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So I’m absolutely sure that, by now, you’ve all heard about the trials and tribulations of the Sabres in net, which are absolutely atrocious at the moment.
Here’s our depth chart for netminders:
Ryan Miller (ankle sprain)Patrick Lalime (flu)Adam Dennis (hip, surgery)
Jhonas EnrothJohn DeCaro (broken collarbone)
Oh, and there are two others (Bradley Eidsness, who is playing for the University of North Dakota, and Nick Eno, who plays for Bowling Green), but since neither of the two have pro contracts, I don’t know what it would take to get the co-eds up here (Eno just turned 20, by the way, and Eidsness is only 19).
But that provides us with quite the quandary of who might end up in net this evening, if Lalime cannot play, and if (God, please, no) should Enroth go down.
There are three situations that would happen to the Sabres tonight if I were Lindy Ruff:
(1) Lalime is miraculously better, and suits up, 100%, and Enroth backs him up. (Best possible scenario.)
(2) Since Lalime is good enough to play, but not 100%, start Enroth, but have Lalime assume his usual position on the bench as team cheerleader.
(3) If Lalime is a no-go, put Enroth in net.
Who would play second-string in Number 3, you ask?? No one.
That’s right; I said no one.
Think about this for a minute: Each team is allowed to dress 20 players, goalies included, right? Well, what if we only dressed one goalie? Then we could dress 19 skaters.
I specifically remember asking questions about this scenario to my parents many, many times when I was younger. In fact, I can hear myself up in Section 325, looking down at Dominik Hasek in net, Martin Biron on the bench, turning to my father and asking, “What happens if Dom and Marty get hurt in the same game?”
His answer? “One of the other guys would have to play goalie.”
So that’s why I say that. Hey, for all we know, Enroth could steal the show. I honestly think that could be the most interesting thing to happen in a hockey game in a while. I mean, who plays with only one goalie?
Because I don’t necessarily trust any of our defensemen to play goal all that well, so why waste them as a benchwarmer?
Seriously, would you want Lydman, Tallinder, Paetsch, or anyone, for that matter, between the pipes with the way they’ve been playing lately? I sure as Hell wouldn’t.
But if it came down to it, I say put the biggest body in the net, if necessary. None of these guys really have experience playing goal, let alone against Eric Staal and the Hurricanes. (Is Mike Ryan still with them? I’m too lazy to look right now…) So put the guy with the most meat in there and more net is covered.
My, my, my, this could become quite comical. I think I’m kind of glad I won’t be home to see anything until the third period…
That was pitiful, I asked my mom if I could gnaw off my arm and use the bloody stump to beat myself over the head with, she said no because all the blood might scare the kids who were sitting behind us. Needless to say I was very disappointed with the way the Sabres played tonight, we should have had this game and should have come in with guns blazing. But instead of machine guns and bazookas we were forced to play with water guns or hell those cap guns my brother and I used to play with as kids.
I’m not sure what went wrong because mistakes seemed to come from everywhere, but Patrick Lalime, where have you been all my life. Honestly if it wasn’t for him standing on his head for two periods the score would have been at least 5 to 0. Miller was mad that he got pulled, you want to know how I could tell? Maybe the fact that coming in from the first intermission when he saw Lalime in net he took his goalie stick and chucked it down the walkway from the locker room.
I wanted to tell Sekera that he’s playing hockey not leap frog with the way he did that tuck and roll over Miller’s head in the first period. Well he can look at it this way, if hockey doesn’t work out he always has a future as an acrobat in the circus.
I wanted the Sabres to get angry but they sure as hell weren’t playing like they were, I wanted to punch someone and I wasn’t even one of the players on the ice getting my ass handed to me by a team we should have beaten blind folded and with our collective hands tied behind our backs. We were all over the place, passing was bad because the players refused to watch where they were shooting, for some reason they couldn’t seem to keep the puck (when they managed to have possession) on their sticks, they kept hitting the ‘Canes defense in the shins with the puck which caused a bunch of unfortunate bouncings allowing the ‘Canes offense to regain possession.
One funny part of the game was when Justin Williams from the Hurricanes got hit and stuggled to make it to the bench with what looked like an arm injury. At the same time he was trying to make it to the bench the rest of his teammates on the same line where changing and other player were coming out the door that he was tryin to get through. I sit in the 300 level directly across from the opposing player’s bench so that I can look down the hallway that leads to the locker room. Williams’ teammates were blocking his way into the bench so that the ‘Canes risked a too many men call, Williams yelled at one of these offending teammates “GET THE FUCK OFF THE ICE” which I and I’m sure just about everyone else in the arean could heard loud and clear. After Williams made it onto the bench he took his stick when he was in the hallway and swung it against the floor effectively breaking it in half, yeah he’s got some anger issues.
Anyway Happy 30th Birthday Adam Mair, MJ I hope you’re baking your future ex-hubby some tofu brownies because after the way the Sabres played tonight, that’s about all he and the rest of the team deserve.
