Sabres light the lamp seven times in victory over Pittsburgh
The Buffalo Sabres have won three games in a row for only the 6th time this season as they routed the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-3 last night. With 14 players registering a point, it might be easier to list out which Sabres DIDN’T come away with a tally on the scoresheet.
The Sabres got off to a quick start when Tage Thompson scored less than 30 seconds into the opening frame. Buffalo kept their foot on the gas when Peyton Krebs found the net after a pass to the slot from Connor Clifton bounced off of Alex Tuch’s stick and right onto Krebs’ doorstep. Opening the second period up 2-1, Jiri Kulich would find the net for his first of two goals of the night, catching a stellar drop-back pass from defenseman Bowen Byram. The day was done for Pittsburgh’s starting goaltender, Tristan Jarry, after Mattias Samuelsson lit the lamp for his 4th of the season.
The onslaught carried over onto the Penguins' backup goalie, Alex Nedeljkovic, who gave up goals to both Jiri Kulich and Tyson Kozak in a 30-second span. The Sabres cooled off with their final goal of the 2nd period and the game when defensemen Owen Power carried the puck coast to coast and assisted on Alex Tuch’s 28th tally of the season. Sabres goaltender James Reimer would give up two more goals in the 3rd frame, but the game had been decided a long time beforehand.
The Sabres will be on the road this weekend with a pair of games against the best and worst teams from the Metropolitan Division. The Sabres will first take on the last-in-the-division Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at 1:00 pm. The Flyers have lost 11 of their last 12 games and recently fired their Head Coach, John Tortorella. They’ll then take on the team leading the Metro, the Washington Capitals. With the two teams being on completely different ends of the NHL standings, you wouldn’t think this game has any storylines, but it has one that the entire sports world is watching. Star forward Alex Ovechkin will come into the game needing only 5 goals to tie Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record. While it’s unlikely he breaks the record against the Sabres, this Sunday could certainly set up a historic moment for the league as the regular season winds down.
For the first time since April 2019, St. Catharines has playoff hockey
The Niagara Ice Dogs kicked off their first Ontario Hockey League post-season run since 2019 against the Barrie Colts last night. Niagara snuck into the playoffs with the second-to-last seed in the OHL’s Eastern Conference, finishing the regular season with a record of 29-31. They’ll have to upset second-place Barrie in a best-of-seven series to advance into the second round.
In Game One, the IceDogs fought hard but fell to the Colts 4-2. Winnipeg Jets draft selection Kevin He scored first for Niagara, with Alex Assadourian getting his own tally in the second period. The Colts ramped up their physicality midway through the second, and didn’t stop until the final buzzer. They limited Niagara’s shot opportunities heavily in the back half of the game, holding the IceDogs to only 7 shots on goal compared to the 17 they generated in the first frame. Game Two remains in Barrie on Monday and heads to St. Catharines on Tuesday for Game Three.
UB Women’s Basketball advances to the Great 8 of the WNIT
The University at Buffalo Women’s Basketball team won last night to keep their postseason run in the Women’s National Invitation Tourney going. Becky Burke’s Bulls took on the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles in a matchup that pitted UB’s tenacious defense against USI’s efficient and patient offense.
The Bulls relied on their relentless interior presence early, with 14 of their 20 1st Quarter points coming from the paint. They took command of the game with a dominant 2nd Quarter that saw the Bulls outscore Southern Indiana 21-8. From there, any momentum earned by the Screaming Eagles was silenced due to the impressive shooting of Terah Harness, the shifty athleticism of Lani Cornfield, and Chella Watson doing Chella Watson things down the stretch. The Bulls' most impressive achievement of the night by far was holding USI’s 2-Time Ohio Valley Conference 1st Teamer, Meredith Raley, to only 10 points. She had averaged over 21.8 points over her last four games and was the catalyst for the team's WNIT success.
The Bulls now advance to the Great 8 of the tournament, which earns them a home game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights this upcoming Sunday at 2 pm. The Bulls haven’t played a Power Conference opponent since their NCAA opening round game against Tennessee in the 2021 Tournament, meaning this will be the first time Head Coach Becky Burke squares up against a team from the Power 5 as the leader of the Buffalo Bulls.
Bandits look to bounce back at home Saturday
The Buffalo Bandits are looking to get back in the win column this Saturday at KeyBank Center as they welcome the Vancouver Warriors to town. The Bandits at 11-3 have already clinched a playoff berth but fell to Albany last Saturday in overtime during a back-to-back weekend. Vancouver sits at 7-7 and will be looking to break from the middle of the pack in NLL standings, which Buffalo leads.
The duo of Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne will look to add to their point tallies, hoping to help Buffalo secure home-field advantage for the postseason. Smith and Byrne last week broke into the triple digits for points. Vancouver comes into the game on a two-game win streak, which coincided with the Warriors acquiring 2023 league MVP and goaltender of the year Christian Del Bianco from Calgary at the trade deadline. Faceoff from KeyBank Center is set for 7:30 pm Saturday.
Niagara/Canisius rivalry series coming down to Spring sports
The “Battle of the Bridge Canal Cup” will see an intense matchup take place on the lacrosse field tomorrow. The series pits the NCAA Division I sports of Niagara and Canisius University against each other throughout the athletic season. So far this year, the bitter rivals have met fifteen times across ten different sports, with Canisius holding a 14-11 lead due to the way the series is scored.
Tomorrow at 1 pm on the campus of Niagara University, the two schools will battle it out in Women’s Lacrosse, with the victor coming away with two key points in the series standings. With only 8 available points up for grabs in the remaining spring sports, tomorrow’s lacrosse showdown could give fans an early showcase of who will come out on top in the battle of the Golden Griffins and the Purple Eagles.
Niagara is coming off its first MAAC Championship and subsequent NCAA Championship Appearance in program history. Canisius, on the other hand, has been to the big dance six times, but hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals in the MAAC Tournament since 2018.
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