The New York Rangers will be trying to make it three wins in a row, when they play the Buffalo Sabres, who lost their last two games, when they meet Saturday night. The Sabres will be trying to stop a skid.

The last time the Rangers played the Sabres, it was anybody’s game, and the Sabres won, 4-2. Now, the Rangers are expected to win and pick up two points.

The Rangers dropped a 3-1 home-ice decision to the Sabres on Oct. 15 and also were defeated in the shootout 2-1 in Buffalo on Jan. 9. The Sabres have won all three of their games against the Rangers so far this year, but New York is expected to win their final one.

Tonight’s match is the final one this year between these two teams, and it is also one of four straight for the Rangers against clubs that are currently not seeded in a top-eight playoff position within their conference.

The Rangers started the season going 10-2-1, but a recent slump saw the team drop 10 of 12 (2-7-3). 

The Rangers were in sixth place in their division, but a Carolina Hurricanes win let them jump ahead of the Rangers. A win over Buffalo would put them ahead of the Hurricanes again.

Two points on Saturday plus two points on Sunday, against the Ottawa Senators, would tie them with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers in 4th place.

The Rangers beat the Flyers the last time they met, 4-1.

The New York Rangers are now 37-26-8, with 82 points.
And the Buffalo Sabres are now 34-28-8, with 76 points.   

What happened since the last time these two teams met? A great deal!

Sun. Feb. 22:    Maple Leafs vs. Rangers    3 – 2    O 

Mon. Feb. 23:    Coach John Tortorella hired

Wed. Feb. 25:    Rangers vs.  Maple Leafs    1 – 2    O 

Thu.  Feb. 26:    Panthers vs. Rangers         2 – 1    L 

Sat.  Feb. 28:    Avalanche vs. Rangers       1 – 6    W
   
Tue. Mar. 3:      Sean Avery rejoins Rangers

Wed. Mar. 4:     Nik Antropov and Derek Morris join Rangers

Thu.  Mar 5:      Rangers vs. Islanders        4 – 2    W

Sun.  Mar 8:      Bruins vs. Rangers            3 – 4    W

Mon.  Mar. 9:     Rangers vs. Hurricanes      0 – 3    L   

Thu.  Mar. 12:    Rangers vs. Predators       4 – 2    W   

Sat. Mar. 14:     Rangers vs. Flyers            2 – 4    L  

Sun. Mar. 15:     Flyers vs. Rangers           1 – 4    W       

Tue. Mar. 17:     Rangers vs. Canadiens      4 – 3    W

The Rangers had a great run, winning three in a row, losing, winning, losing, then winning two in a row. They beat Colorado, the other New York team, Boston, lost to Carolina, beat Nashville, split two games with Philly, and beat Montreal.

In other words, the Rangers started to win with Tortorella; the team turned their first win with their new coach into a three-game winning streak when Avery, Antropov, and Morris were added, and they’ve won five out of seven games since then.

They are 7-3 with Tortorella. They are 5-2 with Antropov, Avery, and Morris.

New York had ranked 29th out of the 30 teams in the NHL in goals per game (2.33) and has scored two or fewer 14 times in 19 games. In the last seven, they’ve outscored the opposition 22-18.

The Rangers were seen as underachievers before the turnaround. Since then, the new Rangers and old Rangers have come to life. They needed a spark, and they have been re-energized.

Here are some of the key changes:

 

JOHN TORTORELLA

His system emphasizes a high-pressure fore checking game with a relentless attack mentality.

 

NIK ANTROPOV

Antropov has six points, with four goals and assists, in seven games with the Rangers.

 

RYAN CALLAGHAN

Callahan has five points in the last four games.

 

WADE REDDEN

The defenseman ended a long-scoring slump when Tortorella appeared. Redden played one of his best games of the season in the team’s win over Montreal on Tuesday.

 

SCOTT GOMEZ

He has worked well on a line with Sean Avery and Callahan. In the last seven games, he had two goals and four assists. He leads the team in assists, with 52.

 

CHRIS DRURY

The Captain had one goal and four assists in the last seven games plus a lot of ice time. The captain and the coach appear to be hitting it off and working well together.

 

SEAN AVERY

Avery is making a big difference and has been one of the Rangers’ top players during the seven games since his return. He had four goals and one assist for five points.

He scored a goal-a-game for three games and was the first star of the game, when he scored two in the Rangers win last weekend.

“Not only did Avery score two power-play goals in the Rangers’ 4-1 home win over Philadelphia on Sunday, he also honed his skills as hockey’s most-hated man by getting the Flyers off their game while staying out of the penalty box,” the Hockey News reported.

“Avery coaxed Jeff Carter into a hooking penalty in the first period, and Andrew Alberts got caught for charging him in the third.”

In the seven games since the trade deadline, Avery and Antropov have combined to score eight of the 18 Ranger goals.