ETA: Forgot to mention the guy behind me in the concession stand line was saying that if he were Lindy Ruff he would be throwing and breaking things in the locker room. I turned around and told him that Lindy likes to throw the dry erase markers across the room. He asked me if I was serious and I said yeah because in last years ‘What would you get Lindy Ruff for Christmas?’ video Tony Lydman said he’d get Ruff some more dry erase markers because Ruff likes to cap and recap them repeatedly when he’s talking (usually breaking the caps while doing so) and when he’s really angry he throws the markers against the walls. I wish I could find that video somewhere but they never posted it on the Sabres website, it was hysterical some of the answers that the guys gave.
A. Blue Jackets at Sabres
Soooo excited about this game. Probably, mostly, because Staffy and Patty K will be back in the lineup, I think, at least. They should be, anyways. Timmykins can sit this one out; we’ll need him more tomorrow. Max will probably sit, as well, because Lindy was no more happy with him than I was with Derek yesterday morning.
And I’m thinking Patty L will get the nod tonight??? That’s just my guess, because I’d rather have Miller in against Pitt.
Needless to say, since I’m going to be at the becking call of the elderly this evening, they’ll be in bed by 7 pm, except for the ones who know anything; they can stay up later and wait for intermission. I’m so nice. They love me though. Especially Mrs. Miller. I really wish she were related…
Oh, and did anyone else see that, since Columbus became a team, we’ve played them 8 times, and have only won twice?! That’s a bit upsetting, since Columbus is probably the next stop on mine and Kim’s Sabres Roadtripping Excursions. Although, that’s going to be next year, so we can bring a whole bunch more people with us, along with Boston, Round Two (btw, the invitation to join us on that one is still open, and always will be).
B. Catwalk For Charity III
Okay, some background information is needed before I address B. But anyways, my friend Michelle, who is six years my senior, but grew up next door to me, so basically she’s the closest thing I have to an older sister, is getting married in June. She and her fiance moved to Phoenix last summer, and last time my girl was up to Buffalo for a visit, we grabbed our usual lunch at Duff’s. She mentioned the date for her bachelorette party. Problem is, as you know, I’m not quite 20 yet, so a party with a minimum age of 21 wouldn’t quite work for me. So, in a couple weeks, when I head up to Toronto for a friend’s birthday party, you might have an idea of what I might be picking up while I’m there.
That being said, the date for THE THIRD CATWALK FOR CHARITY HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED!!!!!!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
MARK IT DOWN, LADIES. (Thank you, Jill!)
Because you know that if I can find someone willing to go and fork over the money (coughcoughNOTkim), you know I’m there. I think it’d be fun to make a blogess-es night out of it, don’t you???
Because we all know that I want to see this:
And you want to see this:
But, who’s that bald guy in the middle?? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him before…
C. Voting
Um…. HELLLLLLOOOOOO??!!
What the HELL is going on with this voting process? I honestly believe that it’s stacked.
THE GAME IN IN MONTREAL.
IT’S MONTREAL’S 100TH ANNIVERSARY.
THE CANADIENS HAVE 6 PLAYERS ON THE BALLOT (AKA, THAT’S ENOUGH TO FILL A STARTING LINEUP).
AND, AT THE MOMENT, THIS IS HOW WE STAND:
COUGHBULLSHITCOUGH
It’s a conspiracy. Really.
The Sabres, you ask? Where are they currently? Well… Derek and Tommy aren’t on the visible horizon, and I can barely see Tepp in the distance; he’s currently in 9th place with 12,119 votes. Ryan is faring slightly better; he’s in 5th with 13,708.
GO VOTE. NOW. TEPPO FOR PRESIDENT. RYAN FOR VP. DEREK AND TOMMY FOR THE CABINET. Yeah, I know… Whatever.
Alright. I’m done. I’m working all night (literally, all night), so I won’t be posting until tomorrow afternoon, or maybe right before the game, continuing throughout. I haven’t decided. We’ll see how long I stay in bed, since I won’t be getting home until 7:30 tomorrow morning. Yuck. Why do I do this to myself? Oh, yeah… So I can afford more Sabres tickets. It’s a win/lose situation, but I’ll take it.
Enjoy the game, and your Friday night, kiddos. Don’t do anything I would do, and Go Sabres!!
So let me just say that I have never been more proud of the Sabres then I am at this moment, if I was a mother hen, I’m pretty sure my chest feathers would be all puffed out in pride. The Sabres were absolutely amazing they skated so fast that first period I think I was getting whiplash just from watching them. I could have sworn that the entire Devils team was standing still for 30 of those 60 minutes. Twenty shots and they had to wait until the dying seconds to get a goal in the first period but hey it was still a goal who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth?
And of course tonight was the return of Craig Rivet to the line up, completely ahead of schedule which surprised everyone including me, but once again, gift horse and mouth equals me not looking.
