Things just got a lot scarier.

The Coldffalo Train.

Tamara and I decided to combine forces on a blog, and this is the product. You can tell there isn't much going on yet, but we're working on it. I may start making more posts on there and leave this blog for random things that don't include the Sabres if I remember. If you want, feel free to read and add us! :)

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: PATTY!

Tamara and I have been to every game Patty has started this season. Let alone he only started three games, but one was an away game. We've really made the effort to see him play and the boys played well in front of him and Patty made some huge saves in the beginning of the first period to keep the Sabres in the game. He deserved his first win tonight (as he had the other games too) and the excitement this team had after they won made me smile and yell my lungs out for the record. This is why Patty should maybe play on Fridays depending on the team. The team isn't tired in front of him and there's a better chance that he would get a win. I'm sure this game helped amp his confidence up a ton. He definitely needs it.

Melissa from Hockey Is Life met up with us during warmups, and we also sat with her during the game because there was NO ONE at the top of section 302. Or 301. I can't remember the section we were in. Anyways, no one was around us for the second and third periods so we yelped and screamed about everything, haha. I'm assuming some people didn't show up to the game because of the snow, or the game just didn't sell out. I don't remember hearing an announcement about whether or not the game had been sold out.

I am sort of not surprised that most of the arena booed Brian Campbell last night, but you know what? I'm still surprised. Keep it classy Buffalo, as always. The poor guy was traded away and you boo him? It's so stupid. If he had left I would understand but even then, if the team didn't want the guy and he wanted to stay, you shouldn't boo him. I know Tamara and I were yelling 'GO SOUPY!' the whole time and I also made a comment about sweaty hands, but it was supposed to be positive, haha.

The surprise we have planned for everyone is happening TONIGHT! So be on the look out people.

PATRICK. LALIME. WON. A. GAME!!!!

I have nothing else to say for the rest of the night. I'm too exhausted. It was a great game to attend, and it was so great to see Patty finally get a win in person. More tomorrow when I can actually think.

My condolences extend to the entire Mike Grier family as he lost his mother to an illness earlier in the week.

Postgame: 12-9-09

Ryan Miller got a shutout. Thomas Vanek was a presence on the ice, even though he didn't get any points. Nathan Gerbe scored his first NHL goal. Overall, a pretty damn good night for the Sabres! I was certain Alex Ovechkin would score in this game only because he always seems to score on the Sabres in every single game he's played against them. Out of all the games he's played in against the Sabres, he hasn't scored in four of them. Simply insane. It seemed every line that was put out against him played well though. I was equally excited when they showed Thomas give him a little bump to knock the puck away. Glad to see he didn't get on the scoresheet.

I had been beginning to miss the wonderful pan shots of Thomas and him spewing the f bomb everywhere. I got my wish tonight. They just always seem to put him on the screen when he's yelling at himself or just in general. Love it.

If the Sabres played like that every game, they would have a good chance to win night in and night out. It was a good response to two pretty bad games on Saturday and Monday. I hope they can do the same against 20 Cent and the Hawks on Friday, since Tamara and I are going to that game. I'm really glad that I've been getting to see a lot more western conference teams than I ever have in person this season. It's a nice change.

'...and den the Aussie go to Portland, NOT ME!'

Our favorite little guy is back as Darcy Regier recalled Nathan Gerbe from the Pirates this morning. Since there has been a lack of scoring the past two games, hopefully Nate would be able to bring some spark to the Sabres tonight against the Capitals, and however long he may be up here. I hope it's awhile and I really hope this stint is better than the one he had last year, where he had one assist in ten games. He's a feisty young one too, so it'll be interesting to see him play against the Caps. I can't remember if he had the chance to play against them last season.

Oh, and apparently Simeon (Semyon) Varlamov has a lower body injury, so he isn't playing tonight. Jose Theodore is. Since Varlamov had a shutout against the Sabres last time, I'm hoping this outcome will be different...

Make sure to watch out for this blog later! Tamara and I have a surprise for everyone. (: Hopefully one you'll like.

Postgame: 12-7-09

Uninspired hockey. Boring. No pride whatsoever. Say what you want, but we could all agree that the game last night was a hundred percent pure awful hockey from the Sabres. My poor brother went last night for his birthday game or what he calls 'guaranteed loss night'. Tamara and Connor went together to watch a clunker for value game prices. They were cheap seats, but it still sucks to be there to witness that. It was like what we got for the Florida game...but at least they scored in the Florida game.

I listened to Lindy on the radio this morning and he said he was particularly upset with the lack of leadership coming from Connolly, Roy, and Pominville. Lindy has a point saying that he needs his best players to step up and do something. For the record, Vanek was mentioned but Lindy made note that he was one of the better players last night in the third period. Speaking of Vanek, he had a quote that Kevin Sylvester mentioned on his blog from earlier today. Apparently he was quoted as saying that the fans come to games and pay good money to see them win. That they deserve a lot better than what they're seeing. I like that, coming from him. I know I know, my bias side is soooo coming through and I will defend him until the day I die, but it's good to hear that someone is saying it. I'm sure that other guys are too, but this was just placed into print.

The Caps are tomorrow. Here's to hoping it won't be unless scoreless game...from the Sabres that is.

Postgame: 12-5-09

As I mentioned last night, losses like these are always better when you watch them with people who can make you laugh. Watching it alone can send you into hysterics; yelling at your television every so often or just turning the game off completely. Last night we sat through the entire game and watched as the Sabres gave up two points to the Rangers while I believe they are second in the division yet again.

If you were at the game, they showed a stat last night that I didn't even think of during the third period. The line of Vanek-Kennedy-Grier? They all won the NCAA championships when they played in college. I thought to myself 'Wow, that's really neat.' and decided also that I would call them the Wheaties line. The breakfast of champions!

Watching Tyler Myers play lately has been a headache. Ever since he was able to stay up here, he's been on a rollercoaster ride. I understand that rookies are always going to make mistakes but it seems to me he's been making the same mistake every so often in a game. He was definitely the reason for the first goal last night. Don't remember much about the second. I would just like to see him stay calm with the puck and not try and make a play all the time. It's not necessary.

Maybe for Monday there can be a Fabian reunion, eh Zach and Drew? Just need Jordan and some bad clothes, and you're all set.

Tssssss.

It seems whenever the Sabres lose, they refuse to show up for the first two and a half periods and then kick it into gear halfway through the third period. This is only one loss when they had previously won four in a row, but this was a pretty bad loss. Henrik Lundqvist suddenly ends up hot, and no one can get the puck into the net. At least being with my family made the loss a little better since we were joking around the entire time.

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: The streak is broken.

Look at the Swede and I! Wooo, thanks to Tamara for taking the picture. :D

Since a friend of ours gave Tamara's ticket away for a stupid reason, we went to the game together last night. In my last TEAOTAS post, I mentioned how Tamara and I never go to the exciting games, and yesterday was pretty damn exciting. Four goals from Buffalo to start it off, and even though Montreal started to come back, it was good to see Buffalo not let up and get two more to put the Habs away for good.

Little things of note from the game last night:

-We saw Goose sitting up in the pressbox. Poor guy looked so bored last night. We betted on the fact that he more than likely wanted to be on the ice playing the whole game. I really hope he makes a fast recovery.