 

HENRIK LUNDQVIST

Lundqvist became the first goaltender in NHL history to win at least 30 games in each of his first four seasons. New Jersey Devils fans may not be impressed with that record, but Rangers’ fans are.

 

RANGERS’ FANS

At home, the Rangers are 21-10-4.

The Rangers have 11 games left this season, the Penguins have only nine, but the Flyers have a dozen.

If ever there was an enigma team in the NHL this season, it would have to be the Buffalo Sabres.

A team that bears exquisite offensive potential. A team with the longest tenured coach in Lindy Ruff. A team with one of the league’s elite goaltenders.

The Sabres currently sit five points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference with two games in hand on the Carolina Hurricanes. Ninth-place Florida is four points clear of Buffalo, having played one more game.

With 70 games played, there’s only 12 remaining on the schedule. For those of you who are unaware, that’s just one under the 13 shots Buffalo put up in 60 minutes against the Ottawa Senators last Tuesday.

It was a performance that Ruff called pathetic, and who could blame him? Six shots in the first and third periods each with one single shot squeezed into the second frame.

Fortunately for myself, I happened to be in Detroit to catch the Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers go head-to-head. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations also helped ease the pain.

Instead of witnessing a squad fight for their postseason lives as we should have, this group displayed no heart or desire.

Detroit produced 19 shots in the first period alone against the Flyers. When you make a comparison like that, it’s hard to believe that your team has any right to play in the postseason.

There are teams like the Atlanta Thrashers and New York Islanders who are just competing for pride and still bring a great level of intensity to the ice.

Buffalo is a team that still has a shot at making the playoffs, but, frankly, they don’t even deserve to be in their fortunate 10th-place position in the East. Supported by some of the greatest hockey fans a city can have, the players have done little to repay them.

Easy points may not exist in the NHL, but there are those that can be classified as easier. First, there’s the five losses in six games to the Senators. Two losses in four contests to both the Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Three straight defeats against Atlanta, including the third-period meltdown just last weekend. Patrick Lalime has stepped up his game for the team in Ryan Miller’s absence and he deserves credit for bringing his best efforts at such a crucial point in the year.

A goaltender can only do so much and an offense that hasn’t found consistency won’t assist him. Sometimes, you wonder if anyone can stop them from scoring. Other times, you think about whether or not they want to be on the ice.

This is a group that consists of many small players who are easy to push around. What few gritty and tough competitors they do have, haven’t necessarily done their expected duties.

Defensively, the number of give-aways and errand passes have occurred more than frequently.

Buffalo may be able to take a page out of the Edmonton Oilers’ strategy. Zach Stortini is mainly a fighter but they have used him in offensive situations increasingly as his confidence grows.

It’s a smart strategy in keeping your enforcer apart of the game. Why not experiment such a technique with Andrew Peters? At least someone would be around to throw down the gloves when necessary.

Again, you have to go back to Miller’s injury from Scott Gomez and how the team did absolutely nothing in response. Tonight, the Sabres host the Flyers, who have easily disposed of Buffalo in the three previous meetings of the year.

Other plans may be the wise choice for the Sabres faithful.

Teams like Florida, Carolina, New York, and Pittsburgh have played their best hockey recently to ensure at least an opportunity in the postseason. Meanwhile, the Sabres can’t put three straight victories together.

I’d like to wish all of those organizations luck in their concluding matches. You’ve all earned the right to play in April.

The Buffalo Sabres haven’t.

March madness is in the air, the trees begin to blossom, and the birds are heading north for the spring.  But what I love most about this time of year is National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Sadly, unless the Buffalo Sabres become an entirely different team in the next fourteen games they will be looking for channels to watch the games like me. 

The players have quit on the coach. They have been one of the best first period teams in the league all year, but they forget after 20 minutes that there is 40 more minutes left to play.

The perfect opportunity to save the season and shake up the players would be a coaching change.  Lindy Ruff’s message to his players has been lost.  This is a group that for the most part has been together for several seasons, which by itself in today’s NHL will create mediocrity. 

Yes Lindy Ruff has been the longest tenured coach in the league and has taken this team to the conference finals three times and the Stanley Cup finals once, but he has also missed the playoffs in four of the last six seasons with that number getting ready to grow to five out of seven seasons.

Injuries to Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek have affected this team, but Vanek is back and the poor play has continued in the later parts of the games.  Lalime has played very well as Miller’s replacement posting a .919 save percentage (which was the same as what Miller had at the time of his injury).

Tim Connolly has dropped off the map since he signed his contract extension and Jason Pominville’s name has been barely seen on the post game stat sheet.

This team has run out of desire to win and seems very tired by the time the third period begins.  General Manager Darcy Rieger and Managing Partner Larry Quinn did almost nothing at the trade deadline.  They traded underachieving Alex Kotalik for a draft pick.  Kotalik only seemed to show up to play during the shoot out.  They acquired Dominic Moore from Toronto and he has done well on the penalty kill, but has accomplished very little beyond that.

