The Sabres' "Puck Drop 2008" is under way in HSBC Arena and the scene outside is as interesting as the scene on the ice inside. The team's street hockey fest is up and down Washington and Perry Streets, with hay bales as the boards. And watch out for flying street hockey balls -- I speak from experience.
There's perhaps 4,000 or so folks in the arena, many of course clad in their Sabres slug jerseys and awaiting the official unveiling of the retro third jersey.
As for the scrimmage, the blue and gold teams skated to a 1-1 tie in the first period. Maxim Afinogenov streaked down the wing and beat Ryan Miller for the gold's goal just 83 seconds in and Mark Mancari best Patrick Lalime with a wicked slapshot for the blues. Think Afinogenov can bottle some of that and use it come Oct. 10?
We're a little more than an hour away from the press conference featuring Larry Quinn and Tom Golisano. Stay tuned for an update on that.
---Mike Harrington
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