital city, players such as Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, and Artem Anisimov all made their professional debuts in the AHL before they were called up by the Rangers. Ironically all four players are no longer with the franchise. Additionally, in Schoenfeld’s two seasons as Hartford’s Head Coach, he oversaw the progression of players such as Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, and Brandon Dubinsky before they joined the Rangers on a regular basis. In July of 2016, Schoenfeld received the Thomas Ebright Award in recognition of career contributions to the American Hockey League. In his playing days, Schoenfeld played just two AHL games where he had two assists with the old Cincinnati Swords. The big redhead was always a colorful character. It didn't matter whether he was mad at a referee or a player, he always sported a big smile, a laugh and a great sense of humor! He once threatened the mercurial and coach-killing, Evgeni Grachev in the locker room hallway with banishment to Charlotte, who back then the Wolf Pack’s ECHL affiliate, if he didn’t play better. It scared players and media alike. Schoenfeld baptized goalie Cam Talbot as the Pack playoff goalie in front of everybody with a big slap of his paw on his shoulder in front of the media. Another mercurial player, Jarkko Immonen, who was struggling mightily, a reporter told him his agent said he was depressed he wasn’t in New York. Schoenfeld shot back. “I’m depressed too. My best player is playing like (crap) at minus-16!” As tough as he could be, Schoenfeld also defended his players with the same fervor and loyalty. In a playoff game in Portland, Maine, referee, Francois St. Laurent, made two horrible calls. The first was overruling his linesman and nullifying an Artem Anisimov goal. The second was tagging Alex Bourret with a major and game misconduct with under five minutes to play in regulation with the Pack trailing by a goal. It would be a game they would go on to lose. Despite a 102 degree fever, Schoenfeld punched and dented a metal office door, walked past everybody and stood just outside the ref's room and let St. Laurent have it, but without entering the ref room. Schoenfeld's sense of humor was probably best on display after a comical situation when former Hartford morning radio jock, Jeanine Jersey, famously forgot the words to the National Anthem and blurted out for all to hear, “Oh, crap, I forgot the words,” before a big crowd with Schoenfeld, Sather, and lot of other Ranger brass in attendance. Following the game, Schoney, as he is known by those close to him, exited the coach's room and put his arms around the shoulder of the team's, then game night Operations Director, Danielle Levy, and said in a voice for all to hear, ‘Whatever happened to Teresa Rodriguez?” Schoenfeld was referencing the former anthem singer who was let go two weeks earlier. He also had a great running feud with former Lowell head coach, Tom Rowe, in his last coached playoff series in the 2004 lockout year. Rowe told this reporter, “Tell Schoeny they still have his chair warm at ESPN since he talks so much!” Schoeny had worked at The Worldwide Leader doing NHL games when they were broadcast by the network. The response can’t be printed here, but it was extremely funny. Schoenfeld was involved in the hockey business his entire adult life prior to being a coach and executive with the Rangers, Schoenfeld served as a Head Coach in the NHL for parts of ten seasons. He served as a Head Coach for 580 regular-season NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes, posting a 256-246-78 record (.509 points percentage), and he guided his team to a playoff berth in six of the ten seasons. In 1987-88, Schoenfeld was named the New Jersey Devils’ Head Coach with 30 games remaining in the regular season. He guided the Devils to a 7-0-1 record over their last eight games that season, including winning the final five games in a row, to help the team clinch its first playoff berth since moving to New Jersey. Schoenfeld proceeded to lead the Devils to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final during the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is most famously remembered for his confrontation with referee Don Koharski in a hallway after a controversial 1988 playoff series. He shouted, “have another doughnut you fat pig.” It was all caught on camera and played all over the US and Canada. It led to a referee boycott of the next game in the series with Boston. See it HERE. When the senior Koharski came to see his son Jamie do one of his first AHL games as a referee, he stopped by to see Schoenfeld prior to the game and brought with him - a box of donuts. Schoenfeld was born in Galt, Ontario, but grew up in