While other teams built for a long playoff run or built for the future, Buffalo did very little this year and that message has shown in the players desire to play 60 minutes of hockey. 

A coaching change would be perfect with 14 games left and the Sabres only 3 points out of contention.  Michel Therrien would be perfect for the job.  Therrien has been to the Cup finals with a good Penguins team, but the Penguins were short on depth.  A little motivation is all the Sabres need. They have enough players on the roster that know once in the playoffs it is not the team with the most talent, but the team that works the hardest that in most cases moves on past the first round.

A man most people had never heard of two years ago is now the leader of the greatest country on earth because he spoke of change.

“Change, change will do you good” – Sheryl Crow

Well since today is the day after Martin Brodeur stepped into goal tending immortality I am sure there will be a ton of articles about Marty’s greatness.

 

Since I am sure there plenty of love to go around for Brodeur, let’s talk about the greatest goal tender ever.

 

I know what you’re saying. There will be 500 articles that flood the national and local papers, as well as hockey and sports sites every where about number 30 passing 33. The hero worshipping that goes along with number 552 and beyond is well deserved by Brodeur.

 

He is quite surely the best Canadian goaltender ever. I say it without hyperbole, I say it without reservation.

 

So allow me to rain a little bit on the “best of all time” parade. Brodeur has done something amazing no doubt. He has changed the style of the game, bringing back the stand up goalie. Mixing in the butterfly style of his idol and dominating NHL shooters since he took over the starting job in 1993-1994 for the Devils.

 

Since that season Brodeur has gone on to post 100 career shut outs, he has 552 career wins, he also holds the record with seven 40-win seasons, and his durability has allowed him to start 70 plus games 11 times in the past 13 seasons.

 

So for me not proclaim Brodeur the best ever, I must be off my rocker right?

 

The other number all stack up 2.20 GAA (10th all time) and a .914 save percentage are fairly impressive to say the least.

 

So if not Martin, then who?

 

Lest we forget…The Dominator.

 

Both have won the Stanley Cup, both have hung Olympic Gold around their necks. One was a first round pick; the other was drafted in the tenth round with pick number 199.

 

It is true that we’ve seen probably the three best goalies to every strap on pads and lace up skates in the last 20 years. Does Brodeur have numbers that are hard to argue?

 

It would seem almost impossible to be sure. That being said, in his best statistical year Martin Brodeur (1996-1997) posted 37 wins in 67 games with career low 1.81 goals against, and a .927 save percentage.

 

In that same year in Buffalo, Dominik Hasek posted 37 wins in 67 games. His Goals Against was only 2.21 (that’s a career best for most), and I say only because we are talking about the best of the best. To get to that 2.21 GAA, he had to managed a save percentage of .930, a save percentage higher than any single season in Brodeur’s career.

 

That being said that .930 was only good enough to tie for 3rd all time in Hasek’s NHL career. He’s also post years of .937 and .932. He posted .930 or better five times.

 

It is my contention that had Hasek played with the talented defense core we saw in front of Brodeur his whole career we may see numbers that were mind boggling. In his best statistical year Hasek only won 30 of his 64 starts, but he posted a career best 1.87 goals against.

 

I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right it’s 0.06 higher than the mark set by Brodeur in 1996–1997. To set get Buffaloto a record of 30–18–14, The Dominator had to post 9 shutouts and a save percentage of .937.

 

When we walk away from the career years, we see that both Brodeur and Hasek have identical career goals against averages of 2.20 with Hasek’s career save percentage being .922 vs. .914 for Brodeur.

 

Now compare the individual accolades.

 

 

Martin Brodeur

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)

3 Stanley Cups

10 Time an All Star

4 Vezina Trophy’s

4 Williams Jennings (best goals against average)

1 Olympic Gold Medal

 

 

Dominik Hasek

2 Stanley Cups

5 Time All Star

6 Vezina Trophy’s

3 Williams Jennings

1 Olympic Gold Medal

2 Hart Trophy’s

2 Lester B. Pearson Awards

 

Are the RAW numbers weighted in Martin Brodeur’s favor? Sure they are, he’s played 152 more games than Hasek and has managed 163 more wins, and 19 more shut outs. The winnings percentage is staggering.

 

The accomplishments are outstanding. How about the fact that Brodeur has 30 more playoff wins than Hasek, despite having only 50 additional playoff starts?

 

But when it comes to April, May and possibly June both Hasek and Brodeur get better, Brodeur’s playoff goals against drops to 1.96 with a save percentage of .919 and 22 shutouts or one ever 7.68 starts.

 

At the same time of year Hasek has played in 119 contests, his goal against shrinks from 2.20 to 2.02 and his save percentage squeaks up to .925 and 14 shut outs or one for every 8.5 starts.

