31.10.08

This is Halloween.

First off, happy Halloween to everyone! (: I'm late, haha.

Secondly, I did not see any of the game last night so I can't comment on what went wrong. Just reading the many blogs and listening to interviews, it sounded awful. Everytime I DVR a game they lose...I should probably stop doing that when I won't be home for a night.

Thirdly, on a happy note, this is what matters to me right now:
That picture is amazing, haha.


I'm going to enjoy this whole 'Thomas Vanek is leading the league in goals' thing while it lasts. Eventually Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vincent Lecavalier, and the like will start lighting the lamp more often and Thomas will probably go on a cold streak himself. But seeing him up there makes me a happy fan of his right now, and I couldn't be more proud of him - because as Mike Robitaille said, he has grown up. (:

29.10.08

I am falling in love with Adam Mair, aka, Shelby loves her hockey players blond apparently.



It's true. After reading about that whole incident yesterday after the Sabres loss to the Sens on Monday, and then reading what Mairsy had to say about it this morning made me think 'Why haven't I've paid more attention to him before now?!'

I know that him and his wife are big supporters/helpers with the SPCA (an animal lover? A man after my own heart!), so that gets a big A+ from me. I love a man that can take care of animals and help them survive after being abandoned and abused. He fights for their rights just like fighting on the ice for the Sabres (and putting one in the back of the net every once and awhile).

I love that he was being a smart ass in his interview this morning. It shows he can make light of a situation such as the one he was in. I love guys that can make a situation light hearted.

Oh Adam,

There are so many things I could say to you. I have a picture of you on my wall; sitting next to Goose (or positioned next to him) for your 'Kids Escaping Drugs' poster. I will now glance over it every time I get the chance to, or when I leave my room. I may have to keep an eye out on you a lot more often now when you're playing. Of course, you cannot turn into my favorite Sabre because one of your teammates still has a tight hold on my heart. The blond hair, the blue eyes, the sort of longish hair that sometimes curls under his helmet as he skates along the ice...

*sighs* Hello. Is that orange juice in your car? Can I have some if it has Thomas Vanek backwash in it? No? Damn.


Anyways, you see my dilemma here. Besides, M.J. over at My Safety Is Harvard would not appreciate me busting a move on you, so I will have to decline your utmost love...but you will move up my list of favorite Sabres.

Love,
Shelby

Oh yeah, and about me liking blond hockey players, it's no joke. Thomas Vanek, Adam Mair, Tyler Ennis (I have a mad crush on the guy), Jordan Staal, Tim Kennedy (he sort of has blond hair, right?!), and the list could go on. Then again, while I like the blond hockey players, my girlfriend has brown hair. Yeah, I guess blond is strictly for the hockey players.

28.10.08

Everyone's talking about it, so I'll just follow suit.

If you're behind the times in the Buffalo Sports scene, then check out the following video:



As you can see, Adam Mair tried to get into a tiff with Chris Neil, though he is yelling at Jarkko Ruutu in the video. Pretty much all the blogs I read have taken note on what happened last night, and I guess it's being reviewed by the league. I honestly don't see what is so bad about this altercation. Mairsy DID NOT fight Ruutu in the hallway. Sure, he grabbed his undershirt, but a huge fight did not break out. The commissioner was in town, yes, but nothing is going to happen from this until the next Sabres/Sens game when they can deal with things on the ice - in a fight. If Mairsy gets a fine for this then okay, but if he gets suspended...well, I think the league needs to chill out. Like the Michael Peca incident. They were overreacting with this one, and if the league suspends Mair as well, then they are surely overreacting on issues not that serious unlike other issues at hand.

On a better note, I'd like to welcome Caroline to the blogging world! Go read! (Even if there is only one entry, but go go go!)

27.10.08

Things I Hate - 10/27

I'll probably do this thing after every Sabres loss because I can't think of anything good to say. These aren't placed in specific order of how much I hate the thing, I just wrote these down randomly after the game was over and done with and I listened to Roby and Kevin drone on about how the Sabres were probably destroyed by jetlag.
ANYWAYS;
Things I Hate:
- Dany Heatley (Always have, probably always will.)
- Finny getting the only penalty in the scrum at the end of the first period. (Seriously, refs? I understand not giving Jason Smith one since he hardly did a thing, but I believe Jarkko Ruutu had a freaking chokehold on Finny.)
- Guys consistently passing to Vanek. (Please don't tell me I'm the only one who notices this. If you know me, I love Thomas Vanek. LOVE HIM. It is obvious. I do not love how guys keep passing him the puck when they have nowhere else to turn to score. If he's not open, DON'T TRY PASSING THE PUCK TO HIM. I DON'T THINK HE'LL BE MAD AT CHA.)
- Missing open nets. (Pommers, I hope you weren't serious when you said if you were in a skills competition you would do the shooting accuracy. That open net was there for you in the second, buddy. And don't get me started on that incident last season against Montreal, ooo.)
- The power play. (2/10. 'Nuff said.)
- Losing to the Sens. (I HATE THE FUCKING OTTAWA SENATORS.)
- Losing to crappy teams. (By the way, they're record before this was like, 2-5. They are second last in the conference, I think. WHAT?)
- Not shooting the puck. (And you wonder why we can't score on the power play. Oh, that's right.)
- MSG-HD (I had to wait halfway through the first period until I could get MSG in HD. Here, they were showing the Rangers/Islanders game on the HD channel. That station is so messed up.)
- Gary Bettman always looking at the camera. (If you're trying to steal my soul, it's working.)

Here's to a better Thursday. Also, I am watching the re-televised game of the Pirates/Baby Pens tomorrow when I get home from my driver's ed lecture class, and since I know they win, I CAN'T WAIT, WOOT. AND THEY'RE WEARING PINK!