-Sabretooth attacked me for the third time when we walked past Sabretooth's House. At the Carolina game, he attacked me. Last night, he did it. Tamara made note that he always goes after me and I think she's right. His nose took out my ear yesterday!

-They had a montage of the Sabres being named an NHL team anniversary before the game last night instead of the video opener. They showed the Chris Drury goal (you know the one) and we both got chills. I got chills just typing it out, oh man. I miss that feeling.

-Every guy we called scoring (which was like, ten between the both of us) didn't score last night! One of us usually names one of the guys but this time, no one. Boo.

-Tamara's Lalime jersey is now uncursed! It had never been to a winning game, but last night, it was present. :D

Silly post.

Thanks to Tamara for the heads up on this interview.

Postgame: 11-30-09

I would have much rather watched a Ryan Miller shutout game on MSG so as to hear Rick call it, but you can't always get what you want. He played very well last night once again. He may not have had to make the stellar saves he had done against Carolina (except for a few shots by Phil Kessel) but he kept the Sabres in the game for the first forty minutes as they couldn't find the back of the net until Tim Kennedy scored. I wonder if he's ever going to score at home this year, yeesh.

It's very excited to have seen Hank score too! We were hoping to see his little dance he did like he did last year when he scored against St. Louis, but I guess it doesn't help that they weren't at home when he scored. We didn't even realize he had scored until they announced it. Good stuff though, and good for Hank!

For the record, I really REALLY like the Vanek-Kennedy-Grier line. It was weird to see the combo on Saturday in person but even my brother said that was probably the best line on Saturday once they started scoring. I like it. I don't care if that means Thomas is on the third line. Whatever works is perfectly fine with me.

Happy birthday, Jason!

Look at you, turning 26 years of age today! Lucky that you boys get to play on your birthday. Hopefully if you hit a goal post, the puck will actually go in this time. Just kidding!

...Or not.

Either way, have a very happy birthday, Pants! Don't get too much birthday cake on that schnozz of yours.

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: For once, we go to an exciting game.

PotG is back in business after I took a short hiatus with moving and everything. Most of our things are unpacked and I hooked up the internet yesterday (mostly on my own, go me), so here I am!

Tamara and I bought tickets to last night's game following the win against Philly. We grumbled about it because these boys make us spend money when we might not want to, but it's worth it if they end up playing a good game. Now we always seem to pick the games where it's 2-1, 3-2, etc. etc. This was the first exciting game we've been to all season long. It only took the Sabres two periods to wake up, but when Ryan made that one spectacular save, they were ready to go. The crowd was certainly energized last night that's for sure.

During the first intermission, Tamara was able to meet my brothers and one of my sister-in-laws because they were also at the game. It's weird being there with most of my family in attendance as well, but these are one of the only times I'm able to see them. If I have the chance to spot them at a game then I will go see them. Unless I'm in the 100s, then I am not making the walk up there through strings of people, haha.

Some people at games need to learn that you cannot get up and leave until there's a stoppage in the play. So many people were getting up to leave yesterday when there were about three minutes left in the game and kept getting in the way. It was ridiculous. I was about to punch one of them. People are just so stupid.

I am so glad that the schedule for the Sabres is changing up now though I'll probably forget that there's a game on tomorrow until Tamara reminds me about it. I'm too used to this Wednesday-Friday-Saturday thing going on.

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: TEAOTAS take on Ottawa.

I warn you that this is going to end up being an extremely long post. I could always break it up into smaller parts but I know if I did that, then I would never finish my explanation of what went down. You understand that, right?

Okay.

So we got up at 3:30 in the morn' on Saturday to get ready to leave by 4. Tamara woke me up by telling me the Sabres lost in OT to the Bruins and I was like 'k'. I mean, we figured that they at least got a point so it was no biggie. We drove over to Tim Horton's after we were all packed and ready to go, and got some much needed caffeine and sugar for the hours ahead of us. Then we were on our way to Ottawa.

The drive was not bad at all. I thought for sure we might hit traffic or tons of construction at one point (thank God for it being a weekend though). The only hiccup that occurred was that the Denny's we were planning on going to had been closed for 'training in progress'. TRAINING IN PROGRESS! Who the hell closes their Denny's because of that? You're supposed to have people train by serving customers, that simple. We had to opt for a McDonald's instead. Poor Tamara didn't even eat her McMuffin and I don't blame her one bit.

We made it to the border and the second lady we had to go through asked who was the Sens fan in the car. Tamara and I looked at each other, and were like 'neither of us.' We could have said there was one in the backseat with Patty the bobblehead being back there but then that's when they would have pulled us over.

At one point on the road, this massive bus had passed by us on the highway in Canada. Both Tamara and I looked, and it was the Kitchener Rangers bus! Their logo was on the side and it through us off because we just saw the 'RANGERS' and thought it was the New York Rangers for a second. It was pretty neat. We tried to follow them since we figured they knew where we were going but that didn't go quite as planned.

After not that much time, we ended up in the city of Rideau, which is a part of Ottawa and headed to our hotel. Not the best thing in the city but we're college students and we're cheap. It had to do. We couldn't check in yet so we went to the Rideau Shopping Centre that was a few blocks down from the hotel. This Centre was HUGE! It had three floors and definitely puts the Galleria to shame. They even had a whole store dedicated to the Senators. We went in there and Tamara wanted to ask about any Heatley shirts but then we probably would have gotten killed.

I tried my first thing of poutine at a place in the food court, and it was delicious. Tamara told me that it's an acquired taste but when I tried it, I liked it immediately. I'm not even fond of gravy. It was extremely yummy and I almost ate the entire thing if it hadn't filled me up so quickly.

After we ate, we headed out to Stiddville to pick up one of Tamara's friends that she went to college with. She was incredibly nice, and showed us a shortcut of how to get to Scotiabank Place, haha. It is seriously just over a hill and out in the middle of nowhere. It's also EXTREMELY huge. I couldn't believe how big of an arena it is, but we're getting to that later.

We swung back over the hotel and hung out a bit before then going to Swiss Chalet for lunch. You have no idea how much I adore that restaurant. It might be my most favorite one ever. It's a shame that there's like, three left in the Western New York area but they have amazing food. I was so excited when I found out we were going there. When we arrived, we noticed how on the wall they had a little wooden plaque that had a few of the Senators from the pre-lockout years and Patrick Lalime was on it. We were going to try and buy it off of them but that didn't turn out as planned.

Parking for Scotiabank Place sucks for the record. It was crazy getting out of there after the game. We saw a few Sabres fans while getting out and heading to the doors, and we walked in. It's a beautiful arena and we walked around the entire place (I think). They only had two floors and to get to the third level, you had to walk up some stairs from the second level to get up there.We sat in the kiddie section so I think that saved us with the heckling. We DID get the occasional 'Buffalo sucks' comments though, but whatever. The only time we said anything against the Sens fans was how Dany Heatley had more goals than Daniel Alfredsson.

Let me tell you something though. I'm sure this is the same with all Canadian arena, but Scotiabank Place put the HSBC Arena to shame with the noise in there. It was incredible. We should be ashamed of ourselves for not being loud enough. I loved the atmosphere there, and even though the Sabres lost, I think I would love to go back and watch a game there again sometime.

The next day was full of fun filled events as well, but Tamara pretty much covered what happened then. This trip was loads of fun and when I officially unpack at my new house and get the desktop computer up and running, I will have videos and photos.

You blew it.

