Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
It was a good stretch for the Buffalo Sabres dating back to the Sunday before last. The Sabres headed to the frozen outpost of Winnipeg Manitoba on a six-game losing streak before their tilt with the Jets which included lots of familiar faces skating for both sides. Five of eight pieces from the February 11, 2015 blockbuster trade between the Sabres and the Jets were on the ice.
The centerpiece of the trade for Buffalo was Evander Kane. The malcontent of Manitoba was at the center of a media circus because of his exploits. He hit the ice, literally, as he fell out of the gates during warmups much to the satisfaction of the crowd who jeered him at every turn. A raucous Winnipeg hockey community dubbed the game, Track-suit Night, in honor of an infamous incident, but Kane and the Sabres would get the last laugh.
Showing posts with label Tim Schaller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Schaller. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Friday, December 25, 2015
Catching up with Don Stevens and the Rochester Americans
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
After fits and starts to the season, the Rochester Americans finally got things rolling. Unfortunately for them the Christmas break came along. The Amerks head into the hiatus having won four of five games while outscoring their opponents by a combined 19-10 and their eight team points moved them up to 9th in the Eastern Conference.
"It's too bad that there is a break because the team has been playing very well the last two games," said long-time Amerks broadcaster, Don Stevens. "It's the kind of situation where you're winning and playing that well and you want to keep playing."
As with any team featuring a lot of new faces, plus a new coaching staff with a new system, there were plenty of struggles as the Amerks adjusted to the up-tempo pace favored in the organization. Head coach Randy Cunneyworth, who Stevens said always wanted a speed game, has them skating hard and fast while playing a 200' game. "They've learned to use their speed," said Stevens. "It seems like they're playing a whole lot faster now. Whereas before they were trying to get a little too fancy, now it's hard-nosed, go for the net and do the best you can to get there. It really starting to pay off."
Stevens pointed to the return of third year pro Tim Schaller as a spark.
Schaller was with the Sabres for a long stint before the team sent him to down to Rochester on December 3. After working out some kinks in his first two games, both of them Amerks losses, Schaller sat out the next game, a 4-3 SOL at home vs. the Utica Comets "due to an ailment that has yet to be diagnosed," as reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Kevin Oklobzija at the time. Oklobzija wrote that Schaller "apparently has been bothered by the problem for an unspecified period of time" with Cunneyworth saying that he'd been "playing through it."
"Exactly what it is," said the coach, "that's unclear."
Schaller came back the next game and according to Stevens was really "starting to light things up." In the five games before the Christmas break he totaled five goals and one assist and was a plus-4. His last goal against Albany was a real doozy as he went in on the Devils goalie with a d-man draped all over him. Schaller managed to get a good shot off with one knee on the ice as he was being hauled down. It was the first of four 1st period goals for the Amerks as they cruised to a 4-1 victory heading into the break.
Another contributor to the success of the Amerks as of late is veteran Patrick Kaleta, who had been out since the first game of the preseason with Buffalo. He last skated in a meaningful game back in April with the parent club. He had an inauspicious season debut on November 27 in front of the home crowd at the Blue Cross Arena and told the media of his return to the ice, "Getting into a game was fun; other than that, horrible."
Kaleta has been eased back into the lineup playing in only six of 10 games, but according to Stevens, he's had a big impact. "His presence is known," said Stevens said of Kaleta. "He's hitting like a Mack truck out there and the opposition needs to keep their heads up when he's on the ice.
"The whole team feels like it's bigger, playing like they're a taller and heavier when he's on the ice."
One player that doesn't need to be too much taller and heavier is 6'3" 210 lb. powerforward, Justin Bailey. Stevens said that Bailey has probably come the furthest this year as he's starting to learn how to use his size and strength as well as his speed. "For a guy his size," said Stevens, "he's got outstanding speed. Now he's going hard to the net and he's getting in front and mixing it up. He's a big boy, that's the way he's got to play, and now he's figuring out how to play that way."
Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com told me the "figuring out" part of the equation involves the winger using the middle of the ice when it's given to him. "He has the power and the wheels," said Baker, "so he has to become more aggressive when given that space. That will come with more experience."
The team itself needs more experience with the new systems in place. They're beginning to really work the fast pace that Cunneyworth wants and it's starting to show up on the scoreboard and in the standings.