25.10.08

Sarah Palin brings some bad mojo to teams.



Courtesy of The Pensblog. It's basically the same sort of thing that happened to Marc-Andre Fleury last year in the Stanley Cup Final, but one, he didn't get injured from it and two, he tripped through the door. I blame Sarah Palin and her carpet for doing this to Manny. Plus, St. Louis lost 4-0 to the Kings. I'm telling you, she is bad mojo.

Should be a good game tonight for the Sabres. I have no idea if I'm going to stay awake for all of it, but I'll try. I hate games that are really late because it's hard to pay attention.

24.10.08

Sure bet that Buffalo will host the 2010-11 World Jr. Championship.


On the Sabres website, they state that USA Hockey will make an important announcement on Monday afternoon at 2 at HSBC Arena. I was pretty sure that this was a hole in one for the Buffalo community, considering I don't think they would make an announcement if Buffalo wasn't the location they had chosen. I can't wait until Monday so that this news can be officially announced.

I think I'm extra excited about this because by that time, I'm going to be in college and hopefully have somewhat of a good job. I want to try and go to a few games to see the possible future stars of the NHL. The experience would be loads of fun as well. I wouldn't even care what teams were playing at the time, I would just love to go!

About the Minnesota game last night: I honestly didn't think the Sabres should've won that game. There was no way they should've come back against the Wild of all teams. They did it. Somehow, they came back and won it in overtime. The second period was pretty awful, and they still won
Gosh darn it all, I love this team.

23.10.08

Hold on - that really happened.

The Sabres came back from a 3-1 deficit with about five minutes left in the third period to win 4-3 in overtime against Minnesota.
What. The. Hell?
Honest to God I love these boys, but I don't know how much more of these crazy games I can stand. I'll probably have more thoughts on this tomorrow, when I'm not so tired/enthralled.

22.10.08

It's good to get these injuries out of the way now, right?


I read the news about Craig Rivet's injury in school this morning. I was in Study Hall and decided to check up on the Sabres to see if anything was up and sure enough, I was greeted with 'Craig Rivet Undergoes Knee Surgery'.
Uh...what?
So I click on the link to see what's going on, and read that he's out for two weeks. Nathan Paetsch will play next to Teppo while Katie of Muckers & Grinders brought to my attention that Hank and Toni are going to be back together! I can only hope this does good things for the both of them, even though they were broken up in the beginning for a reason...

Phil Housley was also honored with the Lester Patrick award today. I've heard numerous stories where he had a huge ego and was a stuck up sort of player. I wasn't around yet when he was in Buffalo, so I have no idea if these stories are truthful. He doesn't look like a bad guy to me.

I was going to post something yesterday, but I started my driving classes. I can already tell that these 16 weeks are going to be soooooo much fun! /sarcasm

20.10.08

And the NHL's first star of the week goes to...

Yeaaaaaaaaaah boy.

In his conference call today, someone asked him how he would feel if he wouldn't be able to play for Austria in Vancouver (if they qualify), and his response? "It would suck, to be honest."
The fact that he said 'sucks' over the radio (because I think it was over XM Radio at the NHL Store) makes me laugh really hard. Oh Thomas, I love you and your choice of words for some things. Like your reaction for your first interference penalty on Saturday! "Are you fucking kidding me?" *swoons* A man after my own heart with his strong choice of words.

19.10.08

Hockey related songs are the bomb.

A friend of mine on Livejournal uploaded a BUNCH of hockey related songs this morning and put them all into two .zip files. I've been listening to them all day, and a lot of them are amazing. There's some team oriented ones, and then there's your goal horns, and then there's your overplayed songs of all time at arenas. I have Cotton Eyed Joe on my computer now, so I can always pretend I'm at the arena grooving to the song (and yes, when I go to games I'm the only girl in section 318 that seems to be dancing when it comes on).

I was supposed to go to the Bills game today and play for band, but...eh. The Sabres loss yesterday plus some personal stuff made me not feel well this morning and I didn't feel like getting up at 7:30 to go to school. They were winning last time I checked though, so that's a good thing. (: Hopefully the Bye week has helped them and Trent Edwards.

While the Sabres were bringing a sexy comeback against the Thrashers last night, I had the Penguins/Leafs game going on Real Time on NHL.com. Nice to know Sidney finally scored his 100th goal in his career, and his 200th assist to have 300 points in his entire career. Evegeni Malkin did the same, and got his 200th point. Well Geno...Thomas Vanek got his 200th point against the Rangers, and that was awhile ago. WHAT NOW? WHAT NOW?

Oh wait, Geno has been in the league fewer years than Thomas has been, ahahaha...yeah.

18.10.08

History repeats itself. SABRES LOSE.

Ehhh, I don't feel like inserting a picture in this post. Shocking, I know.

Sabres lost today via the shootout. After being down 2-0 to the Thrashers, they rallied back in the second and third to send the game to overtime. Lalime kept them in the game until Vanek scored on the PP to cut the lead by half. Then Pominville scored late in the third to tie the game. Stafford was the lone scorer for Buffalo in the shootout, and Kozlov and Kovy scored for the Thrashers.
Quick summary:
- When Buffalo had their 10-game winning streak in the beginning of 06-07, Atlanta was the team that beat them first. In a shootout, no less. They did the same tonight. Atlanta, of ALL teams. Christ.
- I love Ilya Kovalchuk, but not when he scores against us.
- Patrick Lalime gets the first star from me tonight. He was excellent in net tonight, and if he didn't make all those spectacular saves, we would be going home with 0 points right now.
- 17-6 were the shots in the first period, I think? Atlanta shot more than us, HOLY HELL.
- Thomas Vanek was sick of the passing shit and took things into his own hands on his PP goal. That's how it's done, ladies.
- That 'Stupid Questions' thing was cute. I was hoping to see more players involved, but maybe that'll be in later installments.
- As much as I love Thomas Vanek and want to be his BFF, he is not very good in shootouts. Private to Lindy: Thomas is an amazing player that can do many things, but shootouts is not one of them. Oh, and I'm a wimp because when I found out Thomas had to score in order to keep the shootout going, and he didn't, I cried a little. I just felt really bad because he had all of that on his shoulders. ): He can't be a superhero every night...

