All-time favorite Aud games!!!

[sabresfaninbaltimoremd]

The caveat being that you actually had to be at the game for them to make your list. Hence the reason I don't have the May Day game or the Hannan 4OT game, amongst others, on my list. I had long since left WNY by that time.

 

1)-Sabres 7, Bruins 6. I still remember the date. February 25th 1983. My 8th grade year at Sweet Home Junior High (which I understand is now Sweet Home Middle School.) Sabres rally from 6-1 early second period deficit. Still the loudest I've ever heard any Sabres game EVER!!!! I still have the official recap sheet through the second period at home. I used to get those sheets from a press box guy named Sandy. Anybody remember him, or am I looking like a senior citizen???

 

2)-Sabres 3, Canadiens 1. Game 3-1983 Adams Division semi-finals. Bob Sauve had already shut out the Habs 3-0 and 1-0 at the Forum to put the Sabres up two games in the series, and the Sabres had returned to the Aud to complete the three-game sweep. Remember the days of the best-of-five playoff series??? Before the game, I had met Danny Gallivan and Don Cherry from HNIC, who both autographed a Sabres press-pack for me and couldn't have been nicer. What a pain-in-the-ass I must have been as a kid. How embarrassing!!! Anyways, the Canadiens scored their only goal of the series when a Mats Naslund centering pass deflected off of Bill Hajt and into the net. Didn't matter. The Sabres had bumped off the (at that time) Evil Empire. The Aud rocked hard that day, too!!!

 

3)-Sabres 8, Nordiques 3. April 1980. We had front row seats in the lower golds, section 11. We were at the point of the rink where the height of the glass changed at the end where the Sabres shot twice. This is an extremely non-descript game except for the fact that when Rick Martin scored a goal at our end he skated right at us and saw my little dorky eleven-year-old ass going crazy and actually smiled at me. He probably thought "Jesus, kid. Get a grip!! It's only the Nordiques!!"

 

We moved away from WNY in '83, but returned to Rochester for one year in 86-87 (when I attended my last Sabres game at the Aud). College out of state and an introduction to adulthood after college in the early nineties meant no money for road trips to Buffalo for Sabres games until the new barn opened. Been there maybe a dozen times and have enjoyed it. It's an awesome place. But it's not the Aud. It doesn't have that stale smoke, beer-soaked popcorn smell, nor does it have Tenor Joe Byron, the greatest PA guy ever in Milt Ellis, nor the Olympic Downhill Ski Slope feel of sitting in the Oranges. Things change and life goes on, and I'm cool with that. But what I wouldn't give for one stroll through the Grey Lady before she meets the wrecking ball!!!

[Taro T]

LaLa's 1st game as a Sabre.

 

Rico 49, Gare 47, Gare 48, Gare 49, Gare 50 vs Loafs.

 

Buffalo 14, Washington 2.

[mphs mike]

How about:

 

1. Dec. 1972- Sabres 7, Bruins 3; Schoeny over Orr, Vadnais, Cashman and the zamboni door

 

2. Jan. 1976 - Sabtes 12, Soviet Wings 6

 

3. April 1971 - Sabres beat Blues and Bert scores to break the rookie goal record

 

4. April 1973 - Habs clinch series, "Thank you Sabres". THE loudest I have ever heard an arena

[nucci]

My 1st game - I don't remember all the details. Dec 1970 - playing the Golden Seals. Doug Barrie got in to a fight and the Sabres won. Sat in the Grays. I was 9 - It was incredible.

[LabattBlue]

- Danny Gare scoring an OT playoff goal against Montreal in the early '70's.

 

- John Tucker scoring 4 goals in a playoff game against Boston(at least I think it was a playoff game).

[nucci]

- Danny Gare scoring an OT playoff goal against Montreal in the early '70's.

 

- John Tucker scoring 4 goals in a playoff game against Boston(at least I think it was a playoff game).

It was - I was there for that one. That was the series where there was a fight at every stoppage. ESPN would not even show the games because of all the fights. We took my younger sister to the game. She thought all the fighting was disgusting. By the 3rd period she was yelling and swearing during the fights. Priceless!!

[Buffalo Fan]

Game 4 sweep of Boston in the early 90's...I believe Boston had swept the Sabres the year before...sweat revenge...We poured out into the street as if we had won the Stanley Cup...Cars were beeping, people were hanging out their windows screaming...it was awesome.