More on ironing out inconsistencies and some focus on the defense and goaltending tomorrow. Until then, Happy Christmas Eve.
After fits and starts to the season, the Rochester Americans finally got things rolling. Unfortunately for them the Christmas break came along. The Amerks head into the hiatus having won four of five games while outscoring their opponents by a combined 19-10 and their eight team points moved them up to 9th in the Eastern Conference.
"It's too bad that there is a break because the team has been playing very well the last two games," said long-time Amerks broadcaster, Don Stevens. "It's the kind of situation where you're winning and playing that well and you want to keep playing."
As with any team featuring a lot of new faces, plus a new coaching staff with a new system, there were plenty of struggles as the Amerks adjusted to the up-tempo pace favored in the organization. Head coach Randy Cunneyworth, who Stevens said always wanted a speed game, has them skating hard and fast while playing a 200' game. "They've learned to use their speed," said Stevens. "It seems like they're playing a whole lot faster now. Whereas before they were trying to get a little too fancy, now it's hard-nosed, go for the net and do the best you can to get there. It really starting to pay off."
Stevens pointed to the return of third year pro Tim Schaller as a spark.
Schaller was with the Sabres for a long stint before the team sent him to down to Rochester on December 3. After working out some kinks in his first two games, both of them Amerks losses, Schaller sat out the next game, a 4-3 SOL at home vs. the Utica Comets "due to an ailment that has yet to be diagnosed," as reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Kevin Oklobzija at the time. Oklobzija wrote that Schaller "apparently has been bothered by the problem for an unspecified period of time" with Cunneyworth saying that he'd been "playing through it."
"Exactly what it is," said the coach, "that's unclear."
Schaller came back the next game and according to Stevens was really "starting to light things up." In the five games before the Christmas break he totaled five goals and one assist and was a plus-4. His last goal against Albany was a real doozy as he went in on the Devils goalie with a d-man draped all over him. Schaller managed to get a good shot off with one knee on the ice as he was being hauled down. It was the first of four 1st period goals for the Amerks as they cruised to a 4-1 victory heading into the break.
Another contributor to the success of the Amerks as of late is veteran Patrick Kaleta, who had been out since the first game of the preseason with Buffalo. He last skated in a meaningful game back in April with the parent club. He had an inauspicious season debut on November 27 in front of the home crowd at the Blue Cross Arena and told the media of his return to the ice, "Getting into a game was fun; other than that, horrible."
Kaleta has been eased back into the lineup playing in only six of 10 games, but according to Stevens, he's had a big impact. "His presence is known," said Stevens said of Kaleta. "He's hitting like a Mack truck out there and the opposition needs to keep their heads up when he's on the ice.
"The whole team feels like it's bigger, playing like they're a taller and heavier when he's on the ice."
One player that doesn't need to be too much taller and heavier is 6'3" 210 lb. powerforward, Justin Bailey. Stevens said that Bailey has probably come the furthest this year as he's starting to learn how to use his size and strength as well as his speed. "For a guy his size," said Stevens, "he's got outstanding speed. Now he's going hard to the net and he's getting in front and mixing it up. He's a big boy, that's the way he's got to play, and now he's figuring out how to play that way."
Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com told me the "figuring out" part of the equation involves the winger using the middle of the ice when it's given to him. "He has the power and the wheels," said Baker, "so he has to become more aggressive when given that space. That will come with more experience."
The team itself needs more experience with the new systems in place. They're beginning to really work the fast pace that Cunneyworth wants and it's starting to show up on the scoreboard and in the standings.
More on ironing out inconsistencies and some focus on the defense and goaltending tomorrow. Until then, Happy Christmas Eve.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Catching up with Sabres d-prospect, Anthony Florentino
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
It's been about a year since we last chatted with Anthony Florentino. The Providence Friars defenseman and 2013 fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres (143rd overall) was coming off of a solid freshman season where he posted a very respectable five goals and 11 points and was a plus-12. Providence went 22-11-6 that year and defeated Quinnipiac in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament before bowing to eventual champion Union.
That turned out to be the set-up for what was about to transpire this past season.
While on the precipice of the big game in April, Providence head coach Nate Leaman told Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe about the learning process his team went through over the course of the last year. "It was a great year of learning for our program. When I first took over the program, we didn’t have a guy who had ever played a playoff game. When we get ranked No. 1 preseason in the league, No. 3 in the country, you talk about a lot of things, but we didn’t have one guy in the locker room who had lived through any of those things.