17.10.08

TV-city. SABRES WIN.

5-2 win over the Canucks for the Sabres tonight. I had my doubts because I always get scared of Western Conference teams, but by George, we did it! Goals by Spacho, General, Kots (2), and Tvans.
Quick summary:
- Before the game even started, I was watching it on MSG HD for the Sabres Show that never came on...instead I got a half hour of the Sabres pregame skate, and stuff they spoke about in the beginning of the game before it started. Talk about behind the scenes.
- MSG HD killed me with the upcloseness of Thomas Vanek in the locker room. I melted a lota little.
- Speaking of MSG HD, their feed sucks. It went out on us a couple of times, and I was about to murder it. IT WENT OUT WHEN THOMAS WAS BEING INTERVIEWED AFTER THE GAME! I had to stare at his face with his eyes closed for about two minutes. ):
- STEVE! Why did you have to score against us? *tear* It was such a weird goal, too.
- Patty K getting us power plays is pretty awesome. I don't know how I'm going to feel about him 'turtle-ing' for the entire season, though...if he continues to do this.
- "I'd rather drink a cup of Drain-O..."
- You can't top the Vanek/Kotalik goal celebration. It was the KaletaCarubba Collision for God sakes.

Wow, I do NOT remember my game facts, son.

On the way home from school today, I turned on WGR in the car to listen to Mike Schopp & the Bulldog (who were at the Arena at three something, wtf?) and they were talking about the game tonight. Apparently my usually 'on-top-of-the-stats' brain was 'brbing' last night, and I was wrong to say the score was 2-1 and that Curtis Sanford was in net. Dany Sabourin was in net that evening, and the score was actually 4-3 in a shootout. I don't know where I got 2-1 from.

Speaking of Sanford, he's playing tonight. Again, I AM DISAPPOINTED LU. No, just kidding, I know you played last night so why not play Sanford against a lesser team like us after beating the Red Wings? There, I said it. We are a lesser team than the Red Wings (until we finally beat Ty Conklin, then we will be better. :P Just joking.) Actually we are a better team looking at our record so far...wooooo!

I will probably type up an entry after the game, depending on the outcome. I'm not going tonight but in two years...Vancouver, you better believe I'll be there!

Go Sabres!

16.10.08

It's been awhile.



The last time the Canucks came to town (or even played the Sabres) was January 19th, 2007. Thomas Vanek's 23rd birthday, to be exact! The Sabres won 2-1 in a shootout (with ex-Captain Clutch scoring the tying goal I think), and I was also sort of upset because instead of Luongo in net during that game, it was Curtis Sanford. I know I wasn't the only Sabres fan upset that Roberto wasn't playing, but I'm hoping we'll be seeing him tomorrow in net for the Canucks.
This also happened that evening;

Go to about 1:14. Holllllly-
Anyways. (Edit: I just realized how bad this video is screwing up my layout, haha. Oh well.)

The Canucks play tonight, and I have no idea who is going to be in net for them tonight. It's completely possible that Roberto Luongo will play both games if he is indeed playing tonight against Detroit. I guess we'll have to wait and see tomorrow how the lineup is going to look for the game.

I still have no idea if I'm going tomorrow...I'm going to guess not. I'm not disappointed, it's just, now I feel guilty because my brother is going to feel guilty if he couldn't find any seats near their seats that were available. I don't want him to feel bad. The fact he would even try to find a ticket means a lot to me. Besides, the Canucks will be back in probably two years, so it's no big deal!

15.10.08

I've got a Vanek attack going on. SABRES WIN.


6-0 for the Rangers? Setting a franchise record? I DON'T THINK SO, WOOOOOO.
Quick Summary:
- Our penalty kill is still 100% effective. Work it, boys!
- We scored the the PP again. Tim Connolly still isn't playing.
- Thomas Vanek is a man possessed, and I think I like it. <3
- I am falling hard for Danny Paille (not like I haven't already). He is getting involved everywhere. Plus, he assisted on both of my boy's short handed goals.
SPEAKING OF SHORT HANDED GOALS:
...Nevermind, NHL.com hasn't updated yet. THEY BETTER GET ON THE BALL.
Continuing on - The Sabres defensive game has been incredible so far. I am proud of these boys and what they have done these first games. Sure, it's only been three games, but this game was going to be a challenge and they pulled through. The last few minutes were not very fun for me though, to be quite honest.
- Markus Naslund, stay on the East side of the league forever, please. I love you.
- Chris Drury, one point in six games? What happened to Captain Clutch?

14.10.08

I guess you can never be too careful...Edit: In realizing that I'm a dummy.


Thomas Vanek wrote another entry in his blog or 'diary' earlier today:

So we got out of the starting gates really well. Now we’ll face the Rangers and that’ll be a really tough test. They have won all of their five games so far. If we pass this test, well, that’d be really great for our team.


Van, this would be really great for the team. It'd be nice to beat a team who is also undefeated as we go on with our current undefeated streak. (; The Rangers scare me though, bad Rangers.