[Two or less]

Does anyone have any games on DVD? I can trade. I have a bunch from post-lock out... like Lafontaine number night vs. the Laughs, Umberger game (both versus and msg feeds)... winter classic... few others.

[Stoner]

Sabres 14, Leafs 4 in March of 1981. My dad and I sat in the oranges for the first time. That was crazy. A couple weeks later, we were back as the Sabres tied the Bruins on the day Reagan was shot. The crowd was very subdued until Uncle Milty made the announcement that the Gipper was out of surgery and OK.

 

Taro, did Danny score four goals to get to 50?

[Taro T]

Sabres 14, Leafs 4 in March of 1981. My dad and I sat in the oranges for the first time. That was crazy. A couple weeks later, we were back as the Sabres tied the Bruins on the day Reagan was shot. The crowd was very subdued until Uncle Milty made the announcement that the Gipper was out of surgery and OK.

 

Taro, did Danny score four goals to get to 50?

No. Rico came into the game w/ 49 and Danny had 47. Some guy in the front of the Oranges had a Sign "Rico - 49". After Gare got his 2nd, the sign was changed to "Gare - 49" and then was changed to "Gare - 50".

 

The Leaf game you went to wasn't on the tube. I remember sitting in the kitchen listening to the game on the radio and running in to the other room and telling my dad that "the Sabres scored AGAIN" about every 2 minutes for a while there.

[BetweenThePipes00]

My favorite memory is March 4, 1984 ... it was one of those Sunday games that was the second half of a home-and-home against the hated Nordiques ... the Sabres had lost the night before ... my uncle and grandfather were supposed to go to the game, and the whole day at my granparents' house the tickets sat there by the phone, taunting me, I could not have been more jealous. So at like 5 pm, the phone rings and it's my uncle ... he got called into work. My grandfather must have read my mind because he asked my mom if he could take me ...

I don't remember if there were a bunch of fights the night before or what, but that game was really chippy and felt like a playoff game ... in the second period, Mike Ramsey was battling &$%^@-ing Dale Hunter along the boards and ended up on his knees as the puck left the zone ... so as he skated away, Hunter whacked him in the face with his stick and knocked out some teeth. But he got caught and got at least 4 minutes if not 5 ... so then there was a big delay as they picked up Rammer's teeth from the ice and Quebec coach Michel Bergeron was standing on the bench bitching about the call while getting DRENCHED with beer and other thrown objects ... great times!

Peter Stastny scored on Sauve in the second period, one of those softies to the far post he would ALWAYS give up because he'd charge out to cut the angle and hope the puck hit him ... Then in the third, Paul Cyr tied it with a screen blast on the PP from the right point ... I know, I was as stunned as anyone that he hit the net .... And that's how it ended, a 1-1 tie ... you'd think that would suck, but it was just a great game ... I am also sure I remember it for personal reasons ... I was 13 at the time and I remember thinking how cool it was my grandfather was talking to me not like I was a little kid but just another guy, all about hockey and such ... no leaving early, no feeding me candy and popcorn to shut me up ... just a couple guys at the game ... good times.

 

 

it's so weird how so many games blend together and are a blur and yet that night I remember so many things clearly ...

[Stoner]

BTP that's a great post. It is weird what you remember. My first time at the Aud, we sat up behind the net, and during the pregame warmups, a puck skipped over the glass and rang off a railing. PING! My dad and I both jumped, while the regulars just yawned. "That sounded like a rifle shot!" my dad yelled. Hearing some of his World War II stories much later in life, the comment made a lot more sense.

 

We took my little niece to a game on New Year's Eve in 1983 and sat in the golds for one of the few times. An older couple was dressed to the nines in front of us, and my niece was kicking the back of their seat to the beat of Let's go Buffalo. The lady turned around and said, "The little one is bothering us!" That sticks in my head for some reason.

 

As for smells, the one I always associate with the Aud and being at a hockey game is the smell of the glossy paper the Goal magazine was printed on.

[sabresfaninbaltimoremd]

No. Rico came into the game w/ 49 and Danny had 47. Some guy in the front of the Oranges had a Sign "Rico - 49". After Gare got his 2nd, the sign was changed to "Gare - 49" and then was changed to "Gare - 50".

 

The Leaf game you went to wasn't on the tube. I remember sitting in the kitchen listening to the game on the radio and running in to the other room and telling my dad that "the Sabres scored AGAIN" about every 2 minutes for a while there.