 

So I’d contend that shut outs are a bit of a fluke. Certainly a great goal tending effort, but to not allow a single goal takes a certain amount of luck. Goals against average are more of a team stat.

 

Save percentage is simply that, how many shots on goal you kicked away. For his career Hasek averaged 27.5 shots per game in the regular season and an identical 27.5 shots per game in the post season.

 

Although 2.5 shots per game doesn’t seem like much, if use their save percentages to determine number of goals allowed. (Using Brodeur’s shots against number.) It means that over the same 24 752 shots, Hasek would’ve given up 1930 goals vs. 2137 by Brodeur.

 

To make the comparison simpler, using save percentage Hasek’s goals against average would have been 1.98 or the best since 1937 and good enough for third in NHL history.  

 

Brodeur on the other hand averages 25 shots per game during the regular season and it holds steady at 25.2 for the run to the cup.

 

The stats and averages are razor thin in their difference.

 

So all the Brodeur fans and supporters will go to the records, and point to the win record and soon to be shut out record as the measures of greatness.

 

I would contend that at the Nagano Olympics he single handedly sent hockey’s version of the Dream Team home while carrying the Czech’s to a gold medal.

 

He didn’t get his first NHL start until he was 25, and didn’t get his first starting job in the NHL until he was 28. Yet still he ranks first for starts by a European Goalie, 6th all time in shut outs, 10 in all time wins, 8th in all time lowest GAA.

 

Two Harts, with Five Nominations, that’s like a pitcher winning the MVP and the CY Young. It simply doesn’t happen, but he was simply that good. Six Vezina Trophy’s for best goalie, and was named Czech Hockey player on the 20th Century.

 

Marty, congratulations on the win record.

 

May the claims of Blasphemy rain down for the sky. But lest we forget The Reign of the Dominator!

The New York Rangers host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. The last time these two teams met, Buffalo won, 4-2, but a lot has changed since then.

The Rangers just jumped into sixth place in the East, ahead of Montreal and Carolina, with 82 points, and the Sabres have 76 points, are in 10th place, and are not in the playoff picture.

Sabres starting goalie Ryan Miller has missed nine games since being hurt in the game against the Rangers on Feb. 21, when he fell awkwardly into the end board after being upended by New York’s Scott Gomez.

Miller has begun skating on his own to test his injured left ankle and is confident he is on track to return before the end of the season.

The Rangers are 21-10-4 at home, in Madison Square Garden, where they will meet the Sabres.

General manager Darcy Regier and coach Lindy Ruff appear to be safe in their jobs, even as the Buffalo Sabres struggle to remain in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference, The Buffalo News reported recently.

Buffalo lost their last game to the Ottawa Senators, 4-2.

The New York Rangers new coach, John Tortorella just set a record for most wins by an American coach in the USA. The Rangers won their last game, 4-3, over the Montreal Canadians.

The Rangers got off to a strong start this year, endured their worst slump in decades, dropped out of the playoff picture, but GM Glen Sather hired Tortorella, traded for Nik Antropov and Derek Morris, and brought back Sean Avery.

The re-energized Rangers have won six of their last their games with a new game plan that features aggressive attack all the time.

The Sabres got Mikael Tellqvist from the Phoenix Coyotes and Dominic Moore from the Toronto Maple Leafs but lost their shootout weapon Ales Kotalik at the trade deadline.

The hardest thing for a fan is to go through the ups and downs of an entire season only to see the brutal truth 16 games from the end: Your team is not going to make the playoffs.

The Buffalo Sabres were not mathematically eliminated last night in Philadelphia by their 5-2 loss to the Flyers, but anyone with hockey sense can see this team does not have what it takes to be a playoff team.

The Sabres managed to hang with the Flyers through two periods with the score tied at 1-1, but the Flyers clearly played better. They controlled the puck in Buffalo’s zone and rushed into the Sabres’ end in waves.  

Buffalo, in contrast, rarely managed to control the puck for more than a few seconds in Philadelphia’s zone.  Too often, all that Buffalo could muster was to carry the puck past the red line, dump it into the Flyers’ end, and go off on a change.

In the third period, Buffalo was caught napping as Thomas Vanek let his opposing center, Jeff Carter, slip by him and lead a three-on-two rush that resulted in a goal just 27 seconds in.

A successful Philadelphia power play made it 3-1 less than five minutes later.  Less than two minutes after that, an ill-advised attempt to pinch at the blue line with no support from the Sabres’ wings led to a two-on-one and a 4-1 lead.

The game and most likely the season was over, as Buffalo’s playoff rivals gained points by winning or losing in overtime.

This game, like Buffalo’s season, was not decided by a talent imbalance.  The Flyers are not that much better than the Sabres on paper.  Two factors have doomed the Sabres to mediocrity this year.