I’m quite satisfied with my performance so far. Normally I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I never had a better start into a new season than this. Of course, I’m most happy about my shorthander against the Islanders. That was my first shorthander in the NHL and if I remember correctly my first shorthander ever. Well, except maybe in the peewees.


Shorthandershorthandersshorthander, am I going to hear this all the time now? Basically, I would love for you to be #1 in SHG this season, seriously.

...and I check NHL.com, and you're tied with seven other people, sweet! It's a step in the right direction!

Also, peewees? I hope you looked like the picture over there ---> at the time. Cutest Peewee hockey player award in Austria, totally.

I was really shocked when I heard that Bernhard Kohl got caught doing doping during the Tour de France. I don’t know him personally but I became his fan during the last Tour. But really, before condeming him we should wait for the final tests to be made public. In the NHL we get tested at least twice a year compulsory, always after a game and without any notice. Mostly there are even three to four testings a year.


Even Thomas Vanek is a fanboy of some people; and he's defending him too! I love this. He's pretty much right, you shouldn't really condemn anyone until the facts are straight and made public.
I had no idea that they were checked after EVERY game to see if they were taking drugs of some sort. I would figure every couple of games since you wouldn't know when they would do it, but you can never be too careful about these things.
Thanks to Caroline for pretty much pointing out that he meant when they DO get tested, it's after a game. I knew that.

13.10.08

Bummer of a Kids Day. SABRES WIN.


Talk about high scoring and an awesome PP! 7-1, Sabres!
Not too shabby for an afternoon game, that's for sure. The first period was dull but after the floodgates opened in the second period, it was all Sabres. Still wish there could've been a shutout but what matters is the W for the Sabres. 2-0 going into the city on Wednesday. I'm a bit scared thinking about how the Rangers may be 5-0 when the Sabres get there, though...undefeated teams intimidate me.
Quick summary:
- Patrick Lalime is an adorable French-Canadian, and he can make huge saves when needed.
- Thomas Vanek is sick nasty and knows how to make me love him with his interviews. He should've had a towel during it; what a sweaty hot mess.
- Jochen Hecht is not allowed to be hurt.
- Jason Pominville scored between his legs again, I think. It looked like it. xD
- Adam Mair has a red/pink mouthguard, and I think it brings him good luck.
- I love Clarke MacArthur's goal celebrations.
- Patrick Kaleta/Adam Mair/Craig Rivet can have melees whenever they want, as long as they don't get suspended from any games.
- The Sabres look so much better in their darker jerseys than the white ones. Then again, I don't like white jerseys that much.
- Ales Kotalik was on his butt in front of the Isles' net for three out of the seven goals. Keep doing that, Al.
- The kid that sang the anthem was cute, but how did he fit his legs into those pants?

In much, much sadder news...Alexei Cherepanov passed away today during a hockey game in the KHL. He was only 19 years old, and was drafted by the Rangers last summer. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

Me + afternoon games = what?


I am not a huge fan of afternoon games, which is why I'm glad that the Sabres only have two this season. At least, I think they only have two of them this year. Anyways, I am never in my hockey mode in the afternoon so I tend to have ADD during afternoon games. Doesn't help that the Sabres are playing the Islanders out of all teams, so that just adds on to the boring. I'm hoping for a high scoring game with little allowed in our own zone. Oh, and a power play goal would be beyond lovely as well.

“I didn’t see it right away because it was on Ryan’s other side,” Lydman said Sunday. “I was standing on his left side, I saw it rolling towards the net and I guess thank God I have a long stick.”


I am highly amused by that statement, thank you Loodster. I am thanking a higher being right now for you having a rather long stick. :P
Get your heads out of the gutter, folks!

"This shows we can play one of the better teams in the East," Vanek said. "So far so good."


Wooooooo, you tell 'em, Thomas! But can we do the same against one of the better teams in the West? Like, Vancouver? Elite goaltender, and they are showing more offensive power (much to my delight because I like the Canucks).

I'm hoping that I can go to the game on Friday...

10.10.08

Today was a good day.


Attica won their football game against Holley, 50-15.
Thomas Vanek scored the lone goal in regulation for the Sabres.
Ales and Drew score in the shootout to make it a 2-1 win for the Sabres, and watching the boys embrace like that after the first game made my heart soar.
Basically, today was fantastic.

Since I'm not going to be here for most of the evening.


GO SABRES!
Oh, and I guess go Attica as well (for our Homecoming game tonight). :P

9.10.08

Have I mentioned I am (sort of) in love with Thomas Vanek?

In The Buffalo News today, they had an article on Thomas Vanek and how he wants to perform well for the entire season; not just half of one.

The numbers on his contract say Thomas Vanek is an elite player. The numbers on the stat sheet say the Sabres’ winger is still getting there.

Vanek had 36 goals last season, not bad for a 24-year-old. But it was a step down from his 43-goal campaign the year before.

And it was a big drop when you consider the $10 million salary he raked in for the first year of his seven-year, $50-million deal gift-wrapped by the offer sheet presented him by Edmonton General Manager Kevin Lowe in July 2007.

The bloated contract obviously wasn’t the Sabres’ idea. But it followed Vanek everywhere and Buffalo fans expected more. After all, no one in the entire league had a bigger paycheck.

Fans expected more than four goals in Vanek’s first 19 games. More than just 13 goals over his first 49. More than a player who routinely averaged only 16-17 minutes per game and played more than 20 minutes only nine times all season.

I had no idea that Thomas' ice time had been that low. I know forwards don't have much ice time to begin with, but I would've thought that he would be out there for more than 20 minutes for a lot more games. Goes to show how frustrating of a season he had.