 

Actually, that game was on TV. My father and I watched it on International Cable Ch. 10, which is the channel the Sabres home games package was televised on back then. Production of the broadcasts wasn't great, especially in comparison to today's games. Paul Wieland (Tokyo Katanas) was the studio host, and they had this really cheesy, shag-carpet version of the Sabres logo as part of the set. The 81-82 season saw the Sabres try an ahead-of-it's-time (at that time) idea of PPV. It was called the Video Season Ticket, and if I remember correctly, it cost $39. It included most of the home games and a select number of road games, which reduced the number of games carried on WGR-TV Ch. 2 (I don't think it was WGRZ yet). I remember being pissed at my father for not cutting a check for the games, but if memory serves me correctly, it was such an abysmal failure that by mid-season the games were back on for free.

[Taro T]

Actually, that game was on TV. My father and I watched it on International Cable Ch. 10, which is the channel the Sabres home games package was televised on back then. Production of the broadcasts wasn't great, especially in comparison to today's games. Paul Wieland (Tokyo Katanas) was the studio host, and they had this really cheesy, shag-carpet version of the Sabres logo as part of the set. The 81-82 season saw the Sabres try an ahead-of-it's-time (at that time) idea of PPV. It was called the Video Season Ticket, and if I remember correctly, it cost $39. It included most of the home games and a select number of road games, which reduced the number of games carried on WGR-TV Ch. 2 (I don't think it was WGRZ yet). I remember being pissed at my father for not cutting a check for the games, but if memory serves me correctly, it was such an abysmal failure that by mid-season the games were back on for free.

OK, let me rephrase that, for those of us that lived more than 5 miles outside of the Buffalo City limits, the @#%%# game was NOT on TV. Cable didn't reach the eastern portion of Erie County until '87.

 

But, it is cool that you got to see that game. :thumbsup:

[Hard Rain]

May 1975 - My Dad's company had season tickets and he scored a couple for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Flyers (who I still hate to this very day). During the game a bat was dive bombing the crowd and the ice. I remember keeping one eye on the ice and another looking overhead. Bernie Parent took a couple of swings at it with his goalie stick and missed. Finally Jim Lorentz took a swing and nailed it with his stick (hence the nickname Batman). I remember no one wanted to touch the dead bat and finally one of the Flyers players picked it up and threw it into the penalty box.

[mphs mike]

May 1975 - My Dad's company had season tickets and he scored a couple for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Flyers (who I still hate to this very day). During the game a bat was dive bombing the crowd and the ice. I remember keeping one eye on the ice and another looking overhead. Bernie Parent took a couple of swings at it with his goalie stick and missed. Finally Jim Lorentz took a swing and nailed it with his stick (hence the nickname Batman). I remember no one wanted to touch the dead bat and finally one of the Flyers players picked it up and threw it into the penalty box.

 

My memory may be fading - but wasn't that also memorable for the stifling heat & humidity, causing stoppages while the players skated around to disperse the fog? I thought it was game 3 but since I wasn't at either - simply watching on tv my memories of games 3,4 may have blurred. If game 3, it may also have given birth to the memorable call "Robert, Rene Robert in overtime". Again, that call may have come up earlier against the Habs.

[Stoner]

My memory may be fading - but wasn't that also memorable for the stifling heat & humidity, causing stoppages while the players skated around to disperse the fog? I thought it was game 3 but since I wasn't at either - simply watching on tv my memories of games 3,4 may have blurred. If game 3, it may also have given birth to the memorable call "Robert, Rene Robert in overtime". Again, that call may have come up earlier against the Habs.

 

"Perreault comes to center, dumps it off the boards in the corner, Robert going after it, he scores! Rene Robert! And the Sabres win it again, in overtime!"

 

You're probably thinking of RJ's call of Robert's OT winner in Montreal in 1973. http://www.staffannouncer.com/audio/rj/38.mp3

 

I wish we could get all playoff OT winners online somewhere, both Darling and Jeanneret. A lot seem to be missing. Surely the Sabres have recordings of them. A lot of fans must have them too.

 

It was Game 3 by the way.

[Taro T]

"Perreault comes to center, dumps it off the boards in the corner, Robert going after it, he scores! Rene Robert! And the Sabres win it again, in overtime!"