What an awful game to be a part of. Not only am I not letting the Sabres ruin my trip to Ottawa, but I am going to try and forget how atrocious this weekend has been for them. Losing three games in a row is disgusting. I think the Sabres are like, 1-5 against Northeast Division rivals. What a joke.

I'm so glad the Sabres helped out Patty tonight. I'm so glad they decided to crap out after the first period. Don't give me this back-to-back bullshit. They need to learn how to start winning some games back-to-back. It's getting a little ridiculous now.

Also, maybe learn something new on the power play for once. I don't care if Thomas got a power play goal, it fucking sucks. Take people off the power play. Jason Pominville should not be on the point on the power play because he can't keep the puck in if it meant his life.

I am about ready to tear half of this team apart besides Patty, Patches, and Drew. I think I'm only majorly upset because Tamara and I woke up at 3:30. THREE THIRTY. To drive out here only to witness that. Absolutely disgusting.

Fuck 'em.

We're in Ottawa!

Tamara and I successfully made it to the great capital of Canada in one piece. With one little mishap with a Denny's near the border of Canada (it was closed) it's been a pretty smooth journey thus far. We're in the hotel room now, chilling before hitting the road to go to Swiss Chalet and then to Scotiabank Place. We have confimation from WGR 550 that Patrick Lalime is playing tonight and Tamara is extremely excited. We're going to get killed with our Lalime and Pominville jerseys tonight, just saying.

I will be sure to take plenty of pictures and videos for everyone to see. I will also be sure to somehow make it out of Canada alive...

Almost time.

Tamara and I are officially drugged up on the Tylenol PM and are getting ready to fall asleep. Hopefully I will be able to fall asleep by like, nine, but I'm not even sure. We head out tomorrow at around four and will probably arrive in Ottawa at nine. I will then update this again when we get there. Maybe.

Wish us luck and hope for saftey on our travels!

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby:...And Morgan and Connor!

The photo was shamelessly taken from Tamara. It's hers!

Instead of just Tamara and I going to a game together, we went with two other of our friends. We had some pretty good seats in one of the corners of the arena. The view was great! The game wasn't, but we won't talk about that. Steve was on the poster last night and Tamara and I bought it of course. The only two posters I have are Craig and Steve. I think there is going to be a pattern here with them. I could've bought Derek and Mike too but I hate Derek and Mike was injured that game.

We saw Morgan's twin sister at one of the food places, said our hellos and got food, and then went to our seats. We had made signs (or should I say Tamara made them) and they had three ducks and a picture of Goose on one of the posters. So it went 'Duck. Duck. Duck. GOOSE!' We got on the jumbotron in the back at one point and apparently we ended up on TV. I have no idea, haha.

I wish Sabretooth had danced or the Timbits had skated the whole time because that would've been worth more of the money I spent on a ticket than watching that game. Horrendous.

Ottawa is not far away! I will more than likely update this before we leave but if I don't have time, then pray for us!

Of secrets and benching.

Toni Lydman is pretty much ready to make a comeback on the ice, and what's going on? He is being benched because of how the play of Andrej Sekera has been impressive at most the past few games. Really? Really? While I have nothing against Reggie in the slightest, Toni has not played for the past ten games. He is one of our most consistent shotblockers on this team, for the record. Unfortunately, if the Sabres took Tyler out of the lineup then the fans would go nuts and probably burn down the arena. So stupid. All I'm saying is he better be playing on Saturday when Tamara and I go to Ottawa.

In slightly better news, Thomas updated his blog today and said something very interesting:

Hi folks, sorry to have kept you waiting, but there was a lot going on in the last month. First the injury, then… But, no, that’s still a secret. You’ll get to know soon enough.

Any guesses with what the big news might be? I think I may know but I'm not sharing my thoughts because knowing me, I'll be wrong and feel like a total idiot.

Also, over the summer he had coached a team called the ITR26ers. How cute is it that 26 is in the name? Aww. I also think that he's the part owner of the team too, and they ended up winning an entire tournament that happened in Minnesota. They have a website here if you want to check it out. I think it's awesome of him to dedicate his time like that to a team already, and he's still pretty young.

Shit.

Tamara and I were at the Boulevard Mall today to go look for a picture of Goose in poster size. We ventured into LAUX Sporting Goods to see if they had any (which apparently, the only huge posters they seem to have are of Ryan, Thomas, and Sidney Crosby. What the hell.) Anyways, Tamara noticed a '10' on a jersey that was on a rack and we got all excited. Then we saw the price.

It went from $169.99 to $79.99. Needless to say the jersey was a CCM and not a Reebok type but still! We sort of freaked out a little because of how cheap it was. He was on the rack with Jaro and Max. I'm sure this doesn't mean a thing, but I don't want to see the Swedish defensemen traded or anything of the sort. He's really starting to play well again with Tyler. If he can keep this up, then I hope the city will give him another chance...

Postgame: 11-14-09

It seems like forever go since a Sabres won a back-to-back game and somehow, they took it to a team yesterday that was rested and ready to go. I was completely stunned by the effort through the first two periods. The Sabres came out flying and dominated the first period. Seriously, I think the first period went by too fast. I don't even think the Flyers knew what was going on.

The power play played well last night, if you forget about the short handed goal by Jeff Carter. Two for six is not bad at all. I'm saying this in how we haven't seen power play goals come often from the guys lately. Nice to see them tally some up on the PP.

I was so excited for Tyler Ennis when he scored his first goal. I really like him and the style he plays, and he's been playing well in Portland so it was a good move by Darcy to bring him up. He probably won't be here long if Drew's hip heals quickly but I have a feeling that he's going to do well with the time he has up here. Good for him!

Overall, a good game from the Sabres last night. They didn't let the league's leading power play score again and they showed a lot of toughness in the beginning of the game. Considering they were on back-to-back nights, they were bound to get tired in the third and you could see it. Now they have off until Florida on Wednesday.

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: Jaroooooome!

It's been awhile since one of these posts have happened. Tamara and I hadn't gone to a game together since Atlanta last month, but we went last night, and are going to two games next week. Exciting!

We got to the arena pretty early and after completely forgetting to hang out in the lower bowl for warmups and going up the escalator, we headed back down to the 100s. We stood by where the Flames were warming up because we see the Sabres enough as it is (Tamara a hell of a lot more than I). I was really excited to see Jarome Iginla in person. He's one of those players that us Easterners don't see enough of and I was glad to see him skating around up close. I heard he is an extremely nice guy. Speaking of Calgary, either a lot of fans live in Toronto or people just had a Calgary jersey and decided to switch up today. The fanbase turn out was incredible. Good job Calgary!

We headed up to our seats and lucky us, we sat next to some weird ones again. One guy who claimed to be a Leafs fan (and also a Calgary fan) was so blasted he went down to the Sabres store and bought a blank Sabres jersey. It was pretty funny but other than that, we hate being bothered by drunk idiots as such. I wonder how much we're going to encounter in Ottawa...pray for us.

I realized something as we were watching the game. We don't pay much attention to it, but instead, we talk the whole time about random stuff. We pay more attention to it when it's on TV. It's the weirdest thing but the games we've been to haven't exactly been exciting...maybe except the Atlanta and Leafs game. I hope the Florida and Ottawa games are super exciting.