Did anyone else giggle every time the announcers said Johnny Oduya, because I did, it’s just so hard to take him seriously with that last name. Maybe it was just me I have a twisted sense of humor.
I was very disappointed to find out when I got home that the game was on Versus because we all know that the announcers on that channel are a bunch of morons, a bunch of very dumb, very stupid morons who don’t have a clue as to what the hell they’re talking about. However, watching a game on Versus is entertaining if nothing else. Seriously, I only listen to them to see what kind of stupid ass analogies they can come up with during the games. We all know the usual ones such as:
- The cage is actually the net, luckily they only said it a handful of times which is down from the usual hundred.
- The paint is the crease.
- A drive is a shot.
Tonight the morons came up with some spectacularly bad sayings that completely bear repeating.
When Gaustad got into that small scuffle near the beginning of the game they called him “a large human” well no duh.
When Vanek got the call for hooking one of the announcers claimed that it was “fondling with the stick” which can be taken in so many ways most of them nasty.
When Gaustad was screening Weekes they said “try looking through that humanity.”
Buffalo had 20 shots against the Devils in the first period and “It’s been a mastadonic performance” were the words of choice to describe this phenomenon.
“He was gased” when one of the Devils players looked tired.
“He got that one off the drive by” as in Kaleta when he tipped the puck into the net for the goal from 20 feet out.
“He almost got that one in the grill” when they were describing why most guys don’t like to be positioned in front of the net.
And they kept talking about yardage, uh, hello, we’re not playing football here.
Those are about all that I caught, but seriously where do they get these guys? I’m sure if you handed Cari and I a microphone we could do a much better job. Hell, I’m sure a trained monkey could do a better job, maybe even an untrained monkey.
Timmy Connolly was skating to the net without a helmet on and I thought “this is it the next thing I’m going to see is him being taken off the ice on a stretcher because all the bones in his body are now broken.”
We took 6 penalties in a row, are you kidding me? But then again we managed to kill all of them off, yay for special teams, you all deserve big cookies.
Plus how cool was it that Miller got two consecutive shutouts the first of his career and the first time that has happened in Buffalo since Marty had 3 in a row in the 02-03 season.
Goals tonight went to Pominville (which now has another resident) who got his 4th and Patty K. who got his 1st.
My Three Stars:
3. Pominville for obvious reasons.
2. Kaleta because not only can the guy draw penalties but he can score as well, on the drive by of course.
1. And tah-dah, Miller as my first star because the man is just a beast and let’s face it without him we’d probably be behind the Islanders in the standings.
We’ll that’s about it, next time you hear from me will probably be when I’m in Boston but if not talk to you all on the flip side.
Oh and did anyone happen to see the cute little happy dance that Lalime did while congratulating Miller out on the ice after the win? Adorable, enough said.
Length of Game: 60 minutes
Goals Scored Against The Devils: 2
Goals Scored Against The Sabres: 0
Watching Patrick Lalime Dance Like A Little Girl: Priceless
This is by no means in defense of Derek’s performance thus far in the season. I’m very upset with him in that regard.
I DO NOT, HOWEVER BADLY HE MAY HAVE PLAYED IN THE PAST FIVE GAMES, CONDONE SHOVING HIM UNDER A BENCH!!! That’s absolutely disgusting! Alex Burrows, you are on my shit list. And as I said to Kim when I realized who was being shoved under then bench, if I see you on the streets, sir, YOU ARE DONE. Yes, that is a threat, and no, I’m not afraid of you.
Do you, Mr. Burrows, realize how dirty the floor of the bench can be? As much as I love them, hockey players are just like any other guy–gross. You all spit on the bench, bleed on the bench, sweat on the bench… Need I say more? Would you like your face shoved in that? I didn’t think so. So what makes you think you can shove Derek’s face into the floor? Oh, that’s right. You’re just jealous that he’s got an impeccable fashion sense, he’s damn good-looking, and oh, yeah, he plays for the Sabres, who are 4-0-1, comparable to your Canucks, who are 3-3-0. It’s easy to see why you don’t like Derek because through 82 games last year, he had 81 points, but you only had 32. Or is it because he makes $4 million a year, and you only make $483,000? Well, whatever it is, I still hate you.
Derek didn’t deserve this from you. A hit, sure. Sending him flying over the boards, okay I can live with that (1, it’s pretty funny when that happens, and 2, he’s small, so it’s plausible). But Alex, pick on someone your own size. Derek’s 5’9″ is hardly in the same category as your 6’1″. Why don’t you try shoving Pat Kaleta under a bench? That might work out better for you. And when I say for you, I mean for me. So work on that next time we play, okay? Great.
MOVING ALONG.
As you’re all aware, the Sabres have posted the 10 Stupid Questions on the website (well, 8 of them, at least). And as I’ve already touched on the Mary Ann and Ginger situation (I heart Pat!!).
Cabana on the beach? Or, a cabin in the mountains?