 

You're probably thinking of RJ's call of Robert's OT winner in Montreal in 1973. http://www.staffannouncer.com/audio/rj/38.mp3

 

I wish we could get all playoff OT winners online somewhere, both Darling and Jeanneret. A lot seem to be missing. Surely the Sabres have recordings of them. A lot of fans must have them too.

 

It was Game 3 by the way.

Not necessarily. I remember one of Robie's tirades on Hockey Hotline a few years back being that someone in the Sabres admin had many tapes of '70's vintage games thrown out / destroyed. Which, if true, is truly a shame.

[Hard Rain]

"Perreault comes to center, dumps it off the boards in the corner, Robert going after it, he scores! Rene Robert! And the Sabres win it again, in overtime!"

 

You're probably thinking of RJ's call of Robert's OT winner in Montreal in 1973. http://www.staffannouncer.com/audio/rj/38.mp3

 

I wish we could get all playoff OT winners online somewhere, both Darling and Jeanneret. A lot seem to be missing. Surely the Sabres have recordings of them. A lot of fans must have them too.

 

It was Game 3 by the way.

 

My bad...fat fingered a 4. It was game 3...fog and all. I also think I remember Roger Crozier coming in off the bench after Desjardins let in a really long goal.

[BuffalOhio]

Mayday.

 

1975, Canadiens @ Sabres. It was an NBC game, and I met Ted Lindsay and Tim Ryan on the escalator. I was 11. They shook my hand, and Tim Ryan gave me a couple Peter Puck stickers.

 

First game, don't know the year. My neighbor had tickets and took my brother to a game, then he took me to a game. Good seats. Blues, I think.

 

Countless others, of course!

[IBleedBlue]

My first game (that really hooked me) was just after the first of the year 1968 -- Baltimore Clippers at Buffalo Bisons -- Best fight I have ever seen -- Dennis Hextall and Keke Mortson. Afterward, Keke stated that he should be entitled to 10% of the gate because he was the reason people came to the aud....

[plenzmd1]

The early ones are tough for me to remember, but heres a shot

 

1) My first game at the Aud, playing the Habs about 77. 13 at the time, Sabres tickets were outa reach for most everyone I knew. Can't remember how we got them, but my Dad came up with two tickets some how, and he drove me and brother up to the Aud and let us take em while he waited in the car and listened on the radio. He was a fan too, but gave up the chance to see em live so my brother and I could go our first Sabre game. Never appreciate that kinda stuff still too late.

 

1981 Game agaisn't the Balckhawks. Bought the tickets from my friends dad, great game, Sabres won, and the date I brought(huge Sabre fan and her first game) let me go little further if ya get my drift.

 

No idea when, but seeing #99 in person for the one and only time. OH MY GOD, was he awesome.

 

Fall of 86 , now I got seasons Sabres-Habs play to a 0-0 tie, and I friggen loved the game Course, I always like D over O

 

Last game in 86 before Christmas. Bring my Mom to the game. Not good when the beer vendor in my section( i was first row of Oranges at the face off dot where Sabres shot twice, lordy those were great seats!!) brings me a Christmas present Mom thinks maybe I going to him a bit often LOL.

 

Game before the May day game. Back in town for a wedding night of May Day.

[vasabresfan]

I can't remember the specific date, but it had to be about '83 or '84, Sabres v. Bruins. We were sitting about mid-way up in the blues.

 

My dad made it a point to take me to all the Sabres/Bruins games, not because we loved or hated Boston, but because they were always good games and it became a tradition for us. These were the days of Pete Peters/Doug Keane in net for the Bs. Looking back on it, the goalies looked so small relative to today's giant equipment. Peters used to have those old brown leather pads but I think he was also one of the first to switch to white ones, which was quite a sight.

 

In this particular game, I witnessed a spectacular play that I can still see in my mind. I have probably warped it into something far more unbelievable than it was, but that's part of the charm. The Bs were buzzing around the net and the puck kicked out to a winger in the opposite side high slot. Bob Sauve was way out of position but got up and took a leap at the puck like a shortstop trying to catch a line drive up the middle. He completely missed it and it seemed like a sure goal. However, Ric Seiling was skating aross the crease behind Sauve (who was out far enough to create a complete lane behind him). Without any panic, Seiling caught the puck with his glove, set it down, and started up ice.

 

For whatever reason, I have never forgotten that moment. It was amazing. Thank you for an interesting thread. It was nice to replay a great memory of my dad and my childhood in my head, and I've enjoyed reading many of yours.