Now after the game, we headed downstairs to wait in the lobby to see who would come out. Apparently the Sabres have started this thing where three players come out to sign autographs (but you have no idea which three they are). I had my picture taken with Sabretooth finally (thanks again Tamara!) and then we waited until Matt Ellis and Chris Butler came out. I was all ready to have Matt sign my ticket when all of the sudden, the couple in front of me backed up into me and Matt went over to the next part of the rope. At that point I was just like 'screw it'. People of Buffalo: If you get something signed by a player and are done getting something signed by them, then get the hell out of the way. Thanks!

Next up: Philly.

What in the tarnation is going on?

Tamara and Caroline went to the morning skate today and I would have gone too if I didn't have college to deal with. Silly school. Anyways, when I parked at the Pepsi Center to start walking to class, I saw that Tamara texted me saying something very unnerving to me. She said that it looked like Thomas Vanek was taken off of the power play unit.

NOW WAIT A MINUTE HERE. I realize he only has five goals in thirteen games. I also realize that he has only one power play goal. I think so anyways. But you need his presence in front of the net. Goose is a big guy too and plays well in front of the net, but that's on the power play unit. They tried Drew Stafford out last year when Thomas was out and it didn't work out too well. We know he has a great pair of hands and I don't understand why Lindy would take him off. If it's because of the three penalties he got, I will (to put it bluntly) shit a brick.

This news may not be true since Tamara wasn't too sure, but I hope it really isn't. He thrives on the power play. If this means that he has to pick up his game though to earn a spot back on the power play then I know he'll do it. He's been pressured like this before. Most of the time, he delivers. He will be back.

Guess whose back? Back again? Patty's back!

Patick Lalime's groin has been feeling a lot better, and now he is resuming his position as Ryan's backup, woohoo! Since the Pirates are up here today playing in a game (right now, actually), Jhonas didn't have to go very far. Probably only in the locker room next door. I have no idea if the Pirates locker room is the Sabres locker room when they're up here. I have to find that out. Anyways, this whole this is great news simply because Tamara and I have a feeling Patty is going to play against Ottawa when we go. It'll be the first meeting between the two teams, so who knows what Sabres team is going to show up against them. Hopefully it'll be a big ol' W on the board.

I had no idea of this until last night, but Mike Grier hurting his groin too? Tamara put it well saying good thing we didn't get rid of Adam...Mike was supposed to 'take his place' too. I like Mike and all, but Adam has a place on this team too still. I don't think Tim Kennedy fits his role, that's for sure. At least not yet. Maybe in a few years. I'm glad that Adam is still here. I have a weird infatuation with him and I don't know why. Maybe it's the blonde hair...yeah.

Postgame: 11-11-09

While this game wasn't as interesting as the blow out against the Oilers, it had it's moments. Tamara, and I called Drew scoring against simply because it was Edmonton. He had a stellar game against them last season and he put the first one on the board after a rebound. Then when Monty score, Tamara, a friend of ours and I all were jumping around because we were so excited for him. We love Monty, haha. I'm really glad he got his first goal! Now Craig just has to get his. He should do it against Florida next week...just saying Craig.

Let's talk about Thomas Vanek's game last night. Somehow had more than ten minutes of ice time even after all those penalties. THREE PENALTIES! Jesus, I would've rather seen him go for fighting or something instead of diving (?!), slashing, and hooking. At least he got an assist last night? I never want to see that type of game from him ever again. Bad hockey folks.

I really hope Clarke MacArthur isn't suspended for what happened to Reddox. From the replays that I see, Clarke tapped him a little bit and Reddox just fell awkwardly into the boards because of the position he was in. You can clearly see in the replay too that Clarke tried to help him until the Oilers started to come after Clarke. Here's to hoping that the guy is okay right now. That small hit looked scary because it looked like he wasn't moving at first...nothing you ever want to see in this game. Ever.

I love Christopher Butler.

I wasn't at the Catwalk yesterday, but thanks to Tamara and her lovely photos AND keeping me updated throughout the event, I got my fill of it yesterday. This picture was the icing on the cake for me. Chris Butler was born in the wrong era - so was Drew Stafford, who definitely was into last night. Oh, and Steve Montador.

That's all I really have to say. Hopefully last night's activities cleared their heads (literally, with drinking) and they're ready to go on Wednesday against the Oilers.

I hate the Flyers.

This picture describes last night's game perfectly. Craig Rivet's fall represents the Sabres epic fail against the Flyers' third and fourth line. Daniel Carcillo represents everything I hate with Philadelphia and their organization. Oh, and he hasn't scored a goal since January 18th or something like that - WHEN HE WAS WITH PHOENIX! Come on boys. You did this last year too. If some guy has a goal scoring drought, they could score against the Sabres and get all excited. We don't want that to happen, like, ever.

The only Flyer I might semi like is Brayden Coburn and I don't even know why. I think Tamara influenced that one on me, like with Dany Heatley, but that's besides the point. We were kind of stoked at first because we thought he had scored the first goal but THEN we saw Daniel Carcillo being all smiles. Disgusting. For the record, please keep your mouthguard in your mouth when you skate. Having it hand out like you do is just plain weird.

I really want to know where Tyler Myers had come from on the rush where he scored. We didn't even realize he had scored until Rick had said something about it. Jesus, that boy appears from nowhere.

Oh, and I loved Robi's tie from last night. It must have been from the Fruit Stripes gum collector's edition. His choice of ties always tend to make me happy.

'Coldston' is up next on the schedule tonight. It'll be good to see a familiar face again.

Boooo!

Tonight was not a very good night at all. First, the Sabres lose to the Flyers in a quite horrible fashion. I am never saying what the score of the game is going to be outloud ever again. I said that it would eventually be 4-1, Flyers and it was. Stupid brain and stupid psychic moments in hockey.

Then my dry skin on my hands begins to act up again. Every winter for the past three years or so, I've been getting red rashes on my hands from dry skin. They're weird patches too so my hands always look messed up in the winter time. Lotion doesn't even help me out one bit.

And then, Thomas Vanek got a freaking haircut and shaved off his semi beard! When I thought to myself 'Yeah, he's going to get it cut before the next game'! Sadly, that might be the most awful thing that happened to my little heart tonight.

More tomorrow when I can collectively put my thoughts together on this game and how I really dislike the Flyers and Daniel Carcillo's missing teeth.

Jim Corsi's eyebrows are weapons of mass destruction.

According to Steve Montador in his '2 In The Box' interview (I'm really going to love that segment by the way), Brian McCutcheon could beat Jim Corsi in a fight...but then he mentioned how Jim Corsi's eyebrows are pretty 'sick'. I would have to agree on this. The eyebrows are really stellar, and as Steve said, they could cushion his face if a puck hit him there. Maybe the Sabres should incorporate this into their plan of attack. It would scare the opponents completely and the boys would win every game. Hence, weapons of mass destruction!

Or not.

Why is your ice time so...low?

If any of you have watched Thomas Vanek's interview today, you saw the awkwardness that was the question 'Did you talk to Lindy about why your ice time was so low last night?' He paused and then answered 'He didn't say anything.' More of an awkward pause and stifled laughter. 'We're just rolling with four lines.'

Lindy and Thomas didn't have a very nice way to end the season way back in 05-06 with his butt being benched in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and we all know how he turned it around the season after that. I still have the feeling these two have some problems with one another...which is evident in the fact that when Thomas does one thing wrong, he seems to get benched. If the Primadonna Cuntnugget does something wrong, he doesn't get benched. I'm not even saying this because I'm biased, it's pure fact.

