Memory Monday

So, I should be furiously pausing and rewinding the newest installment of the "Sabres 12 to Remember" right now, but my TiFaux decided that it didn't want to tape what it told me it was going to tape, and I am gameless. Hopefully TiFaux will remember its place by tomorrow noon, and I'll be able to resume my new ritual of trying unsuccessfully to work the remote and keyboard at the same time. Writing game diaries is fun!

So instead of all that, I thought I'd start in on something I promised myself I'd introduce last week, but inevitably forgot about: Memory Mondays. As much as I appreciate the MSG retrospective, there are some important moments from the past season that won't, for whatever reason, be showcased in the "12 to Remember." So I decided to take my own look back on the season, create an Island of Misfit Hockey Moments, of sorts. And I thought I'd start at the (relative) beginning.

October 28th Vs. the Atlanta Thrashers

Those of you who know this date and this game are now wondering which crazy pills I'm taking. That's fine, I accept that. So why do I remember this game, the first loss for the 06-07 Sabres, the end to a record-tying winning streak? It's simple. It's the first game I got to finish. Cable companies in St Paul, MN, aren't exactly keen on broadcasting Sabres games from Buffalo, NY, so I was completely at the mercy of the live online stream of the WGR 550 radio broadcast, with no recording capabilities. On top of that, theatre people are semi-nocturnal, preferring to schedule their shindigs, rehearsals, classes, meetings between the hours of seven and ten o'clock central time. Otherwise known as game time. So, more often than not, Sabres game days found me listening to as much of the online broadcast as possible before scurrying off to wherever I needed to be, and periodically (read: every ten seconds, if possible) checking my text messages for updated scores from my family. And then came the 28th of October. No one was dumb enough to schedule anything semi-school-related on the Saturday before Halloween, so I finally had an evening to myself. I plunked myself down in front of my computer, and told my friends in no uncertain terms that suggestions of going to parties or carving pumpkins were unwelcome. That could all wait. My team was on the verge of breaking a record, and finally, it was hockey time. I spent the next three hours or so attached by headphone cord to my Powerbook, trying to keep up with Rick Jeanneret's radio broadcast, and keeping the uninterested room posted on who was winning, letting out either a great yell or a large groan at each goal scored.

I was down when the Thrashers scored first, and then continued to find one-goal leads throughout the game. But the Sabres always gave me something to cheer about as they dug themselves out of four consecutive holes. The last goal came with just under two minutes left in regulation, off the stick of Hecht, and I remember sitting bolt upright on the floor (I get fidgety in chairs) and yelling my customary "I'm just Jochen!" to the confusion of my roommates. The game went to overtime, where the live internet feed cut out at the most inopportune moment when RJs voice accelerated through the phrase "Danny Briere, right in the goal crease...!" This inspired several moments of frantic pushing of Safari's refresh button, and a whole lot of swearing. By the time I got everything sorted out again, I was able to ascertain that Briere had not, in fact, scored, and the Sabres were entering their fourth shootout of the season. At this point I was on my feet, pacing a circle around my laptop as large as the radius of the headphone cord would allow. I wrung my hands when Kozlov netted the first shot for Atlanta, punched the air and swore profusely when both Briere and Afinogenov missed their chances. When Vanek's attempt failed to go in, I threw my headphones off, and closed my computer with a frustrated snap.

I was disappointed that I had to settle for the Sabres tying the all-time undefeated streak, instead of breaking it. I was pissed off that I finally got to listen to an entire game, and my team ended up losing. Justice just doesn't love a Buffalo fan. But, looking back on that night, I know I felt something else, too: anticipation. By the end of that game, even though it was a loss, I was hooked on this team, this season, and I knew it was going to be one exciting ride. I wasn't wrong.