NHL
Sabres’ preseason includes Hockeyville
The Buffalo Sabres announced their preseason schedule Wednesday, and they’ll be visiting Hockeyville and Hockeytown.
They won’t be visiting their own town much.
Two of the Sabres’ seven exhibitions will be played in HSBC Arena, and the games will be on back-to-back weekend nights. The Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 27 and welcome the Minnesota Wild on Sept. 28 in a pair of 7 p. m. games. Ticket information will be announced later.
The Sabres begin the preseason Sept. 22 in Toronto, then play what may be their most intriguing game the next night. The Sabres meet the Montreal Canadiens in Roberval, Quebec, in the 2008 Kraft Hockeyville Game. Roberval won a contest designed to find Canada’s most passionate hockey community, and the Quebec town captured the majority of the 5.5 million votes cast in one week via phone and Internet.
The Hockeyville event is scheduled to be broadcast on CBC on Sept. 27.
The Sabres also play Oct. 1 in Minnesota and Oct. 2 in Columbus before visiting the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in Hockeytown on Oct. 5. The regular season begins with a home game against the Canadiens on Oct. 10.
In other news, veteran forward Mathieu Darche reportedly has agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Sabres.
The 31-year-old played 73 games for Tampa Bay last season, scoring seven times and adding 15 assists. Darche has spent most of his career in the minor leagues, recording 352 points in 440 games. The Sabres need to add players to fill out their roster in Portland, but Darche is hopeful of playing in Buffalo.
“I figured that’s where I’ll have a good chance,” Darche told the Syracuse Post-Standard. “Lindy Ruff is a lot like [former Tampa Bay coach] John Tortorella. You get what you deserve. I decided the fit was good in Buffalo, and I liked the talk I had with Darcy Regier.”
The Sabres would not confirm the signing of the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder.
Darche, a Montreal native, has also played for Columbus, Nashville and San Jose, recording two points in 28 games. His best season in the minors came with the Worcester Sharks in 2006-07, when he scored 35 goals and added 45 assists in 76 games.