“Obviously, there is a target on your back, but more importantly, what happened to us early in the year is we didn’t play to our identity for a long time. We got away from our identity and I think that is why we were up, we were down. I think that was the hard part."
Providence went into the tournament with an at-large bid then proceeded to win the 2015 NCAA Championship with a stunning 4-3 victory over Jack Eichel and the Boston University Terriers. Also of note is that the Terriers themselves had a remarkable turnaround going from 10 wins in 2013-14 to 28 wins last season thanks in large part to Eichel.
It's been about a year since we last chatted with Anthony Florentino. The Providence Friars defenseman and 2013 fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres (143rd overall) was coming off of a solid freshman season where he posted a very respectable five goals and 11 points and was a plus-12. Providence went 22-11-6 that year and defeated Quinnipiac in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament before bowing to eventual champion Union.
That turned out to be the set-up for what was about to transpire this past season.
While on the precipice of the big game in April, Providence head coach Nate Leaman told Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe about the learning process his team went through over the course of the last year. "It was a great year of learning for our program. When I first took over the program, we didn’t have a guy who had ever played a playoff game. When we get ranked No. 1 preseason in the league, No. 3 in the country, you talk about a lot of things, but we didn’t have one guy in the locker room who had lived through any of those things.
“Obviously, there is a target on your back, but more importantly, what happened to us early in the year is we didn’t play to our identity for a long time. We got away from our identity and I think that is why we were up, we were down. I think that was the hard part."
Providence went into the tournament with an at-large bid then proceeded to win the 2015 NCAA Championship with a stunning 4-3 victory over Jack Eichel and the Boston University Terriers. Also of note is that the Terriers themselves had a remarkable turnaround going from 10 wins in 2013-14 to 28 wins last season thanks in large part to Eichel.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
A toast with the new "One Buffalo" beer from Southern Tier Brewery
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills are owned by the Pegula Family and are under the umbrella of Pegula Sports and Entertainment. Last October PSE President and CEO Kim Pegula launched the "One Buffalo":
"One Buffalo provides a link between Bills fans, Sabres fans, and the city of Buffalo," said Kim Pegula. "We are all moving in the same direction: One Team; One Goal; One Community; One Family; One Buffalo. It is our goal to continue to contribute to the resurgence of Western New York, and we are very optimistic about the future. We are proud to be able to play a role in our city's redevelopment at a time when our community has never been closer together."
And now, thanks to Southern Tier Brewery, they now have a Beer to celebrate with. According to Will Cleveland of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, "What started as a brewery tour and sampling seven months ago has bloomed into a new collaborative beer to celebrate the spirit of Western New York."
The craft brew from Southern Tier is a year-round "session-able and refreshing American Pale Ale at 4.8 percent alcohol," according to the Cleveland Article with the label featuring the name 'One Buffalo,' a PSE trademark, the familiar colors of the Bills and Sabres."
"One Buffalo, Our Beer" will be available next month and will be on tap at both Ralph Wilson Stadium and the First Niagara Center.
In honor of that, we raise a glass and toast to:
The Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills are owned by the Pegula Family and are under the umbrella of Pegula Sports and Entertainment. Last October PSE President and CEO Kim Pegula launched the "One Buffalo":
"One Buffalo provides a link between Bills fans, Sabres fans, and the city of Buffalo," said Kim Pegula. "We are all moving in the same direction: One Team; One Goal; One Community; One Family; One Buffalo. It is our goal to continue to contribute to the resurgence of Western New York, and we are very optimistic about the future. We are proud to be able to play a role in our city's redevelopment at a time when our community has never been closer together."
And now, thanks to Southern Tier Brewery, they now have a Beer to celebrate with. According to Will Cleveland of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, "What started as a brewery tour and sampling seven months ago has bloomed into a new collaborative beer to celebrate the spirit of Western New York."
The craft brew from Southern Tier is a year-round "session-able and refreshing American Pale Ale at 4.8 percent alcohol," according to the Cleveland Article with the label featuring the name 'One Buffalo,' a PSE trademark, the familiar colors of the Bills and Sabres."
