tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8969349016261601012009-07-21T13:36:47.822-07:00A blog about the Sabres and the Bandits. We will try to give both equal time, but I'm not promising anything.Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-47279579401685647112009-02-15T16:51:00.001-08:002009-02-15T16:51:35.311-08:00

The Bandits had another blowout game at home, this time embarrassing the Toronto Rock, 25-10.  Mark Steenhuis was the game MVP by setting the (unofficial) NLL record with 17 points in the game, 4 goals and 13 assists.  Other scorers for the Bandits are Vyse (6), Tavares (4),  Bomberry (3), Tommy Montour (2), Dostie (2), Greenhalgh (2), Llord and Billy Dee (1).  It seems that the Bandits are a

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-79561822033529467372009-02-02T05:03:00.001-08:002009-02-02T05:03:04.697-08:00

I know that this post is very, very, very delayed in coming but things happen.  Things will be changing around here due to the fact that I have signed on to be a contributing writer over at Die By The Blade.   This means that all Sabres stuff will be heading over there and everything else will stay here.  Hence, Dueling Sabres will keep the name but have nothing to do with the Sabres.  We will

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-82914136590680371952009-01-29T10:21:00.001-08:002009-01-29T10:21:26.238-08:00

        The Bandits travel to Edmonton tonight to take on the Rush and complete the Buffalo sweep of the city.  This will be the first matchup between these two teams.  This is the Rush’s fifth ye ar in the league.  Both of these teams can be extremely dangerous.  Bob Hamley completely overhauled the Rush after he became their head coach and GM last season.  He continues to tinker with

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-11722677853826678472009-01-29T05:16:00.001-08:002009-01-29T05:16:46.383-08:00

This game had loss written all over it.  Second half of a back-to-back series, scoring an insane amount of goals the night before, and playing against a team that is fresher than the Sabres.  The Sabres didn’t disappoint on this claim either losing to the Flames 5-2.  After the Bertuzzi goal went in early in the third period you had to know and feel that the Sabres were not going to claw back

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-39851342570063496762009-01-28T13:15:00.001-08:002009-01-28T13:15:53.147-08:00

  The Sabres cruise into Calgary tonight, riding high after that 10-2 crushing of the Oilers last night.  Things are probably not going to be as rosy tonight.  As we mentioned in the Oilers review, the Sabres are 2-5-2 in the second half of back to back games.  That record goes down to 1-4-2 when that second game is on the road.  They face a Flames team that has not played since the all-star

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-84040466826947928222009-01-28T05:39:00.001-08:002009-01-28T05:39:56.135-08:00

The Sabres came out on their first game of their four game road trip with a bang.  Stafford scored 10 seconds in the first and the Sabres never looked back, crusing to a 10-2 win.  West coast games are always fun for me due to the fact that it gives me an excuse to stay up late.  Its even more fun when the game you stay up for is incredibly entertaining.  The Oilers looked really, really sloppy

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-30057879405153916162009-01-27T12:59:00.001-08:002009-01-27T13:46:07.769-08:00

A couple of interesting Youtubes featuring Sabres prospects surfaced this weekend.  First, we direct you to Corey Tropp (drafted by the Sabres in the 3rd round of the 2007 Draft).  Tropp clubbed a Michigan player during the Michigan State/Michigan game over the weekend.  Second Youtube comes from a Lethbridge/Medicine Hat game featuring first round selection Tyler Ennis.  Ennis is the one you

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-69123309240660917342009-01-27T10:14:00.001-08:002009-01-27T10:14:07.681-08:00

      The Sabres travel to Edmonton for the first time since 2006.  A lot has happened since 2006 for both of these teams.  The major one though is Kevin Lowe.  We all remember Lowe very well as the GM who tried to steal Vanek away from us, forcing us to pay way too much money for him.  Honestly, can we thank him now?  Is anyone taking a look at the three signings we could have had that

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-40519442373424291822009-01-26T17:28:00.001-08:002009-01-26T17:31:54.435-08:00

It makes complete sense to live blog an all-star game where Rory Fitzpatrick is a captain and Mike Ryan is an all star, both play for the Planet USA All-Star team.  The only representative from the Portland Pirates is Mark Mancari who will play for the Canadian All-Stars. 1st Period - At least the fanfare behind the AHL All-Star game is not as crazy as it is with the NHL All-Star game.  This

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-84998801250516712762009-01-23T06:39:00.001-08:002009-01-23T06:39:08.567-08:00

So after taking a week off from blogging due to the fact that my life is just too busy to blog, here are some thoughts from the past week. - The Sabres always seem to get too much sun while going on the Florida road trip.  Usually though, they lose in Sunrise while kicking the crap out of Tampa.  This time it was the other way around.  Considering the Tampa game was the second game of the two,

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-1541161061845379062009-01-18T18:24:00.001-08:002009-01-18T18:24:11.939-08:00

The Sabres continued their home winning streak against the Hurricanes on Saturday beating them 3-1.  Playing a predictable type of Sabres game, the team ended up holding on to the 3-1 lead by allowing Ryan Miller to do most of the work. Miller stopped 36 of 37 including a barrage of shots in the third period.  It looked that the Sabres just ran out of steam after making the quick stop home from

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-73115410751915862572009-01-17T12:00:00.001-08:002009-01-17T12:00:53.279-08:00

      It is really hard to write about this Sabres team when of the last two games you have seen a total of twenty minutes of game play.  The Sabres are coming off their comeback win against the Stars while the Hurricanes are on a four-game losing streak.  Lindy Ruff had this quote about the ‘Canes "One that's going well or one that's desperate to win a game," Ruff said today at HSBC