“The contract never really bugged me,” Vanek said during training camp. “I always said I put more pressure on myself than anyone else. I never thought about money and that’s not the reason I’m here. Now I’m back looking to just get off on the right foot, play the first half like I did in the second half.”

I'm amazed at how much pressure he exerts on himself. Which is why I always get pissed off when people tell me that he sucks, because they don't understand what's going on in his head. He's the only one who knows and can fix it, and he did in the second half of last year.

Ah, the second half of last season. For parts of it, there was a that’s-more-like-it feeling around Vanek.

He led the NHL with 13 goals in February and was third with 20 points for the month. He had 23 goals over his final 33 games. He burned Ottawa’s Ray Emery with a superstar-like slap shot in one February win. He struck like a bolt from the sky for a pair of natural hat tricks to spark two comebacks against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But those were moments that only briefly provided solace for a playoff-less season.

Over the summer on his personal Web site, Vanek revealed he had a hard-core chat with coach Lindy Ruff about getting benched for long stretches of three games in the second half. Because of that, he said he’s reached a sort of personal detente with his coach.

Haha, 'hard-core chat' makes me laugh. (Oh, and I am lame because I DVRed all of the games where Van scored a hat trick. I have yet to copy those games to a tape, so...they're still on my TV for almost a year.)

“Every year you learn something about what he wants us to do and I’m sure he learns something about what we’re all about too,” Vanek said. “You always need to have that mutual respect. He’s the boss. It’s his way or you’ll be in the stands.

“I don’t mind coaches being tough on me. I don’t mind taking blame for a bad game. I won’t take it personally.”

I love his non-selfishness. One of my favorite attributes of the guy. I still remember during one of the intermissions for the last game of the season last year, and he told Kevin, Rob and Mike that he mostly blamed himself for the fact they weren't getting into the playoffs.

Ruff can be tough on players, especially if he feels they’re shirking defensive responsibilities. Vanek found out by spending time on the bench.

“A lot of times you want to see how a guy handles the tough times,” Ruff said. “The guys who sometimes struggle with it are the ones who haven’t gone through it much. I don’t know if he had too many tough times in college.

“Teams got to know him and I think got to know his habits. That makes it even tougher on you. You have to battle through that because the book is out on you. Guys don’t realize that other coaches put a target on you."

Thankfully, it looks like Thomas' defensive capabilities are getting a lot better. I'm super excited to see him on the PK.

The long offseason gave Vanek plenty of soul-searching time. He went home to his native Austria to play in the World Championships. He got married in July and then took his wife, Ashley, 13-month-old son Blake and his in-laws to Austria for a look at his homeland.

“It was great to show my family all where I came from, great to be able to take the little guy there,” Vanek said. “I won’t forget where I came from, where I grew up. I took a lot of pride to go over there, help my country go up [Austria moved up from Division I to the Championship Division] and it was great.”

Vanek said he worked hard in the offseason in Minnesota, his wife’s home state, putting on a few pounds and working to improve his foot speed. He had time to get over a nagging hip problem that quietly dogged him last season, and now he’s ready to start the quest toward a 40-or 50-goal season.

Awww, at 'little guy'. Blake looks so much like his daddy, it's crazy! Plus, it was great to watch Thomas play in the Division Championships over in Austria (thank you, Sopcast).

No Vanek article is complete without a word from his BFF:

“He scored 36 goals and I know that even if he scored 56, he wouldn’t be happy and that’s what’s great about him,” said Derek Roy, his center for virtually all of his three seasons in Buffalo. “He’s always trying to get better. He’s great to have on the ice to get the puck to because he can do so much.”

Derek giving the Austrian some love, I like it. MAY YOU TWO ALWAYS SKATE TOGETHER AND BE EPICALLY AMAZING.

Ruff agrees. He’s even giving some thought to using Vanek and Roy together in penalty-killing situations.

“If you want to get the elite ice time that the top players in this league get, those guys typically kill penalties,” Ruff said. “You go stretches in a game where there’s maybe eight minutes in penalties. You’re sitting in that and you’re probably losing out on four minutes of ice time. That would take him from some nights of 15-16 to 19-20. But he has to earn it too.”

What does Ruff want to see?

“A more concerted effort away from the puck, that dogged pursuit when you don’t have it,” the coach said. “As much as the other team has it, let’s see how hard you work to get it back. The best offensive players in this league are great competitors. Others are just average away from the puck and I put Thomas in that category right now. I want him to become an elite player away from the puck.

“That leads to more goals. He can score the same numbers, but kill penalties, work better away from the puck and be a more valuable player for us.”

And a more valuable player I think he shall be.

Vanek said the definition of an elite player can have many meanings and he intends to try to live up to them this season and put up some big numbers.

As for the other number, his salary drops to $8 million this year and he’s only fifth on the NHL payroll list. No more talk of a $10 million man.

“An elite player is taking your team on your back, bringing them to the playoffs and deep into the playoffs,” he said. “It’s not necessarily points, assists and goals. If we got deep into the playoffs and I have just 40 goals but play better, that’s a good year, I think everyone will be happy with.”

I think if everyone plays better - not just Thomas - then the Sabres will surely get into the playoffs. These boys are going to do great things this year, I can just feel it.

8.10.08

'C' is for cookie; that's good enough for Craig Rivet and the Buffalo Sabres (and me!)


Craig Rivet was named the permanent captain of the Buffalo Sabres earlier today by Lindy Ruff. I found out the news once I got home from school, and was perplexed at first. I didn't know what to think of it. To be honest, I thought either Jochen or Pommers would end up with the 'C' but after listening to both Lindy's and Craig's interviews, and checking up on some articles, I began to believe that this was the right choice. Even if he was only here for .827842381912 seconds so far, he really showed a lot to the fans even in his first fight during the Sabres/Leafs game on the 27th of September. A lot of players respected him immediately, otherwise I don't think he would have the 'C' right now. And who am I to complain when it's Lindy Ruff making the call? At least the team now has one guy to look to for leadership instead of a whole bunch of guys (but they still need to carry on their responsibilities).