Yesterday, Thomas Vanek had a little over 11 minutes in ice time. 11. Minutes. Considering he's been the leading goal scorer on this team for the past three seasons, I don't want him to be playing only that much time per night. You have to factor in PK time because he doesn't play that (he used to...remember that, Lindy? Remember those short handed goals?)
Anyways, Heather from Top Shelf mentioned it in her most recent post, and I commented on how when Thomas seems to be playing well in a game, his ice time is less. If he isn't getting points on the board but is still playing well then he has at least 15 minutes of ice time. Lindy keeps saying Thomas has to keep working to get his ice time higher, but what does he have to do? Be Alexander Ovechkin every night?

I love Lindy, I really do. I just hate this relationship between the two of them.

That was some good redemption there, boys.

A nice shutout for Ryan and some goals for the offense made tonight turn out to be quite nice for the Sabres. I was over at my brother's house watching this game, and the other time I went over there to watch a game this season, Ryan Miller had his first shutout against Nashville. Maybe I should watch Sabres games with him more often...just kidding, Tamara.

It's about time the Primadonna Cuntnugget scored his first goal of the season. I was really hoping that it tipped off of Thomas' stick, but alas, no. My brother made me incredi bly happy tonight because he was bitching about how people always say that Thomas does absolutely nothing in front of the net. He defended him all night, with the standing in the crease and how he isn't lazy, but he just isn't a fast skater. I don't meet too many people now that defend him quite like I do but I occasionally find people who don't put the guy down so that's always nice.

It was good to see the power play in action tonight. I don't know how many power plays they had, but they scored two goals on it, and it's a start. It's time to get it cranking out. Remember when the Sabres were in the top five last year for the PK AND PP? Insane.

Flyers on Friday. I hate these games against them. Or I just hate their fans...one of the two.

News Flash: Patrick Lalime is not a 'dueche'.

Most fans already know of Patty going down with a groin injury and Jhonas Enroth being called up to replace him. This doesn't bother me at all. It's what I was reading from other Sabres fans that threw me off. 'Oh, I hope Lalime is injured.' 'Maybe they got rid of Lalime.' 'That dueche Patrick Lalime is leaving.'

Really? Really?

Do people not remember when Ryan Miller went down and for most of those games, Patty was standing on his head? Do we not remember the team sucked in front of him and that caused them to only win four games in that long streak of Ryan being out? Oh no, we're just looking at his stats from this season...A GAME AND A HALF. You have a lot to go on from there, apparently.

The Sabres started off flat footed against Atlanta and it was a miracle they scored a lot in the game before that one. The same thing happened against the Islanders on Saturday, a game in which Ryan Miller WAS PULLED and Lindy put Patty out there. You can not go off the handle and say he's a bad goaltender on just nearly two games. It just doesn't work that way.

And if we're talking about that 7-6 win over the Leafs in preseason, good job - both goaltenders were awful that night. Patty made one more save than Vesa Toskala did and that's the only thing that mattered. THE PRESEASON DOES NOT MATTER.

Rant = done.

Jason and Jayden.

Jason Pominville and his wife welcomed a baby boy into the world maybe three or two days ago that they named Jayden. How cute are those names together? Jason and Jayden. If he has another boy, it'll be James and if it's a girl, it'll be Jamie. I bet his full name is Jayden Jason Pominville. Hey, Thomas Vanek did it with his son, Blake. Blake Thomas Vanek! Sooo cute.

Speaking of which, Thomas was on NHL Live today and talked about how the Sabres are doing so far. He was also asked about head shots and basically said that things should be taken care of now. I completely agree. They also asked about the Olympics, which I cringed at. People forget that Austria is not that good at hockey. Well no, that isn't true. Austria is good enough to beat A and B pool teams but not good enough to beat teams in the World Championships. They're really in the middle of the pack. He mentioned how even though with his dad being Czech and his mother being a Slovak, he was born in Austria and he wouldn't change the team he played for, for the world. I love his loyalty. I just wish he would be there for the Olympics, but oh well...

Not going to Long Island was worth it.

As a spur of the moment thing, Tamara and I were going to head to Long Island for one reason and one reason only. That was because WE THOUGHT Patrick Lalime was going to start the game. Our assumption was completely wrong. Really good thing we didn't go to the game. Also, Lindy foiled our costume idea. Tamara was going to be Patty while I would be Marty. Ugh. It would've worked from the second period onward.

This game was awful from all ends of the spectrum and you can't even justify anyone's game last night, from the offense all the way to goaltending (except Patty because he had to replace Ryan). The offense just didn't show up and Marty was excellent. The defense backed up way too much and gave a lot of room to the Islanders, and Ryan did not look good. At least on the second goal. That was all him.

There's a quote that Thomas Vanek had last night that bothers me.

"This one falls on me. I'm the goal-scorer here, and I could have put the Islanders away in the first period myself, and I didn't."

Shut up, Thomas. Just shut up, please. There is more than one guy on the team that has the capabilities to score. I'm just sick of him taking all the blame when it either wasn't his, or wasn't entirely his fault. I feel like he needs a hug. All the time. I love you Thomas, but don't start the blame game on yourself this early.

"You had two penalties, and the Sabres keep rolling."

Not exactly the prettiest win of the season, but the Sabres still pulled out with two points in overtime. For the record, Tamara and I chanted Timmy's name throughout the OT and called him scoring the game winner. We are obviously psychic, yo.

While it was nice for the boys to get the extra point in OT, the last few seconds of regulation were BAD. Point number one, don't screen your goaltender. Point number two...reflections are bad. Ryan really had no chance on it considering it was a deflection, but when you end up giving up the equalizer when they pulled the goaltender AND you're on the power play? Come on guys. Though, it could've been 3-1 if they counted Timmy's little hand pass empty netter, but those are the breaks. It's not like the Leafs were right behind us in points where it's bad that they got a point.

They get back in the groove tonight on Halloween, and I hope the Islanders don't 'scare' them away, per say.

You keep on rocking, Drew Stafford.

A very happy birthday goes out to one of our favorite, incredibly hairy but hardcore right wingers, Andrew* Stafford! He is twenty-four years old today. (: Oh, and look! They play the Maple Leafs tonight so maybe he'll be able to score a pretty sick goal against them like he did on Febrary 4th last season. I remember these things WAY too well.

In addition to his birthday post, I'm a posting the Fabian video. If you haven't seen it, I'm sorry for the damage this will do to your brain. If you have seen it - sorry again.

Fabian (Live) Video by Red Seal Peach - MySpace Video

Leopard pants have never looked so good.

*Tamara and I think that Drew isn't his actual name, so we will go with Andrew here.

"I smile because I love the children."

I think we all knew by the Tampa game (if not before then) that Tyler Myers was probably going to remain a Sabre for a duration of the season, but there was a small sense that he would be sent back to juniors for contract reasons. He is now a restricted free agent one year earlier. He could be an unrestricted free agent a year earlier if he plays at least forty games this season. I have a feeling that the team is going to keep him in the lineup for most of it, unless they need to scratch him for injured defensemen coming back. For now, he's here to stay with the big club. Congratulations Tyler! I hope you decide to shave that Dirty Sanchez you have starting sooner or later...