First, their best players have not produced.  Jochen Hecht, Jason Pominville, and Max Afinogenov have all had subpar years.

But, far more importantly, the Sabres simply do not win the majority of one-on-one battles that ultimately determine the outcome of most hockey games.  When two players go into the corner, one player must come out with the puck.  All too often, that player is not a Sabre.  

There was an obvious difference between the Sabres’ and the Flyers’ penalty kill.  The Flyers killed off 3-of-3 penalties, while the Sabres let the Flyers score on two of their six chances.  

The Buffalo defenders stood back four or five paces from the Flyers’ point men, giving them the opportunity to pass the puck and make plays.  In contrast, the Flyers’ forwards consistently challenged the Sabre with the puck for control, giving the Sabres no time or space to make a play.

It is an aggressive tactic.  To beat this strategy, the Sabre with the puck needs to beat his man, which would result in a momentary five-on-three opportunity.  But the Sabres cannot consistently win those one-on-one battles.

The Sabres try hard. They battle back from deficits, and they do not give up.  But intensity is not enough. There needs to be a purpose to that intensity.  How many times do we see two Sabres battling behind the opposing goal for the puck, managing to get control, and passing it out front only to see there are no Sabres in front of the net to receive the pass?

The Sabres talk a lot about playing and trusting the “system,” but frankly, I am not sure the team really knows the system. Unlike other teams’ big lines, like Spezza-Alfredsson-Heatley or Carter-Lupul-Hartnell, Lindy Ruff juggles the Sabres’ lines nearly every night. Linemates just do not seem to have that sixth sense of knowing where their partners are and what they are going to do.

Given the fact that several Sabres are having season-long scoring slumps, Ruff’s efforts to find some combination that consistently works is understandable, but his cure may be as bad as the disease.

The Sabres are hanging by a slim thread.  Could they string together five or six wins and vault back into playoff contention?   Stranger things have happened (see the Buffalo Bills signing TO).  But given that the Sabres have won four games in a row only twice this season, a winning streak and a spot in the playoffs are probably not realistic.

Let’s be honest here. Are the Buffalo Sabres really good enough to make the playoffs?

With 15 games to go, the Sabres are falling farther and farther away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Saturday, the Sabres were defeated by the lowly Ottawa Senators for the fourth time this season.

To make matters worse, on Tuesday, the Sabres were dropped stone cold by the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-2. The game was tied at one after two periods before the Flyers tallied four unanswered goals in the third.

Again, it was the same old story for the Sabres. They are battling for a playoff spot and their top players are nowhere to be found. Reminiscent to the first half of the season, the Sabres look like a non playoff team. Tonight, the Sabres may have cemented that fact. 

Tim Connolly had four points Friday night against Phoenix. Tonight, he was nowhere to be found. Thomas Vanek is only a few games back from returning from a severe jaw injury. He has yet to play anywhere near how he was playing before suffering the injury. In fact, he often goes 5-7 games without scoring a goal, and then all of a sudden scores two or three.

That is the biggest problem with the Sabres right now and it has been for the past couple years. For the past two seasons, the “big name” players in Buffalo lack consistency to say the least. Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Jochen Hecht are also part of that group on offense.

These are players that fans will look to produce points and win games for years to come. Besides Connolly, all the players mentioned above will likely be around for three, four and even five more years.

For the second straight year, after the you-know-who era, Buffalo’s best players have been average at best and likely will cause them to miss the postseason once again.

Yeah, I know. Even after a loss tonight, the Sabres remain only a few points out of the eighth and final spot in the conference. But their remaining schedule is not getting any easier from here on out.

Teams like Philadelphia, Washington, New Jersey, Detroit and Boston make the Sabres playoff hopes even more bleak than they already are. Not to mention, the Sabres will also play Florida (twice), the NY Rangers, Montreal, and Carolina before the end of the regular season. Each of theses teams are battling for the final three or four spots in the conference.

The loss against the Flyers is definitely a slap in the face. It seems as though the Sabres have reverted to the same win two, lose two mentality they had before the new year.

Buffalo’s fans will continue to root for their beloved Sabres, but reality may be starting to settle in that they are not a playoff team after all.

Once again, Sabres fans are banging their heads against the wall as inconsistency threatens to dash our playoff hopes once again. Some wanted to mark the inability to beat the Senators as our swan-song, however, you must keep these things in mind.

First, it was our third game in four nights, and second in two; a game that Lindy should have placed newest member, Telqvist between the pipes giving Lallime a brief break from action. The veteran instead found himself tired and berated by shots most of the time not close to being stopped by our horrible play in our end of the ice.

Second, Ottawa has our number this year. Every team, even the best, always will face an opponant who no matter how good or bad their record, you just cant win against them. In the past, the Panthers have been that team for us. This year, as in years past, the Sens have been that team as well.