Cambridge, Ontario. Schoenfeld played parts of thirteen NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins. The defenseman skated in 719 career NHL games, registering 51 goals, and 204 assists for 255 points, along with a plus-236 rating and 1,132 penalty minutes. He was a tough and fierce defenseman in his playing days. One of his more memorable battles was with the Bruins' Wayne Cashman. After a jarring Schoenfeld hit, the pair fell through the unsecured Zamboni door at the Boston Garden and they got up and starting tossing haymakers. See it HERE. Schoenfeld played in two NHL All-Star Games and was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 1979-80, as he led the NHL with a plus-60 rating during the season. Schoenfeld served as the Sabres’ captain for three seasons, and in his first season as the team’s captain in 1974-75, he helped Buffalo advance to the Stanley Cup Final where they lost to the Flyers. The Sabres featured the fabled French Connection line of Gilbert Perreault, Rene Robert, and the late Richard Martin. Teammates included ex-Nighthawk head coach, Rick Dudley, Danny Gare, Craig Ramsay and fellow defenseman Jerry “King Kong” Korab. Schoenfeld played his junior hockey with OHA (now OHL) with the London Knights, who drafted him in the third round, (25th overall), Hamilton Red Wings and Niagara Falls Flyers in 143 games 15 goals, 90 assists and 105 points and 555 PM. He was drafted as the first pick and 5th overall in the 1972 NHL Draft by Buffalo. Schoenfeld is a member of the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Cambridge (Ontario) Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Read the full article

#AlexBourret #AmericanHockeyLeague #ArtemAnisimov #BostonBruins #BrandonDubinsky #BuffaloSabres #CamTalbot #CraigRamsay #DanGirardi #DetroitRedWings #DonKoharski #EasternConference #ECHL #GerryCantlon #GlenSather #J.T.Miller #JimSchoenfeld #KenGernander #LondonKnights #MatsZuccarello #NationalHockeyLeague #NewJerseyDevils #NHL #PhiladelphiaFlyers #PhoenixCoyote #PhoenixCoyotes #RyanCallahan #RyanMcDonagh #StanleyCupplayoffs #Vicepresident

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RANGERS: JIM SCHOENFELD STEPS DOWN

BY: The New York Rangers NEW YORK, May 16, 2019 – Rangers Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager Jim Schoenfeld stepped down from his position today. “In nearly two decades with the Rangers, Jim made an impact on every level of the organization,” Rangers President Glen Sather said. “His tireless efforts and contributions were vital to the extended run of success we experienced during his tenure in New York.” Schoenfeld was a member of the Rangers organization for 17 seasons (2002-03 – 2018-19), dating back to when he was named an Assistant Coach with the Blueshirts on June 12, 2002. During his tenure in the Rangers organization, he served in several capacities, including as an Assistant Coach with the Rangers, the Rangers’ Assistant General Manager, the General Manager of the Rangers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate (either the Hartford Wolf Pack or the Connecticut Whale), and the Wolf Pack’s Head Coach. He served eight seasons as the Rangers’ Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel prior to being promoted to Senior Vice President and Assistant General Manager on July 1, 2015. Schoenfeld served 14 seasons as the General Manager of the Wolf Pack/Whale (2003-04 – 2016-17), and he served as the team’s Head Coach for two seasons (2005-06 and 2006-07). He played a vital role in developing the organization’s pool of prospects, as several Rangers developed under his guidance in the AHL before becoming key contributors in New York. During his tenure as the Wolf Pack/Whale General Manager, players such as Ryan McDonagh, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller, and Artem Anisimov made their professional debuts in the AHL before being called up by the Rangers. In addition, in Schoenfeld’s two seasons as Hartford’s Head Coach, he oversaw the progression of players such as Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, and Brandon Dubinsky before they joined the Rangers on a regular basis. Through his work at the AHL level, while simultaneously serving as the Rangers’ Assistant General Manager, Schoenfeld helped the Blueshirts achieve a sustained level of success. Over a 12-season span from 2005-06 – 2016-17, the Rangers were one of four NHL teams that reached the playoffs 11 times and were the only NHL team that was not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs prior to the start of a regular season game during the stretch. New York played in more playoff games than any NHL team over a six-year stretch from 2011-12 – 2016-17 (93) and was the only NHL team that