So, how crazy was the save Ryan Miller made in the second period? At least, I think it was during the second period. He jumped because of an incoming puck, and then he slid back into the net to make a very nice save. The Devils feed didn't show the whole thing and we were disappointed. That was worth a second look.

I never want to watch a Sabres game on another feed again. I should have said that last year during their road trip. Ugggh, I am not looking forward to the west coast trip in January.

Bow down.

Today is Chris Butler's 23rd birthday! Happy birthday, Sir Christopher!


Make custom Glitter Graphics



I would have made a more proper post if I didn't have to go to school at this moment. Have a great birthday, Chris!

So how aboot them Canucks?

One thing I really fail to do with this blog is talk about the other hockey teams I like. I think I've mentioned the Canucks twice or three times this season in my posts, and for that I'm sorry. With the Sabres schedule being so screwy this month, I really need something to talk about. That brings me to the Canucks game last night.

Roberto Luongo had his 21st shutout as a Canuck last night, and Michael Grabner scored his second goal of the season on the power play. I didn't even notice while watching the game but Michael was standing in front of the net on the power play and deflected it in. Sounds like another player we know and love, and I got so giddy. His first stint with the club during the preseason didn't go so well but after a month of being in Manitoba, it's really helped him.

Willie Mitchell gave Sam Gagner a nice smack in the nose that caused him to bleed significantly. I love when they have to stick up what looks like gauze up their nose to stop the bleeding. Poor guy, at least it didn't hit his eye or anything.

They have currently won three in a row and play the Red Wings next, who have lost three in a row. Woo!

Thank goodness for that long reach.

My thoughts are still pretty jumbled from the game tonight (or maybe I have a pizza hangover from the Domino's I had during gameplay) so I can only think of some things that crossed through my mind during the game tonight.

-WHERE IS PATTY? (Tamara eventually spotted him and put up a post-it to signify where he was sitting).
-Craig Rivet totally shaved inbetween the first and second periods. Fact.
-Mike Grier looked SO happy when he scored and it made me smile too.
-Vincent Lecavalier is so gorgeous that it should be illegal in the entire world. I could watch him on my screen all day.
-Marty St. Louis is so tiny!
-Mike Smith needs to chill out. It was a little immature for him to be destroying his water bottles at the end of regulation.
-Cellino & Barnes popping up on the screen? Yeah. I will never get used to that.
-Derek Roy is doing nothing with this Diabetes thing so far this season. He hasn't scored yet.
-Speaking of THAT thing, I got all excited when he was down on the ice. I cannot stand him and if a little roughing up can change his attitude, then good. With that said, the officiating sucked tonight (oh, and I was glad Thomas was sort of checking to see if he was okay. Good sport, Thomas!)
-And another thing, I don't know if Ryan Miller can act.
-I should have more faith in Thomas with shootouts. Sorry dude.
-Okay Tyler, you can stay with the big boys.

In a galaxy far, far away...

I sadly couldn't pay much attention to the game last night because I was part working on a five page paper (which only reached three pages and a few sentences) and on my application for an EDL.* I did pay enough attention to watch the Sabres dominate in the goal scoring department in the first period. I completely missed Clemmensen get pulled though? Fail by me. Vokoun shut down the Sabres pretty well after letting in three in the first, but at least they scored a ton in the first.

While doing my EDL application and having my mom talk to me, I missed most of Chris Butler's interview. I am a sad Shelby. I know it's on the website so I will eventually get to watching the entire thing. Give me time Chris, give me time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Carubba Collision not just because the Austrian was involved, but because it was a pile up. I love those. I'm just glad no one had gotten hurt because of it.

Speaking of Austrians, if I'm not mistaken Michael Grabner from the Vancouver Canucks scored his first NHL goal and point last night! There are high expectations for him because he's playing well for the Manitoba Moose and I'm glad he was called up! Woooo!


I find him to be very adorable. (: Aww. I'm so excited for him.

Fare thee well, Daniel Paille.

Lord knows I'm going to miss that dumbfounded look on his face. Good luck in Boston, Pie. At least you'll get to play there, huh?

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov are best friends.

Tamara and I made our fourth trip together to the HSBC Arena to watch the Sabres take on the Thrashers. We specifically wanted to go to see Max make his first trip back to Buffalove and successfully got some pretty decent seats (even though the guys behind us were total assholes). Ironically, the game that was being shown on the Jumbotron before the game started was from about a decade ago, and Max was just a baby Sabre then. Those were the good ol' days.

To have my title of the post make sense, when we went to the practice in the morning, Tamara and I were waiting for Max to come out of the tunnel for the Thrashers. As soon as we saw the long, straggly hair we knew it was him. Thomas skated right over and gave him a little handshake and they spoke for a bit. I've heard stories of them being really close, and I'm sure he was really sad when Max left town so it was nice to see them converse and such during practice.

I sported Tamara's Lydman jersey as she wore her Lalime jersey. It was weird to have someone else's jersey on other than Vanek or Pominville, but also a nice change. I need more variety in my life with these guys.

The guy on the poster was Derek Roy last night so we passed up on buying it. I don't want him staring at me in my room, noooo thanks. We unsuccessfully found Drew Stafford's portrait AGAIN in the arena and we have no idea where he is now. We've look everywhere.

Now, I was working on four hours of sleep in the past two days because we had gone to see Paranormal Activity at 12:30 on Saturday morning. We didn't get back to my brother's house until two something and then didn't fall asleep until after three. I had a dentist appointment at eight so I didn't get much sleep at all. The Sabres weren't helping me as they quickly fell to 2-0 in the first period. Clarkie getting a goal certainly woke me up, and the fact he is now leading the team in goals. I would say I didn't see it coming but Thomas is out, so when he gets back, I'm sure he'll get the lead again in goals.

I have no remorse in saying that I cheered for Max last night after he scored. I was so sick of most of the arena booing when he had the puck, and I feel like him putting it in the net was justice. Yeah, he pissed me off a lot the past two years but who hasn't on this team at least once a season? Derek Roy just pisses me off 24/7. Max is going to do well in Atlanta with the Russians there, so I think it's going to be a good fit for him.

Tamara and I are currently two for four with games that we've gone to where the Sabres have won, but it's okay. This was their first regulation loss of the season and they have a few days to rest until the road trip next week in Florida. If they can play like they did against Detroit down there, then they'll be sure wins.

...If the Sabres can dominate Detroit, why couldn't they do that against Atlanta ever?

This is the look of (perplexed) perfection.

Thomas Vanek thanks you for your time, and wants you to watch out for him in the game tomorrow. Because I don't care what anyone says; I have a feeling he's going to be playing. If not, then my intuition made an oops.

EPIC DOMINATION! (For real this time)

I love getting out of class early so that I have time to update my blog inbetween class and work, so here I am to talk about the epic game from Tuesday evening against the Red Wings.

This week I am currently watching over my brother's house, and I thought for sure that he would have digital cable again, but he didn't. This forced my mom and I to watch the game on the crappy internet feed, but I was so glad I was able to watch this game nevertheless. The way they manhandled the Red Wings really got me excited, and while this game could have been an absolute fluke, I would like to hope that this is a sign for things to come with this team. They played well defensively, Ryan Miller was there when he needed to be, and the pucks began to go into the net.

While we had that scare of Thomas possibly being out for weeks, now it has shortened down to days. Thank goodness. Like I said in my previous post, I wouldn't mind if he had been out for a few weeks but I'm glad that we're getting good news about his injury instead of extremely bad news. Hooray!

