subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Tue, Feb 09 2010 

Published: February 27, 2008 10:44 pm    print this story  

SABRES NOTES: Miller leaves with bloody nose, but returns

By Tim Schmitt
Greater Niagara Newspapers

BUFFALO Talk about a roller-coaster night for Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who ended up with his 29th victory of the season in Buffalo’s 8-4 win over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday.

Miller kept his perfect record in tact against penalty shots, stopping Scott Nichol just 34 seconds into the second period. He has stopped all seven penalty shots he’s faced.

Nichol had snuck behind Jason Pominville and was in on a breakaway when Jaroslav Spacek slid into stop him. Spacek didn’t get any piece of the puck and the penalty shot was called.

Nichol tried to beat Miller high on the glove side, but the netminder made the save. Nichol was an 11th round draft choice of the Sabres in the 1993 entry draft, and played five games with the team over two seasons. He failed to register a point in those appearances.

But Miller later left the game with a bloody nose after Marek Zidlicky’s big shot from the point. The puck caromed off Miller’s mask and as he fell to the ice, the rebound went directly to Jan Hlavac, who scored into the empty net.

Jocelyn Thibault entered in relief, stopping just five of the shots he faced as the Predators climbed back into the game.

Miller returned, however, with 8:58 remaining in the second period, patting Thibault on the head.

•••

It’s often Andrew Peters doesn’t hustle into a fracas. But when the Sabres tough guy scored his first goal of the season and just the fourth of his career, he stood with his arms raised for a minute, enjoying the spotlight while Adam Mair tangled with a Nashville player.

Peters’ last goal came more than a year ago, on Feb. 20, 2007, against the Philadelphia Flyers. The play was an unlikely combination of two players not known for their offensive skills — Peters and Patrick Kaleta. While behind the net digging the puck out, Kaleta lobbed a perfect backhanded pass on to Peters’ stick. Peters buried a quick shot that beat Nashville goalie Chris Mason on his stick side.

•••

Jason Pominville kept another points streak alive with a second period goal, giving him points in the last six games.

Pominville has been red-hot of late, scoring 20 points in his last 16 games. He had an eight-game points streak from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12 then went two games without a point before his current streak started.

•••

Plenty has been made of the horrendous plus-minus ratings of Dallas’ Brad Richards and former Sabre Daniel Briere, who’s now with Philadelphia.

Nashville’s Radek Bonk, who was the third pick overall in the 1994 draft when Ottawa selected him, entered Wednesday’s game with a minus-22. That ranked him fourth-worst in the league behind Atlanta’s Steve McCarthy (-23), Briere (-24) and Richards (-25).

He did little to help his cause on Wednesday as he was on the ice during Steve Bernier’s second goal and Daniel Paille’s marker.

•••

In a bad piece of officiating, the Sabres led 6-4 in the third period when Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis tried to dump the puck in the Buffalo zone.

He hit his own teammate, Martin Erat, in the head, and Erat fell to the ice. The puck was blown dead even though the Sabres had a two-on-one the other way.

No matter. As soon as play restarted, Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville got another two-on-one, and Connolly’s nifty backhand gave the Sabres a 7-4 lead.

•••

The Niagara-Wheatfield club hockey team is no stranger to HSBC Arena — the Falcons captured their fourth straight Western New York Large Schools title by beating Grand Island on Sunday.

They followed that with a good showing against Depew in the high school shootout. Nick Burns scored for the Falcons as they tied Depew 1-1 with Nick Schiro and Mark Lucatra failing to score. Mike Slawich was in net for N-W.

Give Lucatra credit, the Falcons’ third shooter tried to get fancy, passing the puck between his legs, then pulling it to his stick from his skate. His shot went just wide of the post, though.

Contact group sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

print this story  



autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premier Guide

Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!

Featured Jobs

Housekeeper Director
HOUSEKEEPER Director FT. Send resume to Heritage Manor of Ransomville, 3509 Ransomville Rd, Ransomville. NY...>MORE

FLOOR MAINTENANCE
Floor Maintenance, 3rd shift, exp. in stripping & waxing need only apply, f/t & p/t, 632-2259 ...>MORE

School Bus Drivers
SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
We will train you to be a School Bus Driver. Classes starting now. Must have a clean drivers lic
...>MORE

Compactor Repair Technician
COMPACTOR Repair Technician: Mechanically inclined with welding knowledge, some hydraulic and electrical understanding. ...>MORE

Nurses
NURSES: RN - Endoscopy, PT days. Up to $5000 sign on bonus; Nurse Manager - Primary Care, FT, NYS LPN or RN license with...>MORE

Quality Control
QUALITY control, earn up to $100 per day, evaluate retail stores, training provided, no exp. req’d, call 1-888-702-9018...>MORE

Maintenance Person
Maintenance Person FT Call Gary Carpenter at
716-791-4211 or stop by and fill our application at:
Ransomville
...>MORE

Nurse
NURSE. Niagara County Community College is seeking a part-time college nurse for the college’s health services. Please s...>MORE

Assistant Director
Catholic Charities has an excellent professional development opportunity available for the following position:
 Ass
...>MORE

Publishing
Work in Publishing. Need to know or have some knowledge of Adobe and Quark Express. Hours Mon-Fri 8-4:30. $8.00 per hr t...>MORE

See all ads

Feature Autos

1999 Chevy Malibu
CHEVY 1999 Malibu, needs fuel pump, $700. 282-6141 or 990-6026....>MORE

1986 Ford Mustang
FORD 1986 Mustang convertible, 5.0 body kit, 3.8L V6, 40k on new motor, runs but needs work. $700 or BO. 417-1611...>MORE

Dodge 2001 Neon
DODGE 2001Neon, 4 dr, 4 cyl, auto, 58k mi. am/fm CD player, n o rust, like new, $3950. 525-7796...>MORE

1998 Dodge Dakota Sport
DODGE 1998 Dakota Sport 3.9 V6, regular cab, exc in & out, no rust, real sharp, $2750. 523-7102...>MORE

Chrysler 2000 Concord LXI
Chrysler 2000 Concord LXI, 4 door, one owner, exc. condition, power windows, power steering, power locks, $5000 or best ...>MORE

Pontiac 2000 Grand Prix XL
PONTIAC 2000 Grand Prix XL, black,
good condition
531-2669
...>MORE

Ford 1997 TAURUS
FORD 1997 taurus, runs exc. fully loaded, must see $1400 or best offer. 205-7711...>MORE

1993 Chevy Silverado
CHEVY Silverado 4x4 1993 new alt, starter, exhaust, rebuilt trans., etc. Reliable. Call 282-0465....>MORE

1991 Lincoln Executive Town Car
LINCOLN 1991 Executive Town Car, 42k miles, no rust, runs, needs work, $600. 990-8895....>MORE

Ford 1999 Escort ZX2
FORD 1999 ESCORT, ZX2 Coupe, runs great, NYS inspected, exc. cond. $1650. 694-0441...>MORE

See all ads



 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index