Cabana on the beach. Derek, Adam, Pat, and Pat, I love you guys. I’ll sit in a cabana on the beach with you whenever you’d like, especially if it involves a trip to Cabo! And Ryan, I like that you chose a cabin in the mountains. That’s pretty fun too, although I like the beach more than the woods.
Chocolate? Or, vanilla ice cream?
Chocolate ice cream. Ryan, again, good choice. But I’m surprised you didn’t do a write in for Berrier Breakaway. But that’s damn good ice cream too, while I’m on the subject. And Patty L, you’re so cute. You picked vanilla, which I’m not crazy about, but then you justified it by saying, “You can put a lot of stuff on vanilla ice cream. You can put chocolate on vanilla!”
Motorboat? Or, sailboat?
It depends… I’ve never been on a sailboat, but I’ve always wanted to go sailing. So I guess by default I have to say motorboat, and go along with Derek, Patty K, and Adam. I guess Derek can take me out on Love Potion #9 sometime.
Poker? Or, blackjack?
Blackjack. I can’t play poker; I’ve tried. I can never remember anything. And I’m not necessarily good at blackjack, but it’s easy. Patty K likes it because it’s easier for him to count. Ryan doesn’t like blackjack because he’s bad at it, but he’s bad at poker too, but not as bad. And Patty L picked poker..
Porsche? Or, Mercedes Benz?
Porsche. I don’t dislike Benzes, and this was tough for me because of all the wonderful German engineering. Porsches are just sick though. Give me one of those and I’ll be a very, very, very happy girl (coughcough, a black Cayenne). Although, I’d probably take Derek’s Mercedes G55, the Kommander edition, even though it reminds me of a safari wagon. Derek was the only one who said Benz, I believe…
Mary Ann? Or, Ginger?
Ginger. In a completely heterosexual way, I have to pick Ginger, just because she’s got red hair. I explained this unwritten redhead code. Patty K was the only one on my side.
Night out? Or, home with friends?
I have to agree with Patty K, here–it depends on the day, and it depends who I’m with. Ryan and Derek like to go out; Patty L likes to chill at home with friends, crack open a bottle of wine, and play some cards; and for Adam, it depends on how the team did the night before. Good answer, Adam.
Athletic? Or, voluptuous?
Athletic, obviously. Most guys aren’t voluptuous, anyways. But all of the guys asked (Derek, Patty K, and Adam) said athletic. Pat offered his opinion and added that he likes “a girl that can wear a baseball cap and go out and throw a football around.” But he added that she has to be good-looking. Patty K doesn’t want a butch girl. (So he wants an athletic, pretty redhead? HI!!!!) Actually, Adam didn’t answer. He was laughing too much.
LOOK!! EVEN MORE THINGS I HAVE IN COMMON WITH DEREK ROY!! Although, Pat Kaleta seems to be making a case for himself…
Anyways, we take on the Bruins tonight, before a short Western Conference rendezvous with the Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche. I’m going to miss the first period, so when I turn the game on at about 8 o’clock, I’d better not be disappointed with what I see. Derek, that means you have to score in the first period, and Tommy, you’d better make sure that we’re not losing at that point.
Okay, so I got a little bit caught up in shopping, being girly, eating at Chef’s, watching lots of hockey, and also Slap Shot, so I haven’t posted in the past 48 hours like I said that I would. So here goes a small recap of this weekend’s activities and findings:
Vancouver @ Buffalo, Friday 10.17.08
First off, Kim and I had spectacular seats! (We were in the 19th row, dead center behind the net where we shot twice.) I’m proud to say that I took her to her first Sabres game in the HSBC Arena outside of the 300 level. Awwww.
The game was fantastic. Kotalik’s 2 goals, power play keeping it hot, penalty kill still perfect, Kaleta causing a raucous, Vanek sort of tackling Kotalik, and Derek Roy’s playlist… What more could I ask for? Not much. And God forbid I forget to mention that I got to see two of my Western Conference Loves, Taylor “Bedroom Eyes” Pyatt (thanks, Grandma!) and Steve “Big Bear” Bernier. Love! And Steve got a goal… Not sure how I feel about that, but I guess it’s okay since his goal was pretty much nebulous.
Buffalo @ Atlanta, Saturday 10.18.08
Definitely not overly pleased with this game. Roy’s performance was far from perfect, yet again, and the effort from the entire team for an entire 60 minutes wasn’t there. Something new and different! But really, though, we’re lucky to have come away from that with a point in hand. Lalime was awesome; I can’t fault him at all. And yet again, our special teams were outstanding! Vanek, too, was fabulous, continuing his hot ways; he’s now on pace for 114.8 goals, and 147.6 points for the season. Roy? Not nearly as good; 0 goals and 32.8 points. Kind of lack-luster numbers for the defending scoring champion…
Does anybody else think it’s a bit coincidental that our streak came to a screeching halt against the Thrashers last night, when our 10-game winning streak was ended by the same team in 2006-07?? Anybody? Because I do.
