Quick Dispatch from NYC
February 15th, 2009, 7:25 am
Nice and chilly here in the Northeast, and a great story to tell about our NHL Live experience on Friday. You’ll have to wait until next week’s podcast to get the scoop. Because of our busy New York schedule, we weren’t able to watch the entire Buffalo game on Friday- after we got out of the Will Farrell show, we went straight to the Times Square ESPN Zone to catch as much as we could. Being insane, of course we checked the score from our seats (4-3 Buffalo after two), but were happily surprised when we walked into the bar to find the Sharks up 5-4 with about 9 minutes left in the game. As you know, it went downhill from there.
David Pollak reports that McLellan isn’t happy about the Sharks losing their last three shootouts, but how about this stat- The Sharks are 1-7 in their last 8 overtime games. In Buffalo and Boston, we saw a decent third period effort (minus the last 10 seconds of the Buffalo game) but when it gets to the extra session, there’s some wilting going on. And you can’t chalk it up to the flu bug- this horrible run started on December 17.
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Have fun today, guys…. be great big d-bags in Jersey whenever we score.
I REALLY hate to be this way, but I am 99% sure the refs were on the take for the Buffalo game. After the tragedy of the plane crash, all the comments were about “this great city needing something to take them away from the heartbreak.” The last 60 seconds were a complete mugging (elbows, holds, slashes) and that last goal was suspiciously not reviewed. I’m ok with a loss, especially since we’re not playing our best, but we deserved that win and the NHL and it’s officiating crew should be ashamed of themselves. Nothing is more upsetting than a loss coming at the action/inaction of a tilted zebra crew.
I will start off by saying when my husband and I drove down from the Toronto Area on Friday to Buffalo we had on 550Am, the Buffalo Sports channel. They gave some of the best, well most reliable, updates for the crash than the actual news stations did. I had heard about it Friday morning when I turned on the TV. It was really sad to see and hear the stories from the ground. On the radio they had on there a rather tearful interview with Ruff and lots of other players including the 5 who live in that area. Its rather close to home at 800 yeards away. Walking to the game from the $10US or $10CAD parking lot a couple of blocks away you noticed fans without smiles on their faces and laughing, it was more of saddness. Much like the first Shark preseason game at home after 9-11. Even in the arena no one was happy. It has been a long time since I have seen those looks on so many faces at one time. You knew the Sabres would come out with lots of emotion.
The game was atrocious, the first few minutes the Sabres had lots of jump, the Sharks looked flat. We were sitting in a section of season ticket holders and most of them Leafs fans, who play Sabre fans when wanting to see a winning team. I kept hearing before the game Sharks with 40 shots, Sabres with 22. Sharks 6 goals to 1.
The refs seemed to be very one sided, they didn’t call many things that should of been called on the Sabres and yet stupid penatalties on the Sharks. Guess to keep with the idea that one handed hooking gets called but boarding doesn’t. The boys made a good game of it, ending with both teams having 35 shots. The shootout is stupid to begin with but it sucks even more if you are a Sharks fan. The Sharks should of had an empty net goal but they didn’t seem to care during the last minute of the game. Getting scored on 3.9 secs left is like the Sharks under RW. I think the Sharks still only have 1 win in Buffalo in their history.
Like the game in Dec 05, there are a lot of Sharks fans at those games.
How brutal Buffalo is: Parking two blocks from the arena was either $20USD or $40CAD. The exchange rate isn’t that bad its $1.20CAD = $1USD.
I agree – 12/17 is when the slump began. Any theories why? If I remember, that is when Pavelski went down and the injury bug began. Any other ideas?
BreAnn…very nice comments regarding the mood of Buffalonians…I was also amazed how many Sharks fans were there. It seemed like more than at an Ottawa or Habs game. Is it a bias for Canadians to root for successful teams? Or just Joe Thorton / Patrick Marleau love?
I notice the Sharks fans seem to be saying a lack of calls at the end showed the refs were bias…but don’t forget Craig Rivet was called for high-sticking early in the 3rd period, a penalty on which the Sharks scored to tie the game. If you watch a review of the penalty, the high stick came from one sharks player hitting another sharks player in the face with his stick. Craig Rivet was there, but his stick was down. Perhaps without that “penalty” the Sharks aren’t up by 1 late in the game. So to say that the officiating was completely one-sided is I think unfounded. Perhaps a better discription was poor officiating.
And BreAnn, you need to find a better parking lot if they are screwing you like that. (Or change some $$ at the border.) I park about 2 blocks from the arena and only pay $8 US. (Check out the lots on Exchange Street which is right behind Dunn Tire (the baseball) park.)
I agree with the call on Rivet in the 3rd. That happened right in front of us and even I saw that it was his own player who hit him in the face.
I think at a Buffalo game, a lot of Shark fans are Thornton fans. St. Thomas isn’t that far away from there. In 05, Thornton’s parents were at that game as well as some friends of his. Plus its so much cheaper and easier to get tickets to a Sabre game.
No we paid only $10 CAD. We went across the street. We just couldn’t figure out how they would ask for $40CAD if the price was $20USD. My husband even told the guy taking the money “Thats brutal! You can tell we are in Buffalo, wow.” We ended up in a great lot that was cheap, close and away from the traffic after the game. Thanks for the info on cheaper parking. We have only gone down there for two Sabre games, in 05 and 09. We will probably go down there for a Leafs game. He wants to experience the “atmosphere”. I had/have USD since I travel to San Jose often.
The Aud was a sight to be seen.