I am really happy about the points being distributed all around the team as well. I was looking at the stats after the game on Tuesday, and a lot of guys have between two to five points already in four games. That isn't bad at all. I would rather have goals and assists distributed around a bunch of guys instead of the same four or five guys every game.

I think getting Mike Grier back really did something to this team...and I like it.

Not as bad as originally feared.

I was going to make this post about Thomas Vanek already posting about his injury status BUT I read some delightful news on Facebook. According to the WGR website, his injury isn't as bad as they first thought and now Lindy is saying that they'll see how he feels from day to day. I am so ecstatic about this news, you have no idea. Not that I would have cared much if he missed a few weeks, but I'm glad that the injury isn't too bad.

...Later I'll make a post about the game from last night. After my brain melts from my Math quiz.

EPIC DOMINATION!

The Sabres dominated the Red Wings tonight with a 6-2 win over them. I am super excited about that. I think I'll make the proper post tomorrow once I finish wallowing in my sorrows for the loss of Thomas Vanek for the next few weeks. ): I hope that means like...two weeks. Oh maaaan. ):

I didn't know I was tuning into a Minnesota Wild game last night.

I'm so glad that game was boring for most of the time. I went over to my brother's last night, expecting a lot of cheering and yelling at guys for doing stupid things but NOTHING was going on. It only got exciting near the end after Mike Grier scored. Then we had something to cheer about.

I'm sorry, but I don't want these boys turning into the Minnesota Wild or the New Jersey Devils of old. I like my hockey exciting and not sucking the life out of me as I watch it. Maybe it's because Nashville and Buffalo play around the same type of game now, but I remember when games against them used to be high scoring. Remember two seasons ago? Yeah. I want that back please.

Oh, and I wish Derek Roy didn't have the 'A' for road games. It's my opinion, but I don't think he deserves it at all. He has the wrong attitude on this team and he needs to get rid of that. I'm sick of it.

The Sabres website is being rude with me and cutting off the Tim Connolly interview at the two minutes mark because I missed it last night. My brother and I kept switching between the Sabres game and the Pens game, but it was mostly so we could watch the Hockey Hotstove. That little intermission segment is awesome and highly entertaining. I'm so glad I live in an area now where we get CBC.

I hope they don't play like this against Detroit on Tuesday...

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: Someone Destroyed Tyler Myers?!

I would first like to say that I give up naming my fantasy team because I am obviously a lazy ass. I have no time to look up pictures and come up with stuff about these guys that I don't know about, so I just won't name them anymore. Both of my teams aren't doing too hot currently anyways, but I think that's because I have Chris Osgood on BOTH teams. Yikes.

Tamara and I attended our third game together last night after acquiring tickets for cheap on Craigslist. They were only forty per seats and we sat in the 100s. Good deal, even if it was a value game. We parked a little closer than we did for the home opener and that was a good idea because it was freaking cold last night.

When we had gotten into the arena, we took notice that they are NOT selling the Game Night programs anymore. Instead, they're selling posters of players every game night. Last night, it was Craig Rivet (guy on season ticket = guy on poster?). Tamara and I were extremely giddy and we both bought one. They're only two bucks too! We also got the magnetic schedules, which I was extremely pumped about. You have no idea.

Our seats were located where the Sabres shoot twice, so we got the Coyotes during warm ups. Tamara took plenty of photos of Scottie Upshall for her friend, and we saw him give a puck to a little kid in a Briere jersey - a jersey from when he was in Phoenix. THAT'S old school right there. Did it make sense? No, but it was still cute and he was wearing the wacky jersey tat I adore so much from Phoenix. I may be one of the only people too. We also saw a 'Go Hamilton Coyotes' poster which I did not agree with. I don't want them to move up around here, no no no.

The bitter fans are already in their midseason form as I heard the guy up in the 300s yelling 'FIRE REGIER!' from our seats in the 100s. I also heard the yells of guys calling Vanek lazy, but whatever.

Now I love big hits, but when Patrick Kaleta laid out Petr Prucha (which I didn't realize it was him until I read the little thing on the website about him this morning), I sat there in shock. He wasn't moving at all after the hit and I certainly didn't want to applaud. I'm just glad he made it off the ice okay. I don't think it was a dirty hit, it was just scary.

Which brings me to what happened with Tyler Myers and Clarke MacArthur's goal. I was paying so much attention to him scoring that I didn't notice Tyler curled up in the fetal position on the ice. I gasped and Tamara and I were really hoping that he was going to be okay because we weren't cheering anymore or anything. When he got it, it was a huge sigh of relief. I still can't believe he got destroyed. I guess the kid does have some flaws. It's okay though, he still played a pretty amazing game last night.

I could talk about Thomas Vanek's goal in two paragraphs, but I'll just say that they freaking finally put one in on the power play with his goal. Figures he would score on the power play. I was just glad I got to see his first of the season. Good stuff!

I have no idea what game we'll be going to next, but I'll make sure to keep you all posted.

How quickly did YOU get your driver's license?

"That was great, like having another son in the house. One of the funniest stories ever was how he got his driver’s license. In NY state it usually takes at least a month. Somehow Thomas figured out a way to set the world record for the fastest license. From the time he set down to get the application and the time he actually got the license was like 48 hours. He had to take a 6 hour course, he had to do all these things and he did it just like that. I went with him to the driving test and he passed immediately. I think the examiner was a hockey fan. That was really funny. Nobody will ever get the license faster. Because you had to guess a code on the computer or had to wait at least to wait 2 weeks to get that code. But Thomas simply guessed the code by playing around on the keyboard."

-Steve Bartlett, Thomas Vanek's agent.
What a smarty pants.

Oh, and look at what Joe DiPenta did in Portland:

Craziness.

The Epic Adventures of Tamara and Shelby: Home Opener Edition.

I'm really sorry that I forgot a pregame post to this game. You would think with all the excitement of hockey being back, I would have enough motivation to at least write a decent lengthed post up here but the Canucks game kept me distracted. This is sad to say considering they were shut out by the Avalanche 3-0. Can you say 'ugh' with me?

We arrived to the arena a little late, but it was okay. We walked around the 300 level to try and find Drew Stafford's portrait, but it was nowhere to be found. Does anyone know where it happens to be? If you do, it would be really great if you could let us know...we just want to see where they moved it to. If anywhere for that matter, good lord.

Our seats were awesome. The guy we had bought the tickets from wasn't kidding when he said that they were great, though I felt that if I got up to cheer, I would fall over the railing and roll down the steps. Definitely not a good thing. I highly approve of the opening video they used. That got me pumped for hockey. Hells bells was a good choice for a song to be included. Nothing sappy!

I really wanted them to announce the boys while they were still in a circle after they came out, but I guess that might be asking for too much. It would've been a cute idea too! It was so good to see them be announced one by one because it's been far too long since we've seen some real hockey be played.

I liked our seats because we had a ton of Habs fans behind us that all spoke in French, and I love French accents so it was so funny and cool to hear them jibbering behind us. I did NOT approve of them chanting 'RI-VET!' whenever he got into a scrum. I was upset and not a happy Shelby.

Tamara and I had met two guys sitting next to us, and we pretty much spoke the entire third period to one another about going to other arenas and players we liked. They were super nice, and I usually never spoke to any other fans at games just because I don't have anything to talk about with really anybody, but that was a lot of fun. We might go to the Phoenix game, so it would be cool if we were able to see them both again.

