Friday night is the Sabres home opener. And it’s a night of firsts. First regular season game at First Niagara Center. First time for the big free-agent signings to play a home game that counts. Most important of all, the first home opener of the Terry Pegual era. And don’t you just know they have something special planned to help make it memorable for fans.
We’ve had so many memorable experiences going to Sabres games.
Memorable games.
Memorable goals.
Memorable fights.
Great individual performances, from Roger Crozier to Ryan Miller, Gil Perreault to Thomas Vanek, and hundreds of players in between.
But over the years, there have been some memorable moments that went beyond the game itself.
True goosebump moments that anyone who witnessed will never forget.
April 14, 1996: Farewell, old friend
Oh, the memories of the Aud. The fog game. The win over the Russians. Jim Schoenfeld checking Wayne Cashman into the Zamboni tunnel. May Day.
But of all the memorable moments there, I still remember the very last one. The last game played at Memorial Auditorium, before the Sabres would move into what was then called Marine Midland Arena for the beginning of the 1996-97 season. And they didn’t leave the Aud on a high note. 95-96 wasn’t a great season for the team They missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years. But they won that final game, 4-1 over the Hartford Whalers. Michael Peca scored the last goal. And then it was time for the goosebumps. The lowering of the banners. The lowering of the retired numbers. Sabres greats from the past joined current players to receive them and carry them off the ice. Rene Robert escorted his. Rick Martin did the same.
And then the final moments. One last skate around the rink. And the players left the ice. Until only Pat LaFontaine was left. Until he skated to the crease, stopped and saluted the fans, and then put the puck into the net. The last time that would ever happen at the Aud. And when Seymour Knox said “Farewell, old friend, farewell” we had no idea we’d be saying farewell to him just a month later.
April 6, 2003: Back to the future?
2002 & 2003 weren’t the best of years for the Sabres. They missed the playoffs in 2001-02. And again in 02-03. Plus there was that whole “owners in trouble” thing that overshadowed what was happening on the ice. The Rigases were indicted in 2002. The league took over operations of the Sabres. In January of ’03 the team filed for bankruptcy. For a while we thought Mark Hamister was going to buy the team, but that didn’t work out. Then in March, Tom Golisano became the owner. These days, we may not be looking back at Golisano all that fondly, but let’s remember where the team was when he took over. And let’s remember we had a pretty good run under his ownership.
And let’s not forget the true goosebump moment he provided on the last game of the 2002-03 season. Remember the red and black uniforms the team wore back then? That awful Buffalo head? The team wore them this night….at least for the pre-game skate. Then, just before the game began, the lights in the Arena were turned off. And a spotlight shone on the tunnel where the Sabres made their entrance. Wearing the original blue and gold uniforms!
No one expected it. Everyone loved it.
Granted, when the team later changed their uniforms back to the original blue and gold colors, they decided to create the slug instead of going back to their original look….but at least on this night, the crossed swords were back.
February 13, 2009: Moment of silence to standing ovation
This was one of the worst days ever in Western New York. And it had nothing to do with hockey. Unless you watched the 11:00 news the night before, you woke up on this day and learned about the crash of Flight 3407. 50 lives lost. Hundreds of thousands of lives affected. If you didn’t know someone on that flight, you knew someone who did. That’s just how it is here. Some of the Sabres players lived near the crash site. So does Lindy Ruff. The news cast a giant pall over the entire region. Those are the days that make you realize that sports is secondary. But also very important…..because by the time Friday night rolled around, WNY needed something positive.
Before the game, a moment of silence for the victims of the crash.
I wasn’t there that night, and I wasn’t watching the beginning of the game on television, because when the game started I was at my temple, along with many of my fellow congregants, because we did know someone on that flight. Our cantor, Susan Wehle, was one of the 50. So we gathered to pray, and remember her. After that tear-filled service, I came home and did what any Sabres fan would do. I turned on the game. Where I learned that the Sabres….after leading the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in the first period and 4-1 in the second, were now trailing 5-4 in the third. But as the game wound down, the cosmic forces said “You know what, this isn’t how this should end. Not here. Not tonight”. And with just four seconds left in regulation time, Jason Pominville deflected a shot from former Shark Craig Rivet to tie the score. Then, after a scoreless overtime, and in the fifth round of the shootout, Derek Roy scored to put the Sabres ahead…..Ryan Miller made a sprawling glove save…..and 18,000 people at the Arena erupted into a huge standing ovation. There were more than a few tears mixed with those cheers. Not to mention chills running down spines…..and oh yes, goosebumps.
Feb. 23, 2011: Hello and goodbye
Terry Pegula had already given us a goosebump moment before tonight, his first game as owner of the Sabres. When he held his first news conference and got teary-eyed because Gil Perreault was there, didn’t your eyes tear up as well? We knew then, he was one of us.
Then, during the opening ceremonies before the game, as Pegula and his sons came out for the ceremonial puck drop, he and everyone in the arena and everyone watching on television got an unexpected and unbelievably joyful surprise. Skating out onto the ice, all three members of the French Connection. Reunited again. Rene Robert, no longer estranged. His criticism of Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn no longer an issue. #14 was back where he belonged.
As we know, the thrills we got that night seeing the Connection reconnected turned bittersweet three weeks later when we heard the stunning news of Richard Martin’s death. Who knew that reunion would be the last time one of hockey’s greatest lines would be back together? But at that moment, we cheered. Thank you Terry Pegula for making that possible.
April 8, 2010: 40 years of memories
I think the thing I love most about Terry Pegula (besides the fact that he wants to win the Stanley Cup….no, he expects to win it) is that he’s one of us. He’s a Sabres fan. You can tell how much he loves this team and its tradition. He also cares about us…the fans.
This night was a gift to us.
40 years of Sabres players were invited back for last year’s home finale. Pegula picked up the tab for them to come back. They mingled with fans before the game, and then were brought out….one by one and decade by decade, as we cheered and were flooded by memories.
For me, as someone who’s been a fan from the very beginning, my biggest thrill was seeing the players from the early years. The ones who gave me my earliest Sabres memories.
Jim Watson. Bill Hajt. Gerry Meehan. Larry Carriere. And Joe Daley.
Especially Joe Daley. Besides Gil Perreault, he was my first favorite Sabre. How could you not love the goalie who played without a mask? And faced all those shots, night after night. Especially December 10, 1970 in Boston. The Bruins peppered Daley with shots. 72 of them! It’s still the record for shots against the Sabres. Daley gave up eight goals that night, but he was still one of the stars of the game.
He and 79 fellow former Sabres….from stars, to role players, to guys who were just footnotes in the team’s history…..were here that night. Here for us. Here because of Terry Pegula.
Let’s face it, there’s one goosebump moment that will top them all. The moment when the Stanley Cup is presented to the Sabres on home ice. Unfortunately, we’ve had to watch the other guys get the Cup on our ice twice. But thanks to Terry Pegula, Sabres Nation is full of hope. We know the Cup is coming. Not if, but when. And if that Cup-clinching game is in Buffalo….we’ll have a goosebump moment for all time.