And I have to say that I paid extra special attention to the crowd in Atlanta, because I have family there. Two of my favorite cousins live there with their husbands and children, as do my aunt and uncle. Funny thing is, though, my cousin Jen’s husband is from Connecticut, but he’s a huge Sabres fan. One day, two years ago, he surprised my uncle with a Sabres jersey and tickets to one of their games there. So I was hoping that I’d see them in their Sabres jerseys, but since Jen was supposed to have a baby last week (I don’t know if she had the baby, yet… I should get on that.), I didn’t totally expect them to be there.
10 Questions
I have to say, I LOVE PATRICK KALETA MORE THAN DEREK ROY… For a moment, at least. When posed the question “Mary Ann or Ginger?”, Pat chose the redhead! Now I’m forever endeared to him. Everyone else (Derek, Miller, Lalime, and Mair) chose Mary Ann. I don’t have anything against Mary Ann, or blondes in general, for that matter, but when a really cute hockey player says he likes redheads, I love him. Pretty much the same thing as when I started liking Brian Campbell because he had curly red hair. Redheads are not that common, so we have to band together when we get the opportunity. =]
Anyone know when that’s supposed/going to be posted online? Because I’m dying to see it.
hockeysockpuppettheatre, by Charlie Teljeur
Speaking of Brian Campbell, he was the focus of this cute little comic strip, run regularly in The Hockey News. This is the banter between Soupy and, I presume, an interviewer:
Guy: Brian Campbell, you signed for mega-bucks over the summer. I suppose money can really change a young guy’s life…
Brian: For some, maybe. I’m still the same old guy, putting on one skate at a time…
Guy: …and those would be rabbit fur-lined skates…
Brian: Chinchilla, actually.
Oh, Brian. You’re so fancy.
Jersey Hound
Also in this week’s issue of THN, was a small feature on the Sabres’ new third jersey. This piece runs weekly, as well, but focuses on different jerseys in hockey, throughout history, throughout the world, in any league, anywhere. This is what Ryan Kennedy writes:
“Sometimes justice does come for those who need it most. In this case, fans of the Buffalo Sabres can once again wear a current sweater of which they can be proud of both the design and the team it represents. The much-maligned ‘Buffa-slug’ is still the primary symbol of Western New York’s finest, but the Sabres have blessed the hockey world with a reworking of their classic sweater, which will now serve as the team’s third jersey. The blue is darker than the original and the graphics are more defined, but oh, how it feels so right again.”
I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL DECEMBER FOR MY JERSEY!!!! Can I please tell you all how much I want my new jersey? I ordered a Roy jersey for myself, and a blank for my friend who is stuck in NYC until January–order numbers 155 and 156–but they won’t be in at the Sabres Store until at least Thanksgiving. I WANT MY NEW JERSEY!!! Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the slug too much, and I still love Tim Connolly, but I’d rather wear the jersey of someone who can actually play, and doesn’t just sit in the press box, night-in, night-out. I guess I’ll have to wait… But did I mention I’m not the most patient of people? In fact, I’m downright impatient…
Portland Pirates
Nathan Gerbe had two goals to lead the Pirates to a 3-2 victory Friday night against the Springfield Falcons. Colton Fretter also scored in the win. The guys are playing again tonight in Portland against the Providence Bruins.
Speaking of the Pirates, the Sabres Store is now carrying a few pieces of Portland merch. They have some blank jerseys, a hat, and player jersey t’s, featuring Nathan Gerbe, Tim Kennedy, and Mike Weber. I would’ve bought one (or two, or three) if they had one for Mancari, Funk, and/or Card…
And their game is going to be shown on the internet today (as they all are), so since I can only listen to the Bills and their power outage, I’m planning on watching them.
I’ll post again tomorrow, as I’m sure I can find something to write about.
FINAL SCORE:
Sabres 7
Islanders 1
This little portion of this post has nothing to do with today’s game, but to my delight, when I came home from running errands, I found these on my dining room table:
If you can’t read them, they’re tickets to the November 8th game in Boston. Kim and I are road-tripping up there, and up to Portland for a game. =] 11TH ROW!!! Serious TV possibilities…
PRE-GAME
- Lalime is in net tonight; Ruff says Miller will play Wednesday in New York (Rangers). Good. Ruff’s learning.
- And Rick DiPietro isn’t playing. Shucks.
- Some of the guys were eating spaghetti for breakfast.
- The Geico gecko is at the game. (It’s Kid’s Day)
FIRST PERIOD
20:00 Poor Ryan has to sit all by himself in the Zamboni entrance. I’ll sit with him. And he’s wearing a beanie.
16:00 I love when Rick’s voice cracks. And so far, this game has been kinda boring. =/
13:31 Derek Roy is a beast. He took on 4 Islanders, dumped the puck in, and recovered it. Then had a decent shot on goal. This is why I love him.
9:51 Power play goal by Jochen Hecht!!!!!!! Nice goal, from the side of the net, using the goalie as a means of banking the puck in. 1-0 Buffalo.