In other Sabres news, Paul Gaustad was put on the IR after his thumb surgery. If the Sabres were the Penguins, it would make sense for me to say he was a 'flightless bird' even with his nickname being Goose. Should I say that he is now a half salted slug?
Also, Mike Weber was sent down to the Pirates today. I really thought he had a great preseason up here with the big club, but I guess he's going to see a little more AHL action before perhaps coming up here permanently. If they had sent down Sekera instead, he would've had to clear waivers I think so it was an inevitable move by the Sabres.

My mom came home today and the first thing she said was that I was going to the Sabreskidz Halloween Skate on the 26th! I am a happy 17-year old. :D I love skating on the HSBC Arena ice because then I can look up at the seats and think 'Wow, this is how the guys feel...except I'm not skating in front of 18,000 plus people.' I'm pretty excited to be going again after having skated on the ice back in March for another annual Sabreskidz event.

This shirt will officially be mine in a few days

7.10.08

I don't like bonfires anymore.


Tonight was the school's annual bonfire during Homecoming week. Chelsea and I were contemplating all day if we were going to go, and then she asked me after school if I wanted to meet up and I said 'Sure, why not?' So I get to school around 6:50, and was standing around waiting for her. I walked near the football field to see if I would meet up with anyone of my friends but I didn't. I walked back near the back parking lot (where most of the kids were being dropped off), and continued to wait. Now I know her mom tends to be late to things so I was like 'Okay, I'll give her until 7:10 or something.' Well, Chelsea's sister best friend comes up to me and says that their mom was on the phone so it would take awhile for them to get to school. They don't live far and I waited until 7:30. In the dark. Freezing cold. Scared and worried, because there are...creepsters at my school that I don't feel comfortable being around. The only reason why I went to this bonfire in the first place was to hang out with Chelsea. If I saw either of my two other good friends there I would've stayed, but I didn't see either of them. I called my mom at 7:30 and just told her to come pick me up, and I've been home for the past hour angry/upset. I am never doing something like this again, ugh.

Thanks muchly to Puck Daddy for letting me know Jason Pominville updated his blog:

For instance, our power play has to do a better job. Our special teams are going to be so important this year.

Understatement of the year by our very own Jason Pominville. I mean, remember last season?
...
Let's not remember last season and our special teams. Even the year before it was horrid.

We are all in this together and want to make strides as a team. I think the organization has made strides in committing to different players and now it’s our turn to give back.

Goodness, that sounds...so right when reading it from a player's point of view, you know? We're all in this together.

Yes we are, Pommers. Yes we are.

6.10.08

Derek Roy, you amuse me!


Toga Day was lame. I was one out of maybe ten other people who actually attempted to wear something toga-ish today. Hardly any of the people in Student Government (who decided this whole thing) wore a toga, either! Ah well, at least I appeared to be different...now it's Twin Day tomorrow, and I don't know if Chelsea (my best friend) and I are doing it. I'll have to ask her later.

I am subscribed to an RSS feed for Yahoo! sports news, and I found a lovely article today that features Thomas Vanek's BFF Derek Roy.
But wait, as I read this...Derek, you smite me!

"1) Who is your all-time favorite roommate on the road?"
Me: Well, obviously, IT'S THOMAS VANEK. I don't know if you two room together, but I think that would be pretty awesome. Max should sleep in the bathtub, or you can rotate so the entire RAV line is in one room.
"I like Andrew Peters, but he’s a little overboard a lot of times. But he’s always fun. He keeps you on your toes. You never know what he’s going to do - beat you down with a pillow or wrestle you. He keeps you on your toes."
Me: Whaaaaaaat? So now we know how Petey practices his fights - on you, Derek! Please stop telling him to dance around like he's in the middle of a ballroom, thank you.

So I scrolled a bit more through the questions, and the last one struck me.
"5) What is the best concert you’ve ever attended?"
Me: I bet it's something classical. TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. OR MAYBE THE KILLERS, SINCE THEY'RE DEREK'S FAVORITE GROUP!
"An Aerosmith concert (at Darien Lake). I was sitting front row. It was really good."

Me: I don't see you as an Aerosmith type. Do you happen to be any good at Guitar Hero: Aerosmith? How were their clothes when you went? Did you buy a concert t-shirt?

I thought I had gotten full lulz from Sabres today, but then Craig Rivet didn't let me down.

What song are you embarrassed about having in your iPod?
"I don’t really have it in my iPod but I kind of listen to it on XM Radio a lot – it’s that Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana or whatever.

"My 6-year-old daughter started to get into that stuff and now I’m into it too. I think it’s great."

What the hell? Do you happen to know a Mr. Nolan Pratt, Mr. Rivet? He happens to sort of like Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana too because of his daughter. Maybe you should meet up sometime and discuss Miley's latest scandalous deed. (Oh Pratters, I miss you. ):)

FOUR MORE DAYS!

5.10.08

Sabres fail on the power play, same old, same old.


It's a good thing that this game was only the last preseason game, otherwise we would've been in some serious trouble. Ten power play chances, and nothing. You know if this were a regular season game I would've been tearing my hair right out!

Tim Connolly is laughing at us right now, while nursing his sore back. Damn you Timmy, damn you.

I give Thomas Vanek an award for not getting in the penalty box this evening, and for being the guy who had the most shots on goal tonight (along with Jason Pominville). More so for the not getting into the penalty box thing since this is the first preseason game where he hasn't had to go there yet. That's my boy.