"One Buffalo, Our Beer" will be available next month and will be on tap at both Ralph Wilson Stadium and the First Niagara Center.
In honor of that, we raise a glass and toast to:
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Tim Schaller could throw a monkey wrench into the Sabres' forward roster
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Buffalo Sabres forward Tim Schaller is looking to throw a wrench into the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres roster. Not out of malice or by design, mind you, rather it's a simple case of a hard-working player setting his goal for the upcoming season.
"My mindset going into camp," he told Kevin Sylvester and Andrew Peters of Hockey Hotline on Thursday, "is that there's a spot there for me to lose. I'm going in to make the [Sabres] and I'm not going to be satisfied if I don't make it. That's where my mind's at."
Schaller's coming off of a very strong 2014-15 AHL campaign where he finished with 43 points (15+28) in 65 games in his second pro season. The 6'2" 206 lb. Merimack, NH native also played 18 games for the train wreck that was the Buffalo Sabres last season and recorded his first NHL goal at Boston with his parents in attendance.
Even though the numbers aren't awe-inspiring, "let's not sleep on Schaller," is what Kris Baker of sabresprospects/sabres.com had to say about him after Schaller was re-upped by GM Tim Murray.
Buffalo Sabres forward Tim Schaller is looking to throw a wrench into the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres roster. Not out of malice or by design, mind you, rather it's a simple case of a hard-working player setting his goal for the upcoming season.
"My mindset going into camp," he told Kevin Sylvester and Andrew Peters of Hockey Hotline on Thursday, "is that there's a spot there for me to lose. I'm going in to make the [Sabres] and I'm not going to be satisfied if I don't make it. That's where my mind's at."
Schaller's coming off of a very strong 2014-15 AHL campaign where he finished with 43 points (15+28) in 65 games in his second pro season. The 6'2" 206 lb. Merimack, NH native also played 18 games for the train wreck that was the Buffalo Sabres last season and recorded his first NHL goal at Boston with his parents in attendance.
Even though the numbers aren't awe-inspiring, "let's not sleep on Schaller," is what Kris Baker of sabresprospects/sabres.com had to say about him after Schaller was re-upped by GM Tim Murray.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
More RFA signings for Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Back on June 29th, the Buffalo Sabres tendered qualifying offers to seven of their restricted free agents, and as of yesterday only one remains unsigned.
On Monday of this week versatile forward Phil Varone agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the team. The 5'10" 185 lb. Varone played in 28 games for the Sabres last season, including a stint on the top line, scoring five points (3+2) while averaging 13:26 minutes of ice-time/game. The two-way deal would indicate Varone's slated for Rochester unless he blows the team away with an exceptional training camp.
The following day D, Mark Pysyk signed a two-year deal. Pysyk has largely been a victim of circumstance in the debacle that was the last two seasons, and despite his readiness to play with the big club he was limited to only seven games in Buffalo, yet in those games he scored two goals and added an assist in 18:10 TOI. The smooth and steady, puck-moving defenseman with shutdown acumen looks to be penciled in on the second pairing at this point.
Back on June 29th, the Buffalo Sabres tendered qualifying offers to seven of their restricted free agents, and as of yesterday only one remains unsigned.
On Monday of this week versatile forward Phil Varone agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the team. The 5'10" 185 lb. Varone played in 28 games for the Sabres last season, including a stint on the top line, scoring five points (3+2) while averaging 13:26 minutes of ice-time/game. The two-way deal would indicate Varone's slated for Rochester unless he blows the team away with an exceptional training camp.
The following day D, Mark Pysyk signed a two-year deal. Pysyk has largely been a victim of circumstance in the debacle that was the last two seasons, and despite his readiness to play with the big club he was limited to only seven games in Buffalo, yet in those games he scored two goals and added an assist in 18:10 TOI. The smooth and steady, puck-moving defenseman with shutdown acumen looks to be penciled in on the second pairing at this point.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Larsson and Schaller net first career goals. Plus, the Bartkowski cheapshot
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Kudos to Sabres forwards Johan Larsson and Tim Schaller, both of whom scored their first NHL goals over the weekend.
Larsson's goal came against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night as he drove to the net to bury the puck as it slid across the crease:
(Thx, Sabres Hockey Central)
The goal came in his fifth game this season, 34th of his career.
