Sabres Edge

MANNHEIM, Germany -- The Sabres' 2011-12 exhibition season is over, with Buffalo earning an 8-3 victory over host Adler Mannheim. Here are the postgame interviews.

---John Vogl

Jochen Hecht

Christian Ehrhoff

Lindy Ruff

Luke Adam

Tyler Ennis

MANNHEIM, Germany -- Greetings from SAP Arena, the house that Jochen Hecht built. OK, not really, but he was the first Sabre on the ice -- joining Adler Mannheim legend Rene Corbet -- for laps around the rink to start the exhibition festivities.

Hecht was also the last player off the ice following warmups, as he handed out pucks to his hometown fans. He also led the raucous crowd behind the net -- fans who ran in to get a good spot in the standing room only section -- in a cheer and wave.

It's going to be a wild game in here. The fans needed less than a minute of warmups to start chanting. Drums are pounding.

"The atmosphere will be fantastic," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I witnessed it at the world championships, and it’s a totally different atmosphere than we’re used to, from the singing, the cheering, the chanting. The emotion in the building and the energy in the building will be something you wouldn’t expect."

For some pics, be sure to visit Twitter.com/BuffNewsVogl.

More when the puck drops.

FIRST PERIOD

1:29 p.m.: All right, I'm sold on European sporting events and the puck hasn't even dropped yet. It's non-stop chanting and drumming and clapping in here.

1:31 p.m.: The anthem singer nailed the German national anthem. I think. She butchered the U.S. anthem, though, with words I've never even heard before.

1:32 p.m.: Game on.

1:36 p.m.: The Sabres' lines are Thomas Vanek-Luke Adam-Jason Pominville; Nathan Gerbe-Derek Roy-Drew Stafford; Tyler Ennis-Ville Leino-Brad Boyes; and Cody McCormick-Paul Gaustad-Patrick Kaleta. Defense pairs are Jordan Leopold-Christian Ehrhoff; Tyler Myers-Robyn Regehr; and Andrej Sekera-Mike Weber.

1:39 p.m.: German native Christian Ehrhoff goes off for cross-checking at 15:07.

1:40 p.m.: Marc-Andre Gragnani is also playing for the Sabres. Yes, that's more people on the roster than are allowed. Matt Ellis is scratched and Hecht is hurt. Jhonas Enroth already has two nice saves in net.

1:42 p.m.: In honor of Europe ... GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLll! Tyler Ennis gets a breakaway and puts a backhand through the pads of former NHL goalie Fred Braithwaite with 12:42 left. It's 1-0 Buffalo.

1:46 p.m.: No wonder there have been so many Germans pounding beers this week. They need to lube up their throats since they do nothing but yell chants during games.

1:52 p.m.: GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLl! Ennis gets his second with 8:38 left. Boyes feeds Leino in the slot, and Ennis buries the rebound from the right side after Brathwaite stopped Leino.

1:58: Adler kills a Sabres power play, so it's still 2-0 Buffalo with 3:57 to go.

2:02 p.m.: Another holding penalty on Mannheim, this time with 1:49 left.

2:03 p.m.: GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! Luke Adam scores with 1:41 left, cruising to the top of the crease to deflect Thomas Vanek's pass high into the net.

2:05 p.m.: End of the first, Sabres with a 3-0 lead.

SECOND PERIOD

2:25 p.m.: This time, it's the PA announcer yelling, "GOALLLLLLLLLLL!" Mannheim's Yannic Seidenberg scores just seven seconds in the period.

2:26 p.m.: The Sabres answer right back to take a 4-1 lead. A terrible turnover gave Boyes the puck alone in the slot, and the winger buried it high to Brathwaite's glove side with 1:11 gone.

2:31 p.m.: Enroth gets his glove on Mike Glumac's breakaway attempt, deflecting the puck out of play with 14:36 to go.

2:33 p.m.: Kaleta gets two minutes for tripping with 13:25 left.

2:35 p.m.: Shortly after Enroth makes another sparkling save, Adler strikes again. Jaime Sifers buries a cross-ice pass with 12:10 to go, cutting the Sabres' lead to 4-2.

2:44 p.m.: The chanting and drumming continues as Adler defenseman Nikolai Goc heads to the box for tripping with 6:59 to go.

2:46 p.m.: Christian Ehrhoff can shoot. Man, can he shoot. The defenseman blasts a shot from the center of the blue line just under the crossbar, beating new goalie Felix Bruckmann on the power play with 6:02 left to give Buffalo a 5-2 lead.

2:48 p.m.: With a break in action, it's time to say hello to the folks back home. Hi, Ahren. And Christine Snow, Kevin says hello to you!

2:52 p.m.: The Sabres go back on the power play with 4:03 left after a hold by Denis Reul.

2:54 p.m.: Just after the penalty expires, Adam feeds a wide-open Vanek in the crease for a tap-in. It's 6-2 Buffalo witth 1:58 left.

2:56 p.m.: The Sabres head to the dressing room with a 6-2 lead.

THIRD PERIOD

3:16 p.m.: The final period of preseason hockey is under way. The real thing starts Friday night.

3:21 p.m.: Weber heads to the box with 14:18 left.

3:23 p.m.: The Sabres are well on their way to a victory, taking a 6-2 lead into a break with 11:47 to go.