Now the Sabres have a week left to sort out all of their kinks and kick this season off for real. I'm already itching for Friday to come along, and it seems way too far away. With a (hopefully) healthy lineup (excluding Goose, aww), and a better defensive sound game, maybe the Sabres can start off the season with a big ol' W on the board against the Habs? I'll be optimistic. I mean, it's been too long since real hockey has been around...I'll wallow in my optimism as long as I can. :D

In other sports news, I heard about Trent Edwards getting injured in the Bills-Cardinals game earlier and later reading that the Bills were manhandled for the rest of the night when JP Losman strolled in.
...Oh crap.
Now, I'm not exactly an avid fan of football, but this is not good. The Bills having a great start to their season is an awesome thing for the community. All we need is for our starting quarterback to go down, and have JP Losman come in when he hasn't done well. I mean, maybe he can step in and be clutch, but after the game today? Aiiiiii.

Back to the hockey front; I did not enjoy listening to the Detroit commentators the entire evening. Rick and Harry would've been loads better but the delay kills me on the radio. Oh yeah, and MSG in HD decided to carry Rangers stuff instead of the Sabres in the area?! I pray that is only for the preseason, or they put on the special Sabres channel in HD, otherwise I will be pissed. I have been waiting for the Sabres in HD all summer long and all I need is MSG HD to be only exclusive to Rangers games. That'll throw me off the edge. Okay, not literally, but you understand what I'm saying.

Now I'm just going to try and go to sleep and dream of some pretty goals or whatnot during the week before Friday rolls around...

The new NHL commercials creep me out.

I'm getting ready to watch the Penguins/Senators game, and I see the commercial with Sidney Crosby popping out of the photograph; telling me he never wants to be in that one again. I love the idea, but it's just so creepy. Like the Winter Classic commercial last year with Ryan Miller. That was a commercial that almost gave me nightmares.
I'm going to attempt to do a live blog of this game. I don't know how it's going to go, but we'll see, right?

1st period:

- Thank the heavens that Brian Englom cut off that mullet he was sporting for the past who knows how long. I noticed it right away before the Lightning/Rangers game.

- Here they go, saying that Marian Hossa was a key loss. Yeah, he made the rest of the road to the road to the playoffs a hell of a lot easier for the Penguins, but I don't think it's going to be a huge deal in the long run. He can have fun in Detroit (Oh yeah, I forgot I get to watch him play later)

- ...Oh, I didn't know Tuomo and Jarkko were twins! Versus is on the top of their game already; putting in the wrong photos for people...

- I love see Max and Flower playfully hit each other before games. It makes me happy. (:

- Even the Swedes enjoy their Cotton Eyed Joe goodness over the loudspeakers.

- Ruslan Fedotenko with the first penalty of the game. Dang, he was all over Jason Smith on that one.

- I don't know how I feel about the new rule change. Having a faceoff in the attacking zone for the team that's on the power play...I guess it's both good and bad, depending on whether or not your team is penalized.

- I do have to say that I love goalie cams (and no, not for the reason you're thinking). It's cool seeing the perspective from in the net.

- Antoine Vermette, I hate that I like you. Somewhat. Not as much as Jason Spezza.

- I think the word 'imploded' is an understatement when talking about last year's Ottawa Senators.

- That was a sweet move by Sidney Crosby. It would've been awesome if someone got a stick on that and put it in.

- Ooo, I like that arena. It looks super nice.

- Sick helmet on Alex Auld. That's sharp.

- Okay, I missed what happened with Ruutu and Crosby...oh, of course stupid Chris Neil is involved.

- And again, Versus on the top of their game. Saying the Sens have a power play when they don't.

- Cristoph Schubert (I completely screwed up his name, didn't I?) gets a cross-checking penalty for almost destroying Fedotenko.

- You know what? Mats Sundin is dead to me. Dead, I say.

- Mario Lemieux sighting. Epic.

- Scuds should just take out Heatley, I don't even care. I dislike the guy beyond all imagination.

- Ruslan Fedotenko again. Going to the penalty box. Something with those #26's and the penalty box...*cough*ThomasVanek*cough*.

- Free Candy is being handed out right at the end of the period.

2nd period:

- They aren't joking. That is a huge spherical building that they're in. I wonder what it's like to play hockey in there.

- Oh Jesus, good thing Flower got down fast...I thought for sure Alfredsson had a goal right there.

- Shean Donovan with a hooking penalty. Hopefully, the Penguins can get their first goal on the power play with this oppurtunity.

- Holy crap, that lesson about the blueline confused me. *shakes head* Much too complicated.

- University of Minnesota shoutout, wooooo!

- *random note* Sabres and Red Wings in one hour, yeeeeeah!

Alright, I've decided live blogging is a pain in the butt and I'd like to concentrate on the rest of the game, so this died fast, haha. I lasted a period and a half!

How Swede it is...NOT.

I was very mad yesterday when I was searching through my Time Warner Cable guide to find that not only were they not showing the Lightning/Rangers game on television, but they also weren't showing the Penguins/Senators game either. I live in the Rochester area of WNY, so CBC is out of the question here (but one of my friends at school gets it?) and my family doesn't want to pay the extra five bucks to get the NHL Network. I would've watched it on the internet, but why do that when there's a nice, HD television down in my living room where I could watch Sidney Crosby attempt to grow a five hair?

Another point I wanted to make was...the NHL is trying to broaden the market in Europe, yes? They should let the fans who don't have CBC/NHLN have a chance to watch the ongoings in Europe with all four teams. I know they're showing the games today, but I would've preferred to watch all four instead of just two. It worked last year, didn't it? (I missed those games too, by the way.) The NHL and the way they do their marketing confuses the heck out of me. I probably shouldn't ponder otherwise I'll be thinking about this all day.