6:22 Mike Comrie is a joke. Jumping Henrik in retaliation… I guess it was a little bit of an iffy hit, but that doesn’t warrant cross-checking and slashing him, and then punching him with a glove on. 4 minute power play!!
2:19 ANOTHER blown 4 minute power play. Lindy needs to do more work with the PP, and yes, I know Jochen just got a PP goal.
0:00 1-0 Buffalo. Shots: 13-7 in favor of Buffalo
SECOND PERIOD
18:46 Lalime poke check! I love a good poke check…
17:38 ADAM MAIRRRRR!!!! Yay! Way to go to the net!! 2-0 Buffalo.
17:12 Rick just said Jochen went to the dressing room at the last whistle… And Derek looked pissed off at himself for missing a wide-open net. I’m pissed too, Derek.
13:00 Daniel Paille (BEAST) and Thomas Vanek are my heroes!!! Vanek scores shorthanded. 3-0 Buffalo.
11:21 The Population of Pominville is now 1!!!! 4-0 Buffalo.
11:17 FIGHT!!!! Rivet’s in the middle of it; I couldn’t tell what happened to him but Mair jumped someone because he did something to Rivet (I think). ”He’s eating him up!” according to Rick. And Pat just body-slammed Witt! LOVE! ”It’s a wild and wooley one!” And now Lindy is screaming at the Islander’s bench. Remember what Lindy does when he argues with the other bench? I do. That was awesome! =] ”There’s room on the bench for Ryan Miller if he wants to go over there.” PENALTIES: Rivet get 5 minutes, and 2 game misconducts, Kaleta got a 5 and a 10, and Mair got 5. Bergenehim got 5 and a game, same with Witt, and Thompson got a 5. Put it all together? 80 minutes. From one fight. Talk about old time hockey.
10:40 Danny Paille beats out an Islander to cancel out an icing for the second time this afternoon. Again, Beast.
9:28 Another puck banked off MacDonald for Vanek’s second of the night! And another PPG, at that. 5-0 Buffalo.
8:30 Injury Update: Jochen Hecht’s return is questionable, due to an upper body injury. Great.
7:30 Derek jumps over someone to drive to the net with the puck. Too bad MacDonald managed to stop that one.
3:14 Jaro got a delay of game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass. I despise that penalty. 2:1 rush for Derek and Jason; no results.
2:00 Danny Paille possibly hurt? Hobbled, in the least…
0:51 5:3 power play coming up!! Haha, Comrie, you fool. I love you. And when I say I love you, I mean I cannot stand you. And waving a white flag in the penalty box? Well, there’s no room in the NHL for quitters. Bye bye. Haha, they’re playing “SOS” by the Jonas Brothers….
0:00 5-0 Buffalo. Harry: ”The Sabres have the Islanders by the throat, and I don’t think they’re going to let up in the third.” Shots: 26-15 Buffalo.
THIRD PERIOD
20:00 Because Rivet got 2 game misconducts, he may or may not be suspended for a game… That’s up to the league. I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see.
19:02 Big Al, one-timer, on the power play… 6-0 Buffalo.
14:39 Islanders finally get on the board. 2:1 rush, and Hunter buries it; well, it deflected off of Spacek anyways. 6-1 Buffalo.
14:14 Vanek takes a stupid goaltender interference penalty. Tommy, you should know better.
9:12 Danny sets up Sparky-Clarkey on a give-and-go. Yay!!! 7-1 Buffalo.
5:20 Lalime pulls a Hasek and comes flying out of the net, up past the faceoff circle to play the puck.
0:00 7-1 Buffalo. Shots: 35-24, Buffalo.
What. A. Game. I LOVE THE SABRES!! I don’t have much time to write an elaborate recap because I’m housesitting with Kim, and the house doesn’t have wireless capabilities (well, it does, but they forgot the password), so I have to post before I go over there. And I’m going over there in about 15 minutes. SO! Wow. We were physical, smart, consistent, solid, and mentally-prepared and aware. AND OUT POWER PLAY WORKED!! I’m so proud! And to top it all off, Mike Comrie made a fool of himself. It couldn’t be better. And it truly says something about a team when 14 different players get on the score sheet (see below for details).
1st Star : Thomas Vanek / Adam Mair
Tommy makes his case by scoring 2 goals and stepping it up on the special teams, scoring on both the power play and while shorthanded. Adam kicked ass in that fight, and netted the game winner.
2nd Star : Jason Pominville / Ales Kotalik
Both guys had a goal and 2 assists, and Al’s goal on the power play boosted the team.
3rd Star : Patrick Lalime
Way to step in and be solid in your first game in the blue and gold. Keep it up! Plus, I quote: ”The guys played a hell of a game!”
Islanders’ Star : Rick DiPietro
He’s the only guy on that team that can’t be held accountable for this catastrophe.