You know what happened during the game, so I won't give a recap here. I just thought it sucked that Montreal got such lucky bounces. It IS the first game of the season, but I don't think that first goal should have counted. Goalie interference, flat out. I'm pretty sure Travis Moen hit Miller before the puck slid under his legs.Total bullshit, but whatever. The good news is that they got a point. (Oh, and we now get free stuff at Dunkin Donuts since Timmy scored tonight, woo!)

We waited out back for autographs for a little while, and amazingly, the one and only Austrian in my life decided to stop and sign stuff. We think it was only because Craig Rivet was in front of him and he was stuck in traffic, so there was no way for him to get out and then the flood of people practically mauled his car. Anyways, it was funny because this woman stared at me and then looked at my jersey saying 'You know Vanek is in that car so you can get your jersey signed.' and I was like 'Oh, thank you! I already had him sign one of my jerseys though.' Tamara and Meg practically pushed me to get it signed...but not really. Tamara can quote me on this because I don't remember how the convo went down, but she went up to him and asked him to sign my jersey for me as I stood twenty feet away because I am a wuss, haha.

So yes! I now have two jerseys signed by Vanek, and I have one left that can be signed by him so next time, I will go up to him and ask him myself. I guess I was just scared it would be like 'rawr!' and I am scared of a rawr!Austrian.

To top the night off, Tamara and I were walking back to her car and some guy in a Habs jersey in a car near the lot we were in shouted to us 'Hey, I'm sorry that we kicked your asses tonight.' Tamara said 'I wouldn't call a win in OT 'kicking our asses', exactly.' So he repeated the phrase and I yelled back 'Too bad your 100th anniversary sucked!' Yeah, it just needed to be said. Their season last year was a bunch of epic fail, even though they did make the playoffs. Ahaha, it was just so perfect.

Overall, our trip was very fun even though the Sabres lost in overtime. The third game we attend to together may be next Thursday, so watch out for a post if that's the case!

Your studdly right wingers!

I am so slow on showing you guys my fantasy team, so I'm sorry about this. You probably don't want to see who these guys are anyways, haha! Anyways, the third installment of the Scandinavian Studs right wingers!

Right Wingers
Marty. St. Louis

The other number 26 in my life is this guy right here. I love that he was undrafted and he's such a good player and everything. He tends to be Vincent Lecavalier's right hand man, and I know that he'll be bringing a lot of assists to the studdly Scandinavians. Oh, and he should never try tanning. Just for the record.

Devin Setoguchi I had to look up Devin on Wiki because I don't know much about him. Turns out, he spends a lot of time on the first line with Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton. All I know is, I really like his shirt. I'm trying to figure out what it is. A woman and her long blonde hair, standing in the wind? I don't know. I think I'll be getting a lot of goals from him, at least, I hope so.

Jamie Langenbrunner I had no idea that Jamie was so young. I also forgot that he was captain of the Devils this year, so again, I don't know much about my fantasy team at all. Oh, and he's nearly 35 so he ISN'T young. He just looks to be young. If I'm not mistaken, he's been bringing up a lot of points himself on the Devils. I love point producers that can rack up both goals and assists.

Pregame post perhaps later? I won't have time to do it tomorrow probably, but we shall see!

OH, AND DREW STAFFORD IS PLAYING TOMORROW?! YAAAAAY! *does happy dance*

Your Studdly Centers!

This is the second part of my fantasy post where I introduce who my centers are.

Centers
Jeff Carter

Studdly center number one is Jeff Carter. I never thought I would say 'stud' and 'Jeff Carter' in the same sentence, oy. Anyways, I bitched a lot last year when him and Thomas were neck to neck in the goal scoring race. He just seemed to always score the same amount of goals one night that Thomas would and it made me angry. He's going to bring me quite a lot of goals this year too, so he'll be lethal in that department.

Joe Pavelski

Studdly center number two is Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks. He's also American. Oh, I'm swooning all over the place already. He was drafted in the awesome year of 2003, so this means he must be pretty damn good. His point total has increased over the past three years so I'm sure he'll be bringing me lots of points every night.

Scott Gomez

I picked this picture only for Chris, by the way.
Anyways, we all know what he may or may not have done on purpose to Ryan Miller last season. He now plays for Montreal so we can see him more, oh hurray! He's one of the only guys in the league that hail from the state of Alaska (along with Ty Conklin). His point total decreased drastically over the past season, but I hope a new team will get him fired up and ready to go.

Tomorrow I (might) have a post up about the right wingers! Stay tuned!
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I think that Tamara said it best yesterday when she texted me going 'Only Drew Stafford would get a concussion and not tell anyone!'

Toni Lydman and Drew each suffered injuries during the preseason - Toni with his hand, and Drew with his head. With these injuries, it might cause Lindy to keep Tim Kennedy, Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Myers, OR Mike Weber on the roster but we won't find out until at least three o'clock. I might freak out because I have to leave for class around three so I hope that they come up with the roster before then. I want to know!

Oh, and Toni being out totally almost ruins Tamara's and my plan. Just saying.

Introducing...the Scandinavian Studs!

Before I talk about my studdly fantasy hockey team, if you didn't watch or hear the Sabres game tonight, then shame on you. I actually had the option of going with Tamara to the game in Toronto, but my lack of a passport or enhanced license hinders me from that option. So she went with Caroline, and I'm sure the both of them had a ton of fun representing. (:

I had been coming home from my brother's house after the awful Bills game and turned on the radio. At that point it was only 1-0, and I managed to listen to the rest of the ridiculous shananigans going on for the rest of the game. 7-6! I find that crazy for a preseason game, but then again, two years ago wasn't the score like 7-2 against the Leafs at their arena?

I think Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe are now making it tough to send them down. They both scored tonight and had two goals a piece in the preseason, so it'll be interesting to see the cuts this week. I'm quite excited. Now that the preseason is over it means that real hockey is just around the corner!
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Earlier today, I fit into one of my friend's leagues for fantasy hockey. I was so worried I wouldn't get in one this year because I had been in some for the past two years. I love waking up every morning to set up teams before I head out for the day. I was in the middle of drafting when I had to leave for my brother's but my team didn't turn out too badly?

The lineup:
Left Wingers
Thomas Vanek

Studdly left winger number one is obvious. Thomas Vanek is the man. He will bring me power play goals, and hopefully his assists will go up as well this year. I am also biased and drafted him first, 7th overall. I drafted him lower than he was actually drafted, forgive me dear sir. Either way, he is my go to man.

Alex Burrows

Studdly left winger number two is Alex Burrows. He was one of the best friends of Luc Bourdon (may he rest in peace). Do you remember when he threw Derek Roy under the Vancouver bench last season? I do. Good times. The fact I watch the Canucks and don't know much about him is sad, but Wikipedia is telling me he's more of an agitator than anything that has an offensive upside to him. I've seen some of his fights so this is good.

Tuomo Ruutu

Studdly left winger number three is Tuomo Ruutu. He plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. He apparently got stepped on with a skate on his face and it had gotten screwed up. The pictures I have seen are frightening. I think he's kind of an agitator like his brother Jarkko, but also has an offensive upside like Alex Burrows.

I actually decided that I'm going to split this up because it would be a huge post, so tomorrow...the Scandinavian Studs centers!