Also, do not forget that no matter how well the Sens do from this point on, they are not making the playoffs.

The Sabres, despite the current position, are still only three points out of the mix, and still have a game at hand. So despite the current picture, the Sabres are actually in a very good position.

Now, with that being said, they will require continued success against the Flyers tonight, and the other teams that are in the current Eastern mix for the playoffs. Buffalo has been quite good with those teams so far, and I will still predict that the faltering teams of the Rangers, and the Canadians, with their coaching issue, will find themselves out when we get to April.

Calm yourselves Buffalonians… after all, not only can the Sabres be back in the playoffs this year, but the Bills even have Terrell Owens. So get your popcorn ready Buffalo. It should be a fun time in sports.

Picture: Ryan Grimshaw (Rochester–Harvard) and a few western N.Y. teammates at the Empire State Games in 2008. The western New York region men’s ice hockey team has won eight consecutive Empire State gold medals. The tournament is a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, divided into six different regions of the state: Adirondack, Central, Hudson Valley, Long Island, New York City and the Western region.

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Does Minnesota really deserve to be called “The State of Hockey?”

Eh…maybe…if one state was already the 11th province, but, comparatively, the state of Minnesota does not stand a chance to upstate New York and specifically, the western region.

Minnesota and upstate have three things in common: They border our northern neighbors, Canada; have a major city called Rochester and its residents praise ice hockey, but upstate has quite a bit of an edge when it comes down the sport, itself.

Because upstate is clouded by the misconception that everything in New York, is merely the Big Apple, one must draw the conclusion that, while “the city” and its metropolitan area makes up more than half of the state population, it only takes up about 118-miles of a state that has more than 55,000.

In fact, in just upstate, alone, most of New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut—minus Rhode Island) can fit within its limits and this is where the bulk of ice hockey reigns supreme.

Believe it or not, according to Fromtherink.com, an online sports magazine “for the fans,” upstate produces the most collegiate, amateur, Olympic and NHL players from the United States than another state in the country—the majority of players come from the state’s second and third largest cities: Buffalo and Rochester or generally known as western New York.

Reports from NHL.com indicate that upstate provides an average of three players a year to the league’s first round draft, since documented in 1963.

Upstate produces the most NCAA Division I colleges and universities for men and women’s ice hockey, while often making the Associated Press and other ice hockey poll’s top 25 list with Clarkson, Cornell, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and St. Lawrence, to name a few of the elite.

According to USCHO rankings, in both men and women’s Division III top 10, upstate gives the poll four teams, while the rest of the colleges come from various states across the rest of the Great Lakes region, mid-Atlantic, Northeast and upper Midwest.

The majority of the future NHL’s talent is produced in upstate due to holding four AHL teams—more than any state: Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes), Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators), Rochester Americans (Florida Panthers) and Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets).

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Everyday is hockey day across upstate—at every level.

Upstate is America’s hockey showcase.

At 20 below zero in Plattsburg, the state’s northernmost recognized city, you can find men, women and children, of all ages, gearing up for a competitive game of pond hockey on Lake Champlain.

Head south four-hours to the state’s capital, Albany, in the summer and you’ll see, at any hour, people blocking the roads with their nets and teams battling for a street hockey victory.

Go west, five-hours, past central New York’s hockey zone in Syracuse, to Buffalo-Niagara Falls and you’ll find people counting down the days to mid-September when the city usually sees its first frost and signs of frozen ponds around Lake Erie, and a parade of western New Yorkers rioting in the streets during a Sabres game.

…And just 50-miles northeast in Rochester, you’ll see people shouting across the border to their friendly Canadian neighbors to “come on over” or boat across Lake Ontario to play in the annual Battle of the Border Cup challenge: Canada (Burlington, Ontario) versus USA (Rochester).

As USA Hockey, the Colorado Springs, Colo.-based national organization headquarters, proclaims and promotes “Hockey Weekend Across America,” the signals about the pastime’s popularity influence and reach in the U.S. gets seemingly more mixed every day, but it depends on where and how you look at it:

1. Geographically;

2. Organizationally.

While Sun Belt NHL franchises are struggling, youth hockey is gaining popularity in those areas.

Watching their NHL team on TV generates interest that goes beyond paying $50 for a ticket. Players from “non-traditional” areas in the U.S. are starting to show up in the NHL and that trend will, hopefully, continue.

The often-disdainful focus on Sun Belt markets, in some ways, misses a bigger issue.

Especially in this economy, the only way most U.S. markets will fill or come close to filling, their buildings, is if their teams win—and win in stretches sustained enough to create a demand for season tickets, the pressure to be the first in line for single-game tickets or to use the league’s officially sanctioned ticket exchange service.

That’s as true in Buffalo, Detroit and the Twin Cities, as it is in Florida and Phoenix.