Stats
For a complete list, go here, but like I said: 14 guys got on the scoresheet for Buffalo:
Vanek (2-0)
Kotalik (1-2)
Pominville (1-2)
Hecht (1-1)
MacArthur (1-0)
Mair (1-0)
Afinogenov (0-2)
Paille (0-2)
Numminen (0-1)
Rivet (0-1)
Roy (0-1)
Sekera (0-1)
Spacek (0-1)
Tallinder (0-1)
Rivet’s status for Wednesday’s game is up in the air, although the guys seem to think nothing will come of his 2 game misconducts. Hecht, however, will be out for a little bit of time, according to Ruff, with an upper body injury. More details to come with that, I’m sure. Again, a great game. I love these guys…
Okay, so I’m full of mixed emotions today. SO EXCITED BECAUSE WE COULD FINISH THE PRESEASON ABOVE .500!!! But totally bummed because Channel 4 has been replaced with CBS College Sports and The CW is MIA. On that subject, tonight I’m going to be missing the season premier of a show that I sometimes watch (because for some odd reason math intrigues me), Numb3rs, and that also means Sunday afternoon I’ll be missing the first 45 minutes of the Bills game, and I’ll be sad, because I love the Bills. And on Monday, I’ll be without my teenage angst-driven dramas, Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill; Tuesday evening I’ll be missing my dear Anthony DiNozzo on NCIS. Guys, I’m really upset about this. Like… well, not nearly as upset as I am when the Sabres lose, but close enough.
On to happier subjects. Can I PLEASE just express my love for Craig Rivet and Patrick Lalime right now? They are pretty much two of my favorite people now. At first I wasn’t so sure I liked that Rivet had The C, but hell, he can have it. I like any guy who sticks up for his teammates and can actually fight (coughcoughandrewpeters). And Lalime, you can stop pucks AND you fight? I love you. This brings me back to the days of my childhood in which basically every other game I can remember, either Steve Shields, Dwayne Roloson, or Marty Biron were fighting. LOVE. Goalie fights are the absolute best.
OH and I basically love Matt Ellis now too. Watch this and you will appreciate him as well. First of all, HAHAHAHA because they’re blasting “Promiscuous Girl,” and then someone came in and turned it down. But back to Matt: I mean, how can you not love someone who grew up playing with Danny Paille??? He’s a member of the Man-Child crew now, as far as I’m concerned. And he was so excited when he got the call saying we claimed him… Normally, these guys are pissed when they get waived and claimed by a new team, but he was all smiles and giggles. How cute is he?
And before I talk at all about the game (and by at all, I mean not really at all since I couldn’t see it and therefore don’t really have anything constructive to say), let me get my Derek Roy fix. Janet and Nick on Kiss 98.5 I believe have the Derek Roy Report, or whatever it’s called, on Thursday mornings, but it could be Friday. I’m not usually up that early, but if I am, I’m usually listening to my iPod because I LOATHE Janet and Nick. But whatever. So they had some snippet of an interview with Derek yesterday which went like this:
Janet: So what exciting stuff did you do this summer?
Derek: Uhhh, I went to Cabo for a week.
Janet: Nice!
Nick: Didn’t you skates get stuck in the sand?
Derek: [Chuckles, followed by a dramatic pause, then seriously,] Um, no.
HAHAA. Ask Kim; I DO THE SAME THING. Now, I have to take a page out of MJ’s book right here, because I swear this is fate. I DESIRE MORE THAN ANYTHING TO GO TO CABO. That is, if you bump going back to Germany off of the top of my list. But whatever. Derek, how could you go to Cabo without me??? And then not take me to your lake house up in Muskoka? You know I love the ocean, and I love lakes. That’s just mean. But, in your favor, our favorite shows do include Entourage, and you can’t go skydiving due to contractual stipulations, and I won’t go skydiving due to a fear of heights, so I mean, look! It’s totally fate. And now I’m kind of creeping myself out…
And this video of certain players just BEGS for commentary:
Mark Mancari : Yay! I’m so excited you cut your hair. Kim probably won’t be too thrilled, but I am, and since I won you in our lame little draft thing we had last year, that’s all that matters. And honestly, I’m so glad your parents moved from Italy to Canada, and that you have random family in Buffalo, because then I have a better chance to see you than, say, if you lived in Italy. Plus, you’re a beast, so play your heart out, and if you don’t make the Sabres, I’ll see you November 7th in Portland.
Mike Weber : Is staying out of the penalty box a part of your plan? Because it should be.
Nathan Paetsch : (1) You’re adorable. (2) That’s the Brotherhood of the Traveling Hoodie hoodie! Don’t you own any other clothing? Every time I see you, you’re wearing that hoodie. It doesn’t look bad or anything, I’m just curious as to if I took it away, if you’d just be walking around with nothing on. Now THAT’S a win-win situation. (3) You were injured? That’s why you weren’t playing? I wish I knew… I can’t wait to have complete injury/ailment updates when the regular season starts. This not knowing is bull.
