This past Wednesday, Nov. 13, the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association partnered up with the cast of the famous hit Hulu TV show Shoresy to host the Shoresy Fall Classic event at KeyBank Center and it was an outstanding showing. From the Sabres alumni player choices, to the on-ice antics of the TV cast members, all the way down to the cause the event was raising money for, it was a rousing success. Fans filed into KeyBank Center to watch the two-period spectacle and enjoy a fun night of pickup-style hockey, while enjoying all the laughs and nostalgia that came with it. As one of those fans who was in attendance, this is my take.
Sabres Alumni Were Awesome
The Sabres alumni choices were perfect to fit the bill against the Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs, as it was a nice mix of former skill players and enforcers alike, all of which have distinct personalities that clearly meshed well with their opponents on the ice and created some very fun moments.
Some outlying personalities and players like future Sabres Hall of Fame inductee Rob Ray, Sabres broadcaster Martin Biron, Patrick Kaleta, Tim Connolly, Zenon Konopka, Derek Roy, Rick Vaive, Brian Gionta, and recently-retired Cody Hodgson were highlight players all throughout the performance whether it was from a skill-based move, a “dirty” play for the sake of some laughs, or — in Biron’s case — a massive save made with zero effort.
The Sabres’ players had a lot of great moments. Ray scored on his first shot on goal, just like he did in his first career game. Connolly scored a hat trick, and was even held off the ice for extended periods of time likely due to the obvious fact he was clearly better than everyone else on the ice even playing at minimal effort. It was awesome to watch what he could still do even at a fraction of what he has left in the tank. Vaive, at 65 years old, looked like he was having the time of his life out there and even scored two goals to cap off the night while razzing the Bulldogs cast in play stoppages. Roy was out there casually skating faster than anyone along with Hodgson and the two of them were doing fun trick shots for crowd enjoyment the whole time. They did not really score on any of them, but it was amusing to watch them still try it.
Then there was the big highlight of the night that really got the crowd going. For anyone who is not a fan of the show, the famous “Jims” are a fan favorite for their odd personalities and their gritty play, so fans were waiting restlessly in their seats for something fun to happen with one or more of them. Late in the game, they got their wish. Konopka stepped up and laid down a nice, big, real hit on one of the Bulldogs players, and it sparked a scrum that led to a fight between him and one of the Jims (played by Jon Mirasty). While the tilt looked a bit staged, the replay showed they definitely hit each other a few times, and face-washed one another for sure. All in all, the Sabres alumni played a great game and put on a real show.
Shoresy Cast Performance Shines for Charity
The event itself was meant to raise money for the Buffalo Sabres Scholarship Fund, and by the end of the night, they announced that it had raised a total of $26,000 toward the charity. Don Luce came out at the end of the game to present the check to the two teams and it capped off what was nothing short of a night of shenanigans from the cast members. It all started with a great intro from the captain, Shoresy (played by Jared Keeso) himself as he laid down how the night was going to go and how honored he was to be a part of the event. It continued on with popular players from the show lighting the lamp for the Bulldogs all night. In between periods, there was a scrimmage match between a couple of under-six hockey teams as well, where Keeso put on his Shoresy persona once more in his classic referee uniform and had some more fun for the crowd and the kids.
Regarding the game itself, a clear set of Bulldogs players stood out above the rest. Shoresy himself did score a goal, but was not a featured player for most of the night, as the team favored ones like Fish (Jacob Smith), Ted “Hitch” Hitchcock (Terry Ryan), Mark Michaels (Ryan McDonell), and the three Jim characters (Jon Mirasty, former Sabre Jordan Nolan, and Brandon Nolan). The team was skating around, messing about, and making some fun plays, keeping with the fun atmosphere the whole night.
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Occasionally they would start a scrum or jaw at one of the Sabres’ enforcers, but there was always a smile at the end of it. Even at the end, they had some fun at their goalie’s expense when Jonathan “Dolo” Diaby took a turnaround friendly-fire slap shot on his own net as a jest just before they lost the game. After the game was won, Hitch was handed a mic to give out the ceremonial “game stick” like they do in the show, and he gave it to Konopka for his tenacity and for taking on one of the Jims. Even though it went against the TV script of “never lose again” they did it in the name of charity, and it was all in good fun.
Overall Thoughts on Sabres Alumni Event
Seeing so many former Sabres players in action against a playful cast was very entertaining. If there was a script for the game, it was definitely lost in translation somewhere as both teams definitely looked like they started trying against each other when the period change happened. The speed picked up, the defense started to look a lot better on both sides, and more of the top players saw more ice time. Seeing older players like Ray and Vaive back on the ice and still sowing what they have in the tank was both fun and entertaining. On top of that, watching players like Connolly and Roy display their talent, even though they were nowhere near prime status, was insanely fun as well. Hopefully, an event like this will get more alumni players involved in future events as this one was a rousing success.