Go back to the regression that happened during the AHL Rochester–NHL Buffalo affiliation debacle. It was one of the reasons, owners, Tom Golisano (Sabres) teamed up with Steve Donner (Americans) and got away with taking the Sabres’ affiliation northeast to Portland, Maine.

It’s near to impossible that this situation could happen again and that’s to say that if there is a U.S. market that now seems immune to drastic fluctuations in the league, it’s Buffalo, where the Sabres have sold out every game, since then.

Although, Detroit has deemed the name Hockeytown, USA, NHL editor for Yahoo!, Ross McKeon, dug inside NHL information and discovered that Buffalo was the runner up, only losing due to lack of Stanley Cup appearances. “It was an unfortunate time for Buffalo when the league picked the heart of ‘Hockey Town’,” McKeon said.

However, in 2006, there was a grassroots movement to western New York and Buffalo was labeled as the “New Hockeytown” by Ilitch Holding, Inc., the parent company of the Red Wings, due to an overwhelming fan presence that was previously clouded by Minnesota and Detroit, and the state’s general reputation.

The only time Buffalo failed to sell every seat in their arena was on Oct. 15, 1972 when it was only 475 seats under capacity.

Buffalo is the only city that hosts an NHL team that, not only, sells out every game, including pre and post season, but also holds and sells space for people to sit outside the Sabres’ HSBC Arena and watch the game on the large, erected video screen in the parking lot.

While the sport has been ingrained in the upstate culture for generations, perhaps in some places, as much as in Canada, the reach now is more pervasive than it has been.

Upstate, of course, is only one of a few hockey-loving regions that are preeminent on the country’s hockey scene, along with the rest of the Great Lakes region, mid-Atlantic, Northeast and upper Midwest, but it’s the leader.

The Olympic Centre located in Lake Placid, N.Y. was home to the 1932 and 1980 Olympics, where the U.S. men’s hockey team made history in winning gold, coming in as the underdogs.

The Olympic Centre is not just about history, though.

Today, its four fully operating rinks provide an adventure for hockey players in the “true upstate” and east central-southeastern Vermont regions.

One of the rinks that the Olympic Centre features is the Herb Brooks Arena, named after the legendary Olympic coach who led the unheralded 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to its historic defeat of the Soviet Union and ultimately, a gold medal.

At almost 8,000, the Herb Brooks Arena has the largest seating capacity of the Olympic Centre’s indoor rinks. This part of the Olympic Centre was officially dedicated to Herb Brooks on Feb. 23, 2005, the night of the pinnacle celebration for the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Winter Games.

There’s an average of more than 15 hockey jerseys, of professional and high school players to come out of the respective area, on display at all professional ice hockey arenas—including the Olympic Centre—as part of the museum-like atmosphere you can see at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

This advertises the sport’s reach that makes arriving early to the arenas and taking a walk around the main concourses advisable for first-time visitors.

Part of the experience is knowing that high schools and towns in the area bore a plethora of NHL standouts like Jason Bonsignore (Rochester–Edmonton Oilers); Tim Connolly (Syracuse–Buffalo Sabres); Brian Gionta (Rochester–New Jersey Devils), captain of the U.S. Olympic Team; Pat Kane (South Buffalo–Chicago Blackhawks), the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2007, etc.

The World Junior Hockey Championship, which is held at the, more than, 19 thousand seated HSBC Arena, is the same arena where the Sabres play and will make history in 2011 as the first city in New York State to hold this tournament and only the fifth U.S. city to host the championships in its 32-year existence.

Dwyer Arena on the campus of Niagara University will serve as the secondary facility for the event.

“Buffalo is a wonderful city and we could not be more pleased to be bringing the World Juniors to western New York,” Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey, said. “The Sabres are a first-class organization, and the participants and fans from around the world will have the chance to experience that first hand.”

“We are honored that USA Hockey has chosen the Buffalo Sabres and HSBC Arena as the host for the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Tournament,” Tom Golisano, Rochester native and owner of the Buffalo Sabres, said. “All of western New York will benefit greatly from this world-class event being staged right here in Buffalo.”

“The interest level of the World Junior Championship continues to grow,” Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, said. “The tournament is a crown jewel within international hockey circles and an event at which fans will see the future stars of the National Hockey League and Olympic games.”

The United States has earned six medals in the event’s history, claiming gold in 2004 and 2008, silver in 1997 and bronze in 1986, 1992 and 2007. Team USA has played for a medal in each of the last six World Junior Championships.

Recently, several junior hockey players from upstate have participated in the World Juniors: Mike Cieslak (Rochester–Vermont), Ryan Grimshaw (Rochester–Harvard), Kevin McCarey (Baldwinsville, N.Y.–New Hampshire), Kevin Montgomery (Rochester – Ohio State/London Knights OHL), Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.–Pioneer High School), Joe Palmer (Yorkville, N.Y.–Ohio State), etc. A few years ago, Stephen Gionta (Rochester–Lowell Devils), Brooks Orpik (Amherst, N.Y.–Pittsburgh Penguins), Adam Reasoner (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.–Boston College), etc. participated in the games.