won at least one playoff series in five of those six seasons. During this stretch, the Rangers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2013-14, won the Presidents’ Trophy for having the best regular season record in the NHL in 2014-15, were Division Champions twice (Atlantic Division Champions in 2011-12 and Metropolitan Division Champions in 2014-15), and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final three times (2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15). In 2014-15, the Rangers and Wolf Pack were the only NHL and AHL teams from the same organization to reach the Conference Finals in their respective league, marking the first time in franchise history that the Rangers and their AHL affiliate reached the Eastern Conference Final in the same season. In July of 2016, Schoenfeld received the Thomas Ebright Award in recognition of career contributions to the American Hockey League. Prior to beginning his tenure as a coach and executive with the Rangers, Schoenfeld served as a Head Coach in the NHL for parts of 10 seasons. He served as a Head Coach for 580 regular season NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Phoenix Coyotes, posting a 256-246-78 record (.509 points percentage), and he guided his team to a playoff berth in six of the 10 seasons. In 1987-88, Schoenfeld was named the Devils’ Head Coach with 30 games remaining in the regular season. He guided the Devils to a 7-0-1 record over their last eight games of the season, including a five-game winning streak over the final five games, to help the team clinch its first playoff berth since moving to New Jersey. Schoenfeld proceeded to lead the Devils to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final during the 1988 Stanley Cup Playoffs. A native of Galt, Ontario, Schoenfeld played parts of 13 NHL seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins. The defenseman skated in 719 career NHL games, registering 51 goals and 204 assists for 255 points, along with a plus-236 rating and 1,132 penalty minutes. Schoenfeld played in two NHL All-Star Games and was named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 1979-80, as he led the NHL with a plus-60 rating during the season. Schoenfeld served as the Sabres’ captain for three seasons, and in his first season as the team’s captain in 1974-75, he helped Buffalo advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Schoenfeld is a member of the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. In addition, Schoenfeld was inducted into the Cambridge Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Read the full article

#All-StarGame #AmericanHockeyLeague #ArtemAnisimov #BostonBruins #BrandonDubinsky #BuffaloSabres #ConnecticutWhale #DanGirardi #DetroitRedWings #GlenSather #HanserAlberto #HartfordWolfPack #Howlings #J.T.Miller #JimSchoenfeld #MatsZuccarello #NewJerseyDevils #NewYorkRangers #NHL #PhoenixCoyotes #RyanCallahan #RyanMcDonagh #StanleyCupplayoffs #WashingtonCapitals

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CANTLON: PACK LAST FULL HOME WEEKEND OF PLAY

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack have a pair of weekend games in which they seek to snap a five-game losing streak against the Utica Comets Saturday night and the Binghamton Devils Sunday afternoon. The task got a bit harder on Thursday when defenseman Ryan Lindgren was recalled for a second time likely to play in either one or both of the Rangers last two regular season games against Columbus and Pittsburgh. You can just call them the Hartford Junior Wolf Pack for the final two weekends of play. In addition to Lindgren’s recall, the Rangers announced the signing of two more collegians and recent junior hockey signing to ATO deals and sent two players back to Maine. Pack added collegiate forward in Harvard’s Lewis Zerter-Gossage. A Montreal area native, Gossage completed his four-years at Harvard after playing two years of prep hockey at Kent School. Current New York Rangers head coach David Quinn and player Boo Nieve also attended the western Connecticut private school. Hartford signed a local Springfield college product, Shawn McBride, the captain of American International College (AIC) from the AHA conference. He will likely play this weekend as will Gossage. AIC knocked off St. Cloud State in their first-ever NCAA Division 1 tourney game in one of the biggest upsets in college hockey history. He is the second McBride to play for the Wolf Pack in team history. Brock McBride played eight games in the 2008-09 season but is no relation. He is presently an assistant coach with the Cornwall Colts (CCHL) one of the 10 Junior A leagues in Canada. The junior player is Jake Elmer of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (WHL). He