Puck Drop 2010 and it's festivities.

Puck Drop 2010 has come and past, but it had it's moments. The day long event gave fans a chance to see their favorites in action on the first day of training camp while also letting them finally see the new jerseys that were coming out today. I'm pretty sure everyone left the arena happy as I know that I did. I think I am just eagerly awaiting for the real season to begin and it was nice to catch a glimpse of some hockey again.

The practice squad was the first group that was on the ice and consisted of guys like Vanek, Rivet, Montador, and others. The practice squad was out on the ice for about an hour and a half; just practicing a few drills and other miscellaneous things. I was impressed with a few guys especially during the drill where you had to battle the puck of of someone. Vanek was going all out against a few guys and I hope that has to do with him being in amazing shape this season.

At 11:45, each Sabre was announced and came out one after another in the home, away, and third jerseys respectively. It was neat to watch them skate around in the new garments. It's going to take time to get used to the style (especially the cross stitch on the numbers), but I think that I'll be able to come to love the look. I definitely like the shade of blue used for the jerseys. I can't wait until they wear them during a game. Those are going to look super flashy on the ice.

After the unveiling, they had a scrimmage go on. Sekera ended up going to the penalty box twice, while Connolly, Stafford, Foligno, and another rookie who I can't think of at the moment were also in there. Unfortunately, I don't remember who scored either but there were some sweet goals at both ends. For the shootout, Myers almost killed Leggio as he actually had to jump over the poor guy in the net. Ennis had an extremely nice goal that went top shelf while Pominville scored his only goal this season. Just kidding - at least I hope. Team White ended up winning the entire scrimmage.

There's a practice tomorrow which I'm attending so if you happen to see me, feel free to stop and say hello! You can't miss the girl with bushy hair and a Vanek jersey.

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.

Craigory, you are a fine older gentleman, sir.

I always love listening to Craig Rivet's interviews because he does sound like a true leader. He knows when to place the blame on the team as a whole, and when to compliment them. I liked what he said in his interview today about Toni Lydman going to shoot during the shootout. He said that his reaction to when his name was called over the announcements was like 'What the...?', and he also thought that it was a joke. No joke, Craigory. I am still bedazzled that he won it for us in the shootout.

Rivs also touched on Maxim Lapierre's hit on Patty Kaleta. I have not seen the hit yet but I'm sure I will eventually. From what others are saying, Lapierre should be suspended for the hit he put on him. The league does need to take some action but from what Lindy said, the league isn't going to look at the incident anymore and just shrug it off. If it's because Patty has been notorious lately for having questionable hits himself, that's bullshit. The league wants to get rid of headhunting but they don't want to take hits out of the game. Guess what, you don't have to, but you have to do something about this otherwise someone is going to lose their life out there, or their career is going to be cut short.

It's your call, Gary Bettman.

It's time to screw those statistics - clean slate time!

Lindy Ruff told the media today that the Sabres started a 'clean slate'. They were told to forgot about the previous 24 games. Forget about this current slump they're in. Forget about the points, and the goals, and the assists (which I thought was amusing because Craigory said that 'Thomas Vanek looked like he was the only one scratching his head at somehow getting rid of his 18 goals.') They need to pretend that they're just starting the season out, and from the sounds of how Lindy and Craigory both reacted to the practice, the players responded well. We can only hope that shows up on this road trip, which should also help them. Getting away from home eases the pain.

Does this mean Buffalo may perhaps seriously try to play like they did in the first five games of the season? Defense first, but also have a scary offense? You know, with people scoring other than Vanek?
Let's all put our hands together and pray (or if you're athiest, just cross your fingers) for the Sabres and ope their game plan decides to work for this roadtrip, because if they come back 0-3, I will have to go down to the arena and do a little more than knock a few heads together.

AhhhhhHHHHhhhhHHHHhhhh, shutouts are scary (good).

Sabres won 2-0 against the Devils. Pominville scored late in the first period on the power play, and then Kaleta made it 2-0 when he scored on a deflection in the third period. I can't think of a scarier game I've watched all my life besides this one. I thought for sure when the Devils had around six power play chances in a row, the Sabres would have karma bite them but it never happened. I'd just rather not witness another game like this especially against a team like the Devils, ugh. It didn't help Versus was broadcasting this so I almost fell asleep in my chair.
- Ryan got his second consecutive shutout; the first time that's happened in his career! Great job, Millsy. (': He's mainly the reason why we won in the first place, if it wasn't for that stellar performance in the last half of the game. He was solid.
- I think the only reasons why I enjoy watching games on Versus are:
- Hockey in beautiful HD.
- I love seeing what Versus screws up on next.
- Shots of Thomas Vanek before the game starts with that cool spin-y thing that some players do? *melts* I think I about died when they showed clips from his little interview last season. It looks sooooo much better in HD. I was mesmerized by that cut on his forehead, thank you Versus.
- Speaking of Vanner, I love the fact that whenever he gets a penalty, he seems to be shouting along the lines of 'Fucking *add something* fuck *something* ahhh!' It's even better when they get it on camera for all of the nation to see. Such a potty mouth, but I love that potty mouth.
- When's the Sabres next game? Friday against Atlanta or something? Man, that's too long. I'mma go hide under a rock until they play next.
- CAPTAIN CRAIG IS BACK, WOOT WOOT!

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

'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