It's amazing how much younger Sid the Kid looks without sort of longish hair, and a clean shaven face.

I'z b twnty-1 noaw?

What a babyface! If he still look like this when he hits his early thirties, he will be like a certain French Canadian we all know (and might love? Maybe? You know who it is.)

On the flipside of the European games...


My other favorite 26 in the East!

Marty St. Louis! Or 'Luis' as according to these captions. I'm going to apply for an editing job for these photos, for real. I mean, how do you get the number '66' from '87'? HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK? But, I digress.

I plan on watching both of these games, including...

SABRES @ RED WINGS, WOOOOOOO.

Hooray for televised preseason games! Too bad it's the Detroit feed. But still, TELEVISED PRESEASON GAMES, YAHOO!

My prediction is that the Red Wings are going to place Ty Conklin in net because you know they're saying 'Hey, this guy totally stonewalled the Sabres when he was in the net last season. LET'S PUT HIM IN TO GIVE CHRIS OSGOOD SOME REST.', but then, they'll realize their mistake when all of the sudden the Sabres power play turns out to be really good tonight. (It will be, right?) Or Tim Connolly miraculously has a healed back before the game and decides to play. (Highly doubt it.)
Whatever happens, happens. IT'S ONLY THE PRESEASON. It all starts on Friday, baby~ Which makes me wish I wasn't a senior in high school, but a freshman in college so that I could go to the Party In The Plaza. ): My Homecoming game is on Friday, so I must DVR the game...And they usually lose when I DVR games, so this is bad. Hopefully they won't do it this year!

Speaking of Homecoming, this week is my school's ~Spirit Week~! I have:

Tomorrow - Toga Day
Tuesday - Twin Day (In thus, my best friend and I are dressing like each other. Too bad she hates hockey/the Sabres.)
Wednesday - Elegant Day
Thursday - Class Distinction Day (The senior class got stuck with black. We're rebelling.)
Friday - Spirit Day

Then the Homecoming game is on Friday, along with our pep rally. Oh, we also have a bonfire on Tuesday but I still don't know if I'm going to that...

About one more hour until the Lightning/Rangers, fwee! I don't give a care who wins this game, I just want to see Markus Naslund in some High Def. Oh, and Chris Drury with that 'C' on his jersey. I can't hate the guy, it's really hard.

And for the Penguins/Senators...Go Penguins!

4.10.08

I've hopped on the awesome blogwagon, woo!

Edit: (Afterthought...disregard the awful grammar/sentences used in this post.)

*gives self a pat on the back to start*

Woo, alrighty then.

If you happen to end up here, then you have stumbled onto the blog of a 17-year old girl who knows most of her facts on the game of hockey, but at the same time, can have her fangirliness unleash at any given moment in time. Don't let that fool you. I would much rather puke on those fug pink jerseys than wear them. Even if my entire life depended on wearing that pink jersey. Hang me, tar and feather me, whatever you please but I'm not putting that damn thing on.

Speaking of pink jerseys, I came upon this gem yesterday while looking through the NHL Shop online:What in the Sam hill is this?!

No lie, that was my exact reaction to that...thing. That object colored in pink and gray. Nice to know that the logo was incorporated into the item, I could barely see it! *squints eyes*

Anyways, I'm totally getting off track here. I've been a Sabres fan ever since I was little; I've been born one practically. I never had the chance to see them play in the Aud, but I did go there once for one of my older brother's hockey games. All I can say is that my young ears did not appreciate the sound of the horn blaring through the arena, and I burst out crying. My poor grandfather had to walk me around the building.
I still remember good ol' '99. My stepfather actually taped all of the games, so if I ever wanted to watch the heartbreak over and over again I could.
I wasn't resurged into a Sabres fan until about two years ago. I was really glad to have found my love for the sport again, and plus, I've learned plenty in these past few years. I've been reading up on the history of the game, checking up on most of the teams, and keeping tabs on what's been going on for the past two summers.

If I may so kindly direct you to the side of my blog (This way ---->), you may notice that I have an infatuation with a certain player who wears the number 26 for the Sabres. I might go back from time to time and mention how 'OMG, I TTLY GOTZ A PIKTURE WIT THOMAS VANEK!!!1111' or say how nervous I was to get my jersey signed by him that my sister-in-law had to say 'Uh, she's really starstruck and speechless right now.' and he laughed. A cute laugh, by the way. So uh...sorry in advance if I go a little overboard with the fangirling, I'm sorry. IT'S HARD WHEN YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH PEOPLE WHO DO NOT VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE LISPY AUSTRIAN ON THE SABRES.

Look at him! With Roysie! How can you not love a man who so dependently puts his arm around his favorite teammate/linemate's shoulder?! (You know Derek is his favorite. And vice versa. Right Derek? Right?)

I think I may have rambled on too much for my first post on this thing. I NEED CRITERIA FOR TOMORROW...AND THE NEXT DAY...and you know how it goes.
Since it's pretty late and I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow, I will talk about how mad I am at the NHL for refusing to show the first two games of the NHL season on Versus, my thoughts on the upcoming Red Wings/Sabres game tomorrow and why I'm looking forward to spirit week at my school.

I leave you with a video of Thomas...training. With one of his coaches/trainers talking about the training method during the thing. I actually think the videos are highly amusing, if not for the fact that Thomas is wearing a hat during all of this and that he is wearing Under Armour under his shorts.



...I lied, one more video. Simply because Thomas saying that the birth of his son is his most memorable thing is too cute.