was signed last month and arrives here after Lethbridge dropped a seven-game first round series to the Calgary Hitmen, four games to three. They lost Game 7, 4-2. Elmer had a goal and six points in that first-round matchup. Through 68 regular-season games, Elmer was third in team scoring with 81 points with a team-leading 39 goals. The Hurricanes finished second in the WHL Central Division with a record of 40-18-5-5 and second highest offensive output in the WHL with 268 goals. One of his junior teammates, Jake Lechyshyn, a Las Vegas draftee, is the son of former Hartford Whaler, Curt Lechyshyn, who tallied ten points in the series tops in the WHL. One of his opponents for Calgary the son of Ed Kastelic, another Whaler, in Mark Kastelic. Two players were returned to the Maine Mariners. Ty Ronning had four goals and five points in 23 games, and Terrence Wallin, who was returned for the third time this season, has just one assist in 23 games. The Wolf Pack have an influx of junior and college players. One of them has a Connecticut address, Ryan Dmowski. The East Lyme born forward, a veteran of four games, Dmowski played at UMASS–Lowell, but his hockey GPS has landed in various parts of New England. Dmowski played against UCONN at the XL Center back on November 16th tallying two goals in a 5-2 win over the Huskies. Dmowski garnered the game’s First Star and was on the ice for the opening shift. “I had about 40 friends and family in the stands that night. It was a good game and I liked playing here when I was with UMASS (Lowell). I loved the atmosphere, and so far, the crowd has been awesome to me and I am very happy to be here.” Finding his way to Hartford was something special. “It’s been amazing; a dream come true to go pro, and even more special being here in Hartford. (I'm) just thrilled to get the opportunity. To be honest, I never thought I would be back here to start my career in Connecticut. (It's) kinda crazy how it works.” He talked with Providence and a few other AHL teams, but the best opportunity came from the Rangers. His hockey road map started in Rhode Island at age seven. After school, his grandfather would take him to North Smithfield, Rhode Island. It's an hour away each time to begin his first skate lengths of hockey. “I would get out of school, and my grandfather picked me up or my dad (Dave). All the dedication we both put in was incredible, and all worth it so far,” Dmowski said with a smile. When he finished Bantam-level play, he headed in the opposite direction and played for the Springfield Junior Falcons program when after his freshmen high school year, he put a new address in the GPS for Gunnery prep school in Washington, CT closer to New York state than Connecticut. “To be honest, I had no idea there was a Washington, Connecticut until I went there,” Dmowski said with a laugh, who had a fellow Highlander (Gunnery’s nickname) Terrence Wallin, older by three years, just sent back to Maine on the Wolf Pack roster, “(It's) kinda weird we took about the same hockey path and wound up here.” He went to a few P-Bruins and Wolf Pack games as a kid, but he spent more time honing his craft and schoolwork. His adjustment to the Wolf Pack has been a stretch playing with a new line almost every game. “It's been a bit stressful, but part of being a pro, and I’ve been doing a pretty good job getting to know everybody and a new line this week too.” Pack head coach, Keith McCambridge had Dmowski with Bobby Butler, the vet, and newcomer Shawn McBride. Butler, Dmowski, and McBridge…sounds like a law firm. “It’s so different here. The speed is so much different just getting used to that now. I’m just trying to get the puck in and not rushing myself and taking my time and learning to keep my feet moving and developing that confidence I’m gonna be good to go.” McCambridge likes what he's seen so far. “He carries himself well. He is a big body, has played well with the puck, and he's handled several different situations well.” It's audition time for the 2019-20 Wolf Pack roster for Dmowksi and his GPS will be putting in another address for the summer. ‘My girlfriend is going to graduate school at Sacred Heart University (Bridgeport) so we're looking for a place between Hartford and Bridgeport now.” The pro hockey map Dmowski has just begun. NOTES: A story has been was broken by the Rangers long-time beat writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post on Thursday that Glen Sather’s stepping down as Rangers President. Sather's retirement makes an already complicated offseason going to be a palace of intrigue as to where the deck chairs will fall. With Sather’s departure, expect Jim Schoenfeld, who held the post as Hartford GM for 10 years and was a head coach for one and who has been