NHL
Start of Sabres camp will include daylong festivities
The opening day of Buffalo Sabres training camp Sept. 20 will be a daylong celebration featuring the unveiling of new third jerseys, the team announced Thursday.
The team is billing the Saturday camp opener at “Puck Drop 2008” and it will coincide with the sale of individual-game tickets, which begins that day. Admission and parking in the HSBC Arena ramp will be free.
The Sabres will take the ice for practice in the blue third jersey, which will feature a modernization of the team’s vintage design elements from the 1970s. NHL teams did not wear third jerseys last year, save for the vintage duds the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins wore during the Winter Classic in Ralph Wilson Stadium. Following practice, the team will hold an autograph session. Times for practice and details of the autograph session will be announced at a later date.
The inaugural Sabres Adult Street HockeyFest will also be held as part of Puck Drop on the streets surrounding the arena. It’s open to men and women ages 18 and up, at a cost of $150 per team. Each team consists of up to five people and all teams are guaranteed three games. Applications are available at sabres. com and the registration deadline is Sept. 12.
Other events scheduled for Puck Drop include the debut of a 110-foot long Winter Classic mural in the arena pavilion, live music in the plaza area from noon-2 p. m., and a Sabres Kidz Zone.
In other Sabres news, Versus announced its 2008-09 national broadcast schedule and the Sabres will make eight appearances on the league’s exclusive cable telecasts. Games from HSBC Arena that will go national are Oct. 21 (Boston), Dec. 22 (Pittsburgh), Feb. 24 (Anaheim) and April 6 (Detroit). Buffalo’s road appearances will be Nov. 3 at New Jersey, Dec. 8 at Pittsburgh, Feb. 17 at Toronto and March 10 at Philadelphia.
