Author: Buffalo Winter

Spreading the Good News with Hockey

League play begins October in Buffalo’s neighborhood, “Riverside”, and their Bud Bakewell arena is the home of the four team Integrity Hockey League on Saturday nights, coaches, players, staff, and fans have become the Salt & Light of local amateur hockey.

For the 2024-25 IHL regular season there will be approximately 18 games with three games per month concluding with playoffs during April.

A preseason pick-up skate is planned for the 28th of September, and there are volunteer opportunities as well as signing up as a skater or goaltender.

When professional hockey insists on pushing sinful narratives it is refreshing to be able to attend and follow competitive hockey without having to honor and tolerate immorality and vice.

As someone who strengthens his hope/faith in Jesus with daily bread consisting of prayer and reading the Gospels I am disappointed in the way the NHL has tolerated and promotes so many of our secular culture’s insistence for chaos, hatred, and disbelief in our Heavenly Father.

Similar to the cliché, “you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink”, you can also lead a person to Jesus, but you cannot make them believe, and supposing that you were born in North America, you have heard the “Good News”.

So it is with great pleasure that I will be able to include Jesus with hockey at my website, giving glory to our Heavenly Father is nothing to be ashamed of.

Sabres in 1989-90 celebrated their 20th NHL Season

Memorial Auditorium Buffalo, NY- As a young man tending bar here along the Lake I had the opportunity to attend the Sabres 20th NHL Season Thursday night Home Opener versus the Quebec Nordiques and what a game it was.

Our Head Coach Rick Dudley led Sabres struck quickly only 20 seconds into the first period as Alexander Mogilny scores his first NHL goal and Buffalo’s first goal of our 20th NHL Season causing a raucous celebratory roar from the early sitting crowd.

The first period’s scoring was completed with Guy Lafleur’s first goal as a Nordiques player after serving one season with the Rangers the year before and that was after sitting out three seasons following his retirement from the Canadiens.

With the game tied 1-1 Buffalo opened the second period again by scoring within the first minute as Dave Andreychuk scored for the Sabres and three minutes later 7th round draft pick Mike Hartman scores and Buffalo has a 3-1 lead heading into the third period.

It takes the Nordiques top line of Michel Goulet, Joe Sakic, and Peter Stastny only eight seconds of power play time for Mr. Goulet to score and get Quebec within one goal with just under 18 minutes remaining in the game.

Incredulously Mr. Hartman scores his second of the night four minutes later and Buffalo had regained its two goal lead but with three minutes left to play, future Colorado Captain and Cup Champion Joe Sakic scores to get Quebec back within one.

The Nordiques pull their goaltender with less than two minutes remaining and the Sabres are hanging on when with only 19 seconds left in a one goal game Buffalo is called for a “too many men” penalty.

Fortunately the Sabres Olympian gold medalist defenseman Mike Ramsey (2 assists in the game) backed by Darren Puppa in net, the Sabres held on to win 4-3 for fans during the 20th NHL Season Home Opener.

Sundae (Toni) Bafo – Label

Buffalo employed a professional 22 years old figure skater to assist in introducing the players during home games in 1970, the young lady had become an amateur multi-medalist in the US and Canada who then coached at the Buffalo Skating and Curling Clubs and winning a National Synchronized skating championship.

No pyrotechnic display, loud blaring horn or pop music, no giant logo lit up on the ice, and no major celebrity to kick off the show…just hockey, introduced by a lone figure skater with a piece of classical music from Russian composer Aram Khachaturian.

The music written in 1942 for the ballet “Gayane”, the “Sabre Dance” is considered by some to be one the signature pieces of the 20^th century, and has been covered by many artists around the world, and here along the Lake this piece has become our hockey music.

For the first time Buffalo hosted the US National Figure Skating Championship and it coincided with the Sabres inaugural season 1970-71 during January 27– 30, which was the Golden Anniversary year of US figure skating which included 14 years old Dorothy Hamill competing.

Test your memory and online research skills

Beginning Tuesday October 8th the Buffalo Winter Tuesday Trivia challenge commences and runs through the regular season relating to professional and amateur hockey played here along the Lake.

No pressure, no stress, hopefully just an enjoyable distraction to expand our knowledge of hockey through trivia and historical points of interests.

Example:

Each Tuesday will present a new inquiry and last week’s correct response, additionally at the end of the regular season the subscriber with the highest percentage of correct answers will be awarded an encased vintage hockey card with authentic historical documentation.

A Player to remember

High School

If he never played organized hockey past high school he would still be remembered as a great hockey player as his induction into the New Jersey High School Ice Hockey Hall of Fame, scoring over 100 points his last two years and playing in the NJSIAA Championship attests to.

College

As a freshman he helped Boston College win the NCAA Championship, he also earned the Hobey Baker Award by leading the country in goals and assists one season, and before that season he won a gold medal on the US National team in the World Junior Championship.

NHL

Perhaps if JG (Johnny Gaudreau) was six feet or taller instead of 5’ 9” he more likely than not would have been drafted in the first round, instead 103 players were selected before him as the Calgary Flames used their fourth round pick for him.

In the 2013-14 NHL season JG played one game, had 15 minutes of ice time, took one SOG and scored his first NHL goal, over the next eight seasons scored 20+ goals twice, 30+ goals twice, and 40 goals once.

JG was selected to the All-Rookie All-Star team, every season placed in voting for the Lady Byng which he won in his third season, and selected to the All-Star first team two seasons ago after notching 40 goals.

Then the trade to Columbus where he struggled to reach 20 goals and 50 assists for each of his two years as a Blue Jacket but both sides wanted and signed an extension for JG to stay in Columbus.

Pain & Tragedy

I take solace in the fact JG attended a Catholic HS and was taught the Good News, so while his family, friends, teammates, and hockey fans miss him terribly, they can have hope and faith that Johnny Gaudreau is resting in peace while awaiting our Lord’s return.