ST. JOE’S DEFEATS JAMESTOWN, AIDED BY BLENMAN’S CAREER PERFORMANCE
Nate Blenman put his name on the map in the WNY high school basketball scene with a double double performance in the Sectional Championship game last year with the Amherst Tigers. This summer, the 6’6 do-it-all forward took his talents to Kenmore Avenue, transferring to St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute. Over the weekend, on ‘Friday Night Lights,’ Blenman posted a career high in points with 32, lifting the #1 ranked Marauders over the #5 ranked Jamestown Red & Green.
Jamestown never got their rhythm offensively, as St. Joe’s defense was stifling throughout. Once the Marauders took a 6-4 lead in the first quarter, they never looked back. In case the multiple 20+ point leads for St. Joe’s wasn’t enough, Jay’Meir Goosby rose above the rim for an authoritative slam in the final minutes of the fourth. The hometown Marauders proved that they belong in the #1 spot among large schools in the area. Final score: St. Joe’s 78, Jamestown 58.
SABRES PICK UP BACK-TO-BACK WINS OVER THE WEEKEND
Don’t look now, the Buffalo Sabres are heating up! With wins over Nashville and New Jersey this weekend, the Sabres have now won three straight games.
While they currently sit twelve points out of the final playoff spot, Buffalo has two games remaining before the league hits pause for international hockey, as the ‘Four Nations Faceoff” takes place over a two-week span, with Canada, Sweden, Finland and the USA battling for bragging rights. Having won their last three games, it feels as though this season is setting up to be a failure on both ends, being too far out to make the playoffs, but if they end the year hot enough, they’ll play the franchise’s way out of a top five pick in the draft.
They likely won’t make the playoffs this season, but there are bright spots for the organization, starting with their rookie forward Jiri Kulich. With seven points in his last six games, including a multi-goal night on Friday vs Nashville, Kulich is starting to come into his own as his first year in the NHL carries on. During the first two months of the season, and at times for stretches since December, Kulich has looked snake-bitten, getting to the right spots in the offensive zone but never getting that break to go his way to get on the scoresheet. As of late, his elite shot has been on full display. Since December 1st, Kulich leads all NHL rookies with seven goals.
Another reason to be pleased as an organization is the fact that the Rochester Americans have three players participating in their All Star game, including former first round draftee Isak Rosen, and standout prospect goaltender Devon Levi.
During yesterday’s win over the New Jersey Devils, the Buffalo power play looked a bit in shambles, going scoreless in their four attempts, and suffering a short-handed goal against. It seems that the special teams struggles are a bigger issue for the team than their seeming weakness after not fighting a single Devil when Tage Thompson got his head hit on a cheap shot. Players in the locker room postgame had a similar reasoning as to why no one charged after the New Jersey player that injured the Sabres’ start forward, as Mattias Samuelsson and Jason Zucker both testified that they didn’t see the play that led to Thompson getting hit in the head, a fair excuse for not jumping to conclusions and taking a penalty just to “send a message.” They all seemed fairly happy with the win as their prize for the night. Rather than losing the game and winning the battle, they won the game and will face heat and criticism from local and national media members in the wake of that non-response. Thompson, later, was evaluated by the Sabres doctors and training staff, who have said that Thompson cleared the tests he has taken so far. Buffalo would end up suffering a shorthanded goal to New Jersey, just minutes later, making it a one-goal-game. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was terrific in the 4-3 win for Buffalo, making 21 saves on the day.
The Sabres are back in action, at home, tomorrow night for National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Puck Drop against the Columbus Blue Jackets is at 7PM.
BANDITS REMAIN PERFECT, ROLL PAST ALBANY SATURDAY NIGHT
In a rematch of last season’s championship series, the Buffalo Bandits proved they were the rightful victors of the NLL title, as they defended KeyBank Center with a 16-10 win over the Albany FireWolves.
Buffalo trailed just once all night, and it was within the first four minutes of the game. An Albany power play goal put Buffalo in a 1-0 hole early, but that was no problem for the Bandits to overcome, Buffalo would go on to take a 10-4 lead at halftime, with Banditland rocking. Albany tried to kill the vibes of the party in the third quarter, outscoring Buffalo 4-1 in the third, bringing it within three goals. When the game mattered most, the Bandits’ best stepped up. Nanticoke, Smith, Byrne, and MacKay all scored in the fourth quarter to elevate the Bandits to an impressive 6-0 to start the year; the only unbeaten team in the NLL.
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