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-12329431542990094472009-01-17T10:18:00.001-08:002009-01-17T10:18:36.182-08:00

The Bandits/Knighthawks game last night was an absolute blowout.  The Knighthawks showed they are a bigger mess last night and need something to come together if this team is going to be competitive at all.  The Bandits won 23-6 last night at the Bank and the main reason for the collapse by the Knighthawks was just their lack of defense. This 17 goal difference was the worst loss in Knighthawk

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-71470374822073135872009-01-16T14:21:00.001-08:002009-01-16T14:21:14.011-08:00

It is the battle between the ageless wonder and the great one tonight in the HSBC Arena.  For being a fan that never got a chance to see Gary Gait in action during his first tour of duty, this is a special night for me to see two great legends in action. Tavares passed Gait in the final category, all time goal scorer, on January 19, 2008 against the New York Titans.  Right now Tavares has 625

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-33131245220120022172009-01-13T09:31:00.001-08:002009-01-13T09:31:52.064-08:00

When a commissioner of a league resigns from the league in the middle of the season, it never bodes well for the state of the league.  Therefore, warning bells went off on Saturday when the NLL announced that Jim Jennings was stepping down from his post as the commissioner.  According to Jennings and the NLL, this was in the works for a few months and is not a sign of things to come for the

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-20830316862513586072009-01-13T09:21:00.001-08:002009-01-13T09:21:25.348-08:00

I know this is late in coming, but I just finished watching the Bandits/Rock game from Saturday.  The Bandits did defeat the Rock 8-6 for the first time since 2006 in the Air Canada Center.  Which is a good thing because we face the Rock twice on the road.  The major shining light was the play of Ken Montour and the Bandits defense.  Montour stepped up to the plate when it counted the most,

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-93342615278484772009-01-12T13:32:00.001-08:002009-01-12T13:32:32.828-08:00

The Sabres dropped at least one point in Detroit on Saturday after the Red Wings scoring two quick goals within the last three minutes of the third period.  Ryan Miller tried to keep the listless Sabres in this game as well, but the Wings had gotten to him too much towards the end of the game. Miller faced 48 shots total against the Wings, 23 of those coming in the third period.  This comes

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-10688488155096262722009-01-10T14:26:00.001-08:002009-01-10T14:26:58.510-08:00

  The Bandits head to Toronto tonight to face  their Canadian nemeses the Toronto Rock.  The Bandits have not beaten the Rock at the Air Canada Center since 2006.  The Rock play a very defensive style that always seems to stifle the Bandits.  The Bandits have shown that they are in mid season form in their win over the Wings last Saturday night.  The Bandits defense came to play in that

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-51659492571530721272009-01-10T09:41:00.001-08:002009-01-10T09:41:23.294-08:00

  The Sabres are heading into Detroit tonight to face the  always tough Red Wings.  This is the first of two games against Detroit this year thanks to flex scheduling.  The second matchup will be April 6th in Buffalo.  The Sabres come off an interesting two point performance in which Ryan Miller kept the Sabres in the game all night.  Outshot 44-33 and outworked for the first two periods, the

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-11563003376741120722009-01-10T06:10:00.001-08:002009-01-10T06:10:14.525-08:00

My apologies for the lack of activity in the last week here.  The new year started and so did other things.  So now that the minor things are out of the way, I can focus on the more important things:  the winning streaks of the Sabres and the Bandits. Since I left, the Sabres have started a new year winning streak with wins against the Maple Leafs, Bruins, Senators and Rangers.  The team has

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-68098245632338650802009-01-02T08:13:00.001-08:002009-01-02T08:13:07.902-08:00

I am not one for writing long poetic season previews, especially when it comes to the NLL, due to the fact that I cannot possibly know enough about every team to give them their due.  So in this case, I will have a key question that each team will have to answer to make their runs at the Champions Cup.  Eastern Conference Boston Blazers:  Can they overcome their expansion status to be

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-45687144321713360052009-01-01T12:42:00.001-08:002009-01-01T12:42:10.365-08:00

Besides sitting here watching what is turning out to  be a fairly entertaining Winter Classic, there is another hockey game on tonight.  The Sabres head to the Air Canada Center tonight to start the New Year off correctly against the Maple Leafs.  The Sabres have had their fair share of looking relatively inspiring in 2008, starting the year losing their first seven games of the year and

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-30253557717073725462008-12-31T14:09:00.001-08:002008-12-31T14:09:21.864-08:00

There have been two outdoor games in the history of the NHL.  The first was in 2003 featuring the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens.  The second, obviously, was last year’s Winter Classic.  What happens to teams that lose the outdoor game.  The Edmonton Oilers lost the Heritage Classic on home ice 4-3 to the Canadiens.  They then turned around and lost their next four games of the

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-13059641345472271852008-12-29T13:45:00.001-08:002008-12-29T13:45:31.993-08:00

The Buffalo News is reporting that Paul Gaustad could possibly play tommorrow.  Gaustad has missed the past five games and was centering a line with Ales Kotalik and Adam Mair today in practice. While Gaustad doesn’t bring a lot to the scoresheet, he does bring the toughness this teams doesn’t show.  With Mair and Gaustad, they bring a good grinding fourth line that does its job. Gaustad can

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-896934901626160101.post-69256995113014526852008-12-29T10:07:00.001-08:002008-12-29T10:07:26.538-08:00

Two games after the holiday break, the Sabres sit in eighth place in the conference tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Here is the Sabres schedule in the next month: December 29th – vs. Washington January 1st – at Toronto January 3rd – at Boston January 6th – vs. Ottawa January 9th – vs. Rangers January 10th – at Detroit January 14th – at

Zachhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14576048669519983317noreply@blogger.com0