Sather’s right-hand man, will likely also get a golden parachute by either retirement or might find another new gig. The question now is who will be promoted or hired to take the upper echelon reigns? Jeff Gorton, Sather's hand-picked successor, is the present GM. Will he make the move upstairs or add this role to his portfolio? Chris Drury, the present assistant GM, and Hartford GM, could he be promoted? Will there be an overhaul of the entire Rangers scouting staff, professional North America, Europe, and amateur by a new team President? How will the Wolf Pack be affected? They're on the verge of a potential sub-par, below .500 season. What will happen with its coaching staff? How will a future team President feel about Hartford and the unresolved XL Center business? The Rangers also have serious player-personnel decisions to make in New York and Hartford in relation to next year’s cap space and with a looming potential labor stoppage in two years, and yes, the expansion draft in three years when Seattle enters the NHL family. Many questions to be answered over the next three and half months in preparation for the NHL Draft in Vancouver on the organization direction under a new regime. Read more HERE NEWS & NOTES This next story is without a doubt the best hockey story of the year. Former AHL player and now Pro Scout for the Arizona Coyotes, Craig Cunningham, who nearly died two years before an AHL game in Tucson, and by the true Grace of God is still among us, released a video showing him skating with his prosthetic leg at the San Diego Gulls practice facility. It was simply amazing, spectacular great news for a young man who suffered so much and has triumphed in the most outstanding way. Hope he gets some shifts in a game in a league where there isn’t as much hitting or contact-like in the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH) or in Australia (AIHL) and New Zealand (NZIHL) to end his career as a player, not as a heart attack victim. Read more HERE Despite having the same last name, the reporter in that story is of no relation. With the arrival of McBride, and Zerter-Gossage, plus Quinnipiac’s Brandon Fortunato signing with Nashville (NHL), the number of Division I players that have signed is up to 150 and that the total number of college players that have signed over the past month is 168. The first college coach signing as Chris Bergeron after nine season leaves the Bowling Green Falcons (WCHA) to take the reigns of his alma mater Miami (OH) RedHawks (NCHC). Bergeron, graduated in 1993 when the school won its first conference title (CCHA at that time) and made their first NCAA tournament appearance. The NCAA announced the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award that will be given out in Buffalo next weekend at the site of the NCAA’s Frozen Four. It's a hat trick of finalists for the Hobey Baker Award. All three finalists are defensemen. Senior Jordan Schuldt, St. Cloud State Huskies (NCHC) who just signed an NHL free agent deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. The second is junior Adam Fox of Harvard who is a Carolina Hurricanes draft pick who is weighing whether to sign or wait another year and go the free agent route. Then there's UMASS-Amherst Minutemen sophomore Cale Makar, a Colorado Avalanche draft pick who is likely to go pro after next weekend. A unique college commit right from a CT prep school in Cooper Moore (Cos Cob) Brunswick School (Greenwich) with North Dakota (NCHC). Overseas we see former Whaler great Sami Kapanen retains his franchise owner and Chairman of the Board title with KalPa Kuopio (Finland-FEL) but relinquished his head coaching duties to take the job as head coach with HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA) in the fall. His son Kasperi skated with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ex-Sound Tiger goalie, C.J. Motte, who has played most of the season with Allen (ECHL) and some games with Iowa signs with HC Innsbruck (Austria-EBEL) for next season. Philippe Hudon, who played prep school hockey at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) after finishing his Canadian collegiate career with the Concordia Stingers (Montreal) (OUAA0 played 14 games with seven points for Florida (ECHL) was loaned to Laval (AHL). Read the full article

#AHL #AmericanInternationalCollege #ArizonaCoyotes #AsiaLeagueIceHockey #BinghamtonDevils #BobbyButler #BowlingGreen #BowlingGreenFalcons #Bridgeport #CalgaryHitmen #CarolinaHurricanes #CHL #ChrisDrury #ColoradoAvalanche #CraigCunningham #DavidQuinn #ECHL #GerryCantlon #GlenSather #HartfordWhaler #HartfordWolfPack #HCLugano #HobeyBaker #Howlings #JeffGorton #JimSchoenfeld #KeithMcCambridge #LarryBrooks #LethbridgeHurricanes #MadisonSquareGardenCompany