3:27 p.m.: Mannheim, meanwhile, gives its partying fans another reason to chant, scoring with 11:08 left on a top-shelf laster by Glumac.

3:31 p.m.: Their team is down, 6-3, but the fans are clapping and singing as loud as they have all day as we get to 8 minutes to go.

3:39 p.m.: Following a goal by Pominville with 6:17 left, Ennis feeds Leino for another tally with 3:47 left. It's 8-3. We likely have to walk down to the locker room before the game ends because there's no back media hall, so this is it for the live blog. Check back soon for postgame reaction.

---John Vogl

MANNHEIM, Germany -- After two days of practice, sightseeing and hospital visits, it's back to hockey games for the Buffalo Sabres. They visit Adler Mannheim in game that starts at 7:30 p.m., which is 1:30 p.m. in Buffalo.

Coach Lindy Ruff said after the morning skate today in SAP Arena that he expects an entertaining game. Hear his thoughts below.

---John Vogl

LANDSTUHL, Germany -- Ryan Miller knew today would be powerful. When he was a member of the U.S. Olympic team, the Sabres' goaltender visited injured troops and walked away with an enhanced look at life.

The same thing happened today when the Sabres visited Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on Ramstein Air Base.

"We’e seeing a big movement in that there’s a lot more respect being paid to the men and women who are serving, especially the men and women who have made sacrificies with their bodies," Miller said. "It definitely gives you perspective on life, and I think it’s good for our whole organization to show up, not just a few guys. It sets things in place for people."

The visit was the first of its kind for most players, especially the younger ones, and Miller hopes they absorbed its meaning.

"I hope it puts them in a good spot to understand how fortunate they are to be where they’re at in their life and to enjoy every moment," Miller said.

To hear thoughts by Miller and coach Lindy Ruff on the visit, click the audio file below.

---John Vogl

Ryan Miller

Lindy Ruff

MANNHEIM, Germany -- Jochen Hecht said fans in Germany had passion. Sabre fans always display their zeal. Put the group together and you get what happened this morning: hundreds of folks cheering on practice.

The Sabres' unusual skate drew the praise of Mannheim native Jochen Hecht and Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. Their audio from this morning is below. Ruff also looked ahead to Tuesday's final preseason game, which goaltender Jhonas Enroth will start.

---John Vogl

Lindy Ruff

Jochen Hecht

MANNHEIM, Germany -- The Sabres certainly can draw a crowd.

The team's practice in the side rink in SAP Arena is overflowing with fans, including those who flew from Buffalo as part of a package put together by the Sabres and a local travel agency.

Unfortunately for Jochen Hecht and any Germans looking for the Mannheim native, he was unable to skate with his teammates during most of the session. He suffered a headache recently, setting back his progress from a concussion. He is going to skate at the end to treat the fans.

---John Vogl

HEIDELBERG, Germany -- It's well after sundown over in Europe, with the clock striking 9:30 p.m. Here, however, are a few pics taken during the day. Also, for more info on the trip, head over to Twitter.com/BuffNewsVogl.

---John Vogl

MANNHEIM, Germany -- Now that practice is over, the Sabres' goal for the rest of the day is to stay awake. It'll be a lot tougher than the practice.

The Sabres had a light, hourlong session in SAP Arena today, busing right from the airport to the rink after their overnight flight from Buffalo. The practice was early afternoon in Mannheim but early morning in Buffalo time, and the Sabres need to work to get their internal clocks adjusted.

"Traveling at night and coming right here and practicing kind of gets you in that time change right away," Jason Pominville said.

The right winger was one of 21 skaters and three goalies to take the ice for Buffalo. The lines were new with center Derek Roy ready to come back from a shoulder injury and Brad Boyes able to return from a two-game suspension. The forwards:

Thomas Vanek-Luke Adam-Jason Pominville

Tyler Ennis-Ville Leino-Brad Boyes

Nathan Gerbe-Derek Roy-Drew Stafford

Cody McCormick-Matt Ellis/Paul Gaustad-Patrick Kaleta.

Jochen Hecht (head) skated in a noncontact role, while all seven defensemen and three goaltenders (including emergency backup Drew MacIntyre) also participated.

---John Vogl

MANNHEIM, Germany -- The Sabres have made it to Deutschland.

The team charter touched down just before 9 a.m. in Germany, which was 3 a.m. in Buffalo. The Sabres are practicing now in SAP Arena, which they bused to right from the airport.

We'll have more following the skate.

---John Vogl

The Sabres canceled their scheduled practice for today, no doubt because some members of the traveling party need to pack before the plane leaves for Europe at 7 tonight. (Yes, that includes me.)

The overnight flight is scheduled to arrive at 9 a.m. German time, which is six hours ahead of Buffalo. The Sabres have been asking their Europe natives for advice on dealing with the time change, and they all said the same thing: There are tricks, but jet lag is a given no matter what.

"I’m still trying to figure that out, too," German native Christian Ehrhoff said. "Going that way it’s a lot tougher than coming over here. It’s pretty tough. Your body, there’s not really a recipe to work against it.

"Obviously, the first day you can’t really go to bed for a nap. You get there early in the morning and you’ve got to work through the day, then try to go to bed at a normal time, try to get a good sleep. That usually helps you. If you try to take a nap when you get in, that screws you up even more."

---John Vogl