Another one, of many, hockey events to happen in upstate, was the NHL Winter Classic held in Orchard Park, N.Y., at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Winter Classic in Buffalo was the first NHL outdoor game and to date, it attracted the most fans and sold more seats than any Winter Classic, with an attendance of 57,167.

On Jan. 1, 2008, in a blizzard, high of 23-degree-day and more than, already, 60-inches of snow, Sabres fans were not phased by the weather.

Some fans went shirtless sitting outside with their favorite hockey player’s number painted on their chest, while Pittsburgh fans shivered uncontrollably in their seats, as more snow and temperatures dropped drastically, hoping for a victory.

Unfortunately for Sabres fans, the Pens got just that.

Out shooting the Sabres by seven shots on goal, Pittsburgh eventually won in a shootout, 2-1, but despite a failed attempt by Buffalo, they still made league and franchise history.

Western New York Hockey Magazine featured several articles on first hand experience of the Winter Classic, including player interviews and broke down all major hockey events happening in the area.

“The magazine is the definitive guide and source for local hockey action,” publisher, Steve Mason, said. “You’ll find great photos, features and articles from award-winning writers like Hockey Hall of Fame writer, Jim Kelley—plus all the news from this country’s ‘Hockey Hotbed’!”

Just last year, the magazine took an in-depth look at two of the nation’s most prominent tournaments, held right in the World’s Imaging Centre, Rochester.

In 2007, western New York experienced two major hockey tournaments in the city of Rochester by hosting the Atlantic Hockey Conference Championship and Division I collegiate club championships, at the nearly 12 thousand seating capacity of Blue Cross Arena, home of the AHL’s Rochester “Amerks.”

Both tournaments were a success, bringing in revenue and thousands to the city, and settling a victory for RIT and Robert Morris (Moon Township, Penn.).

College hockey, including the ranked teams mentioned in the beginning, remain popular around the state, and brings an estimated 25 percent of fans into the New York border from Ontario and Québec.

“With their love of hockey, French speaking people and number of Canadians there, upstate really should be the 11th province,” contributing online blog writer, Miguel Cardosa, said. “There is no doubt, that ‘state’ eats, sleeps and breathes ice hockey…all year long.”

Take, for example, even something most people think as small as high school hockey; it’s all some towns have and the only time you’ll ever see the streets of Potsdam, N.Y., a small town in the “true upstate,” ever have a traffic jam.

According to Americanhockeycenter.com, the largest high school ice hockey tournament in the U.S. is held in Rochester with the Rochester Rumble Hockey Tournament. All division AAA teams from the state and selected hockey teams from across the country enter the tournament held at the ESL Sports Centre. All tournament finalists are invited to participate in the season ending Advanced Tournaments “Tournament of Champions.”

It’s difficult for upstate to have more of a “State of Hockey” résumé than Marty Reasoner. Playing for McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester, Reasoner was awarded several NCAA, Olympic and NHL awards, including Rookie of the Year and tournament MVPs, and is part of the display that honors the hockey arenas in western New York.

He played three seasons at Boston College before turning pro with the St. Louis Blue in 1998 and started his World Championship career in 2002 with the U.S. Olympic Team in Sweden. His NHL career is still prospering while he was just traded, last year, to the Atlanta Thrashers from Edmonton.

As for other upstate hockey players, the Buffalo Sabres have a roster of more players from upstate than any other team. “There’s nothing like playing at home for my favorite team growing up as a kid,” Patrick Kaleta (Angola, N.Y.), forward for the Sabres, said.

Other upstaters who play in Buffalo with the Sabres are Tim Connolly (Syracuse), Tim Kennedy (Buffalo), Matt MacDonald (Niagara Falls) and Derek Whitmore (Rochester), and Andrew Peters is from nearby, St. Catherines, Ontario.

These hometown heroes are the reason hockey is so eminent in upstate and gives a reason to believe, especially during times of crisis.

When tragedy hit on Feb. 12, 2009, when Continental Airline flight 3407 crashed into a suburban Buffalo home, it created a devastated western New York. “Hometown heroes” and local hockey clubs helped keep the focus off the devastation by helping out and playing games.

The Sabres had a moment of silence during the Buffalo-San Jose game, that next day and the region began feeling slightly at peace with the situation.

The league had offered the Sabres an option to postpone the game, but the team refused the proposal, because it would give residents a moment to forget about their sorrows.

This story was heard around the country and helped the sport gain respect.

Hockey fans in upstate are quick to admit that there is not enough advertising to hightlight that a region of New York State, of all places, is the country’s hockey heaven or the real “State of Hockey.”

Yes, upstate lives this sport.