Sparky Clarkey : Your hair’s getting long… I like the curly poofy thing you had; kinda like old-school Timmy C.
OH!!! I am SO excited that the game will be on TV on SUNDAYYY!!! That means I’ll actually have something to watch since the Bills game (probably) won’t be on. But I will have to sync up the radio so I can listen to Rick and Harry. Hopefully there won’t be too much of a delay. Whatever though.
Now I’m going to go pamper myself a bit; I’m getting my hair done today which is SO exciting because I haven’t gone in, like, 4 months, and my highlights are so grown out it isn’t even funny, and my ends are so split. But I’m definitely having Kim (my hairdresser, not the Kim on this thing) thin it, dye it back to my natural dark red, and some sweepy bangs might be in order. But then because my hair won’t be so strawberry blonde, I definitely have to go tanning, or else my pale, pale skin that’s COVERED in freckles would look freakish. I’d be a female version of Brian Campbell. Yuck. (I think I’m the girliest legit hockey fan ever…) So I think I’d better go do that. Then work yet another double. So I probably won’t be back until Sunday, unless I find something good in the meantime.
Have a nice weekend, loves!
Life is now about as normal as it can ever be for me…
To start off Saturday’s festivities, I was extremely disappointed because, while Kim and I, along with her beautiful mother Maureen, arrived at the Red Carpet Ceremony admittedly a few minutes late, WE STILL MISSED ALL OF THE GUYS WHO WERE TO PLAY. That’s absolutely ridiculous, because that means I MISSED DEREK ROY. IN HIS WHITE SUIT!!!! I was completely devastated.
So, needless to say, if the Sabres say they’re going to start an event at 5:00 pm, start at 5:00 pm and not earlier. You don’t tell people to show up for a party at 10 pm and start it at 8. It just doesn’t make any sense. And we only got there, like, 5 minutes late. But whatever.
BUT I’M HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE:
TIM CONNOLLY IS ALIVE!!!!
My love has not left me yet! Not completely, anyways. He did look about as miserable as ever, though. But look at my pictures and notice his terribly receeding hairline. It’s actually quite comical because he most definitely had a full head of hair before he went to Switzerland and shaved off his curly locks. And he didn’t even smile; he just had his signature smug, disdained look of boredom on his chipmunk-cheeked face. Lame.
AND he has a LOOK-A-LIKE!! Marc-Andre Gragnani has that Tim Connolly look on his face. Too bad I couldn’t get a picture of it. They must be roommates. It’s the only explanation. Poor kid.
And Tim Kennedy had another awkward interview!! The first question Kevin asked him was something along the lines of, “Do you realize that you’re the object of envy of every young hockey player in Buffalo?” Tim didn’t even laugh. He just looked at Kevin all seriously and said, “Yes, I do.” Retard.
Everyone let out a big collective “AWWWW” when newbie Patrick Lalime showed up with a date on each arm, two of his adorable little girls, Liliana and Rosemary, both wearing their dad’s jersey. Seriously, two of the cutest little things I’ve ever seen. What a sweetie.
And MJ will be happy to know that Adam Mair showed up, sans wedding ring, so there’s no competition with the wifey there.
Despite the set-back of missing half the team, I still saw so many beautiful Sabres, so it was worth it, AND THEN THEY WON!!!
When Vanek took that double minor, I looked at Kim and said, “Goodbye, game,” but of course Derek and Paul would pull it off in great fashion. Honestly, though, I had no voice after the first period thanks to Craig Rivet’s fighting skills, which automatically trump those of Andrew Peters, and the countless hits by Mr. Patrick (Andrew?) Kaleta. I say that because when they announced the Hit of the Game (formerly known as the Carubba Collision), the PA guy said Andrew Kaleta. Hello! Do you work for the Sabres? Do you live in Buffalo? Get it right. And while I’m on the topic of people in position to talk about the Sabres messing up, when I got home I flipped on Channel 4 to watch their sports report, and Robyn Adams upset me. She mispronounced Rivet, and didn’t even mention that we came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the game in a matter of 5 minutes, and not even that Goose tied it up with 5.0 seconds left in regulation. Idiot.
And I had to laugh because the prospects were all sitting up in the press box, and Kim and I kept looking over after we scored to see their reactions, and saw NOTHING. No one clapped, even after we tied it up. They didn’t even appear to be smiling. Only a few clapped after the game ended, but they all peaced out so quickly afterwards… Jerks. Way to support the team.
Whatever though. While I was upset with the Sabres about the whole ceremony thing, I left a very, very, VERY happy girl. Now I’m just trying to find someone to go with me to the game on the 10th so I can go to the home opener for probably the 10th season in a row. I just love hockey so much. I kind of forgot what it was like over this ridiculously long summer.
Let's just hope they keep going like they did yesterday. Just, stop giving me a heart attack. Please. I don't know if I can take 82 games of that. Actually, I'm not sure if I can take 96 games like yesterday's, if you know what I mean. And I did not just say that for those of you who are superstitious. =]