Kudos to Sabres forwards Johan Larsson and Tim Schaller, both of whom scored their first NHL goals over the weekend.
Larsson's goal came against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night as he drove to the net to bury the puck as it slid across the crease:
(Thx, Sabres Hockey Central)
The goal came in his fifth game this season, 34th of his career.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Sabres headed to Toronto with a little wind at their backs
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
It could have been disasterous. Well. About as disasterous as a last place team could expect.
The victory at San Jose' was a welcome reprieve from the ineptitude of the first two west coast contests and it provided the team with some postitives as it heads to Toronto tomorrow night.
First off, they were able to come out of the San Jose' contest with a win in regulation, the first time they could make that claim this season. Second, they showed they could score two goals, and they could do it with players not named Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and Torrey Mitchell, the only four players to have scored through the first eight games. The Sabres were also able to head into the third period with the lead for only the second time all season, and unlike their game against Carolina, were able to hold on to the lead.
So that's good.
What's even better is that the Sabres have two winnable games in front of them.
It could have been disasterous. Well. About as disasterous as a last place team could expect.
The victory at San Jose' was a welcome reprieve from the ineptitude of the first two west coast contests and it provided the team with some postitives as it heads to Toronto tomorrow night.
First off, they were able to come out of the San Jose' contest with a win in regulation, the first time they could make that claim this season. Second, they showed they could score two goals, and they could do it with players not named Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and Torrey Mitchell, the only four players to have scored through the first eight games. The Sabres were also able to head into the third period with the lead for only the second time all season, and unlike their game against Carolina, were able to hold on to the lead.
So that's good.
What's even better is that the Sabres have two winnable games in front of them.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Round-2 for Rochester and Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Both the Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres will be in action tonight finish off a back-to-back homestand to start the season while the Sabres head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks in their second game of this young season.
The Amerks are coming off a 6-1 drubbing of the Adirondack Flames in their opener. After a sluggish start, Rochester potted three goals in both the second and third periods as six different Amerks scored.
Tim Schaller opened up the scoring shaking off a Flames defender and rifling a quick shot low, far-side. After Adirondack tied it, Mikhail Grigorenko snapped a wicked wrister top-shelf and Chad Ruhwedel buried a 4-on-3 powerplay goal to put the Amerks up by two.
Assisting on the Grigorenko goal was Joel Armia and head coach Chadd Cassidy, after juggling lines to try and find something that worked, thinks he may have found a good combination. "Once we got Grigorenko and Armia together, they dominated from the second period on," he said in today's pregame interview with Don Stevens.
Both the Rochester Americans and Buffalo Sabres will be in action tonight finish off a back-to-back homestand to start the season while the Sabres head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks in their second game of this young season.
The Amerks are coming off a 6-1 drubbing of the Adirondack Flames in their opener. After a sluggish start, Rochester potted three goals in both the second and third periods as six different Amerks scored.
Tim Schaller opened up the scoring shaking off a Flames defender and rifling a quick shot low, far-side. After Adirondack tied it, Mikhail Grigorenko snapped a wicked wrister top-shelf and Chad Ruhwedel buried a 4-on-3 powerplay goal to put the Amerks up by two.
Assisting on the Grigorenko goal was Joel Armia and head coach Chadd Cassidy, after juggling lines to try and find something that worked, thinks he may have found a good combination. "Once we got Grigorenko and Armia together, they dominated from the second period on," he said in today's pregame interview with Don Stevens.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Tim Schaller: solid choices in tough situations equals a legitimate NHL shot
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For Rochester Americans forward Tim Schaller, making the Buffalo Sabres roster out of training camp just might be the "easiest" part of his hockey journey thus far.
The undrafted free agent who signed with Buffalo out of Providence College last year only has his game to think about as he stands on the precipice of the NHL.
"It's there for me to take if I want it," he said. "From the coaches comments during [development] camp, if you work hard and play hard in camp then it's there for you. If I want it, it's there."
For Rochester Americans forward Tim Schaller, making the Buffalo Sabres roster out of training camp just might be the "easiest" part of his hockey journey thus far.
The undrafted free agent who signed with Buffalo out of Providence College last year only has his game to think about as he stands on the precipice of the NHL.
"It's there for me to take if I want it," he said. "From the coaches comments during [development] camp, if you work hard and play hard in camp then it's there for you. If I want it, it's there."
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