Game Preview: Adirondack Phantoms at Rochester Americans

Tonight marks the third of four meetings between the Adirondack Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers) and the Rochester Americans. I thought it would be a nice change of pace to think about the game before it happens. Especially considering that we really do not know which Amerks team we will be seeing tonight. Will we see the team that beat the Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) by a score of 5-2 on Wednesday? Or shall we see the team that took a 2-0 lead into the second period and lost 7-3 to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Sunday? Hopefully it will be the former. Nevertheless, allow me to take a look at some of the numbers coming into tonight’s game.

I Still Believe…

As the Bee Gee’s once said, “Staying alive.”

That seems to be the motto of this new second half Sabres team. My last post on here (granted it was a while ago) talked about not firing Lindy. Think back to the first half of the season… could anything else have gone wrong? Miller goes down with a concussion and, as we’re starting to find out, maybe they take longer to come back from than we may have originally thought. Myers breaks his wrist. Erhoff goes down. Gerbe goes down. Ennis is non existent. Boyes gets hurt. Kaleta is getting suspended. Leino couldn’t get anything going and the Sabres we’re pretty much playing as the Rochester Americans.

And with all that being said, Buffalo sits six points out of the last and final playoff spot. The Sabres are 7-3-2 in their last twelve games and this is nothing new for Buffalo to start turning it on this time of year. The last few years, the Sabres have needed a late  push to get them back in the hunt and coming out of the All Star break, the Sabres are doing just what the doctor prescribed. Take a point a game. Start there and see what happens next. A week ago, Buffalo was ten points out of first and in just eight days, have already trimmed the lead by four points.

You have to see the team on the ice now as a whole new lineup. Lindy now has healthy defense jumping in the play, which is something that Ruff has always stressed for his blueliners. Myers now has a four game point streak and Erhoff is racking up assists faster than Jeremy Lin. Derek Roy has now decided to finally play hockey, getting in the mix and Kaleta is now skating close to 25 minutes a game. With the new addiction of an aggressive defense and Roy starting to skate, it has only made Jason Poiminville and Thomas Vanek even better. I always over looked Poiminville as just a average second liner but he has proven me wrong this year playing the All Star he so rightfully deserved. Say all you want about Vanek being a little girl for not hitting anyone with his 6’4″ frame but this guy is as tough as nails in front of a net. Gaustad is winning every single face-off the Sabres need him to late in games and all that combine with the one piece we’ve been missing for the four months and the Sabres are once again a threat… Ryan Miller.

So guys, should we still trade Miller? Right? Enroth has proven he’s ready. ..ready to be a middle of the road back up. This is still Ryan Millers team, Ryan Miller’s town and Ryan Miller’s game. Right now this guy could stop an aspirin shot out of a gun from 20 feet away. Look, the guy got off to a rough start and then gets laid out by Lucic. Playing goalie is a lot like playing golf and Bobby Jones once said, ” golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course, the space between your ears.” Try battling a 90 mph slap shot while everything around you seems fuzzy. When the Sabres front office went out and signed big named players to win a cup, they did it to surround Ryan Miller… not to surround Jhonas Enroth. With Miller starting to play like the best goalie in the World again there is hope.

.. I still believe

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[Also if you guys like what you see and want to read more,  please check out my other blog sports at www.facetofetes.wordpress.com]

Meme Preview of the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline

I thought I would provide our readers with a slightly humorous preview of the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline. Call me venomous all you want Bucky Gleason, but even you will agree with this. And just to reinforce the stereotype, I am writing this from a laptop in my basement. You can call me Warlock if you like, but I am not sure I am befitting of such a noble title.

From Where I Sat, Amerks Edition: Hamilton Bulldogs

Tonight marked the ninth of ten meetings between the Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal Racists) and the Rochester Americans. Things were certainly looking glum coming into this game for the Amerks, as they had a record of 2-4-1-1 against the Bulldogs this season coming before tonight’s game. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize on a strong first period and fell to 2-5-1-1 after one of their worst performances of the season. Tonight’s final score was Hamilton 7, Rochester 3.

From Where I Sat, Amerks Edition: Lake Erie Monsters

Tonight marked the third of six meetings between the Rochester Americans and the Lake Erie Monsters (Colorado Avalanche). While there is certainly much I could say about this game, I believe I will let my standard of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly do the talking for me tonight. As I mentioned in my previous “From Where I Sat” post, I was in my usual seat tonight. The final score tonight was Lake Erie 2, Rochester 6.

Crushing Your Dreams: Sabres’ Playoff Hopes

To quote Bloodhound Gang ” We don’t need no water let the motherfraker burn, burn motherfraker burn.” In other words, it is about time that we as Sabres fans come to the depressing realization that this team is the opposite of what we all thought they would be. The playoffs are little more than a pipe dream at this point in the season, and the trade deadline lurks just around the corner. So what will Darcy Regier do? That I can not speculate on. Instead, I intend to give you a dose of reality about what might happen if they did miraculously make the playoffs.

From Where I Sat, Amerks Edition: Section 114, Row G, Seat 13

It has been quite some time since I have done an Amerks’ related post, so I thought I would recap tonight’s game against the Abbotsford Heat (Calgary Flames). Consider this to be the last Amerks post for the season where I will specify my seat location for the game. I am now an official season ticket holder, so my seat will remain the same for the remainder of the regular season and (hopefully) the playoffs. If you were not already aware, the final score was Abbotsford 0, Rochester 3. If you are not familiar with these posts, know that I use bullet points under the headings of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

State of Flux: Why So Serious?

As my vacation from Fredonia wears down to its last few days, I have begun packing. Of course, packing means procrastinating, and what better way to procrastinate than to go on Twitter. While trolling the Twitters today, I read a very interesting tweet from Ryan Kraus (@TheKrausHouse (OF WHOM YOU SHOULD ALL FOLLOW)). The tweet was as follows:This got me thinking about our position as Buffalo sports fans, and inspired this post. Today, I’m going to try to dissect this question and hopefully provide a solid answer. Hit the jump to continue on the journey.

What Else is Left to Do?

Hi all. Happy 2012. My New Years Resolution: to give all of you a post per week. Whether or not I’ll follow through remains to be seen given however much homework I get assigned. But, that’s neither here nor there at this point. Tonight, I write in my first hockey tee shirt: a Born In Buffalo shirt which says “Brett Hull is a Cheater,” with the skate in the crease, a pair of Nike Fredonia navy blue shorts, and my traditional black Nike calf socks. You might be thinking to yourself, “why should I continue, and is he going to ask me to share what I’M wearing?” Well, no, I’m not going to ask you that, because that’s creepy. Instead, I want you to bear with me while I try for the first time ever to write without a plan about our beloved Sabres.

A Cure For Your Sabres Woes

We can all admit that right now the Sabres are making it really difficult to watch them play. They have not had a winning streak since they won four straight games from November 4-11 and are currently 3-5-2 over their last ten games. The latter statistic is good enough for 24th in the league over that stretch. I think it is safe to say at this point that the embarrassing performance (complete with lack of retribution for running Ryan Miller) in a 6-2 loss to the Bruins on November 12 was the turning point of the season. The team simply has not been the same since that moment, although injuries have been a contributing factor as well. I will not elaborate more on this topic as it has already been beat to death enough as it is. Instead, I intend to offer a cure for your Sabres woes that involves watchable hockey.