The Buffalo Jr. Sabres are a Junior "A"

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team from

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. They are part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. Its current general manager is Sean Wallace.

History

This franchise was established in Buffalo, New York, in 1975 when the Buffalo Jr. Sabres joined the New York/Pennsylvania Junior Hockey League, taking the place of the departing franchise West Seneca Cougars. During its history, a half-dozen former Buffalo Sabres of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

served as head coach or assistant coach. Larry Mickey coached from 1977 to the end of the 1979 season. hockeydb.com
/ref> The following year the Junior Sabres were led by

Jim Lorentz James Peter Lorentz, Jr. (born May 1, 1947) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey centre who played 10 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres between 1969 and 1978 ...

. Lorentz coached the team from the 1978-79 season to the 1981–82. Former NHL 1st round draft choice Morris Titanic took over the team for the 1982–83 season and coached until 1985. Ric Seiling served during an assistant coach briefly. The team continued in various leagues, including The Western New York Junior Hockey League, The

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

and the Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League, before suspending operations for one season after the 1985–1986 season. The 1985–86 season saw Buffalo balance a schedule between the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

's Golden Horseshoe league and a split season with the NAHL. In the 1987–1988 season the team began operating again headed by Kris Hicks (Head Coach) and Chuck Giambra (General Manager). They were now known as the Niagara Scenic and were playing a full schedule in the

. The team moved to the

Eastern Junior Hockey League The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for t ...

for the 1994–1995 season and then joined the

Metro Junior A Hockey League The Metro Junior "A" Hockey League was a junior level ice hockey league based out of Southern Ontario. The league originated in 1956 as the Metro Junior "B" Hockey League, which lasted until 1991, when it changed its designation from Junior B to ...

beginning in 1995–1996. After the Metro folded, the Scenics moved into the

Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league dates back to 1954 where i ...

beginning with the 1998-99 season. Heading into the 1999–2000 season, the franchise renamed itself the Buffalo Lightning. In 2005, the Lightning made a deal with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

to restore the name "Junior Sabres" and again wear the Sabres' classic Blue and Gold jerseys. In 2008 the Buffalo Jr. Sabres were bought out by the

and the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association. Former Buffalo Sabre

Larry Playfair Larry William Playfair (born June 23, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and Los Angeles Kings in the NHL and he has worked as a color analyst for Sabres television broadcasts since his 199 ...

took over as team president, while former Buffalo Sabre Grant Ledyard took the position of head coach/general manager. Michael Peca was hired as general manager prior to the 2011-12 season. In January 2012 Ledyard stepped down from his role as head coach. Russ Certo assumed the role of interim head coach for the remainder of the season, which included a first round playoff series victory over the Hamilton Red Wings before falling in the second round to the Oakville Blades. Peca officially added the role of head coach to his duties at the end of the 2011-12 season. Under Peca's leadership, the Jr. Sabres finished the 2012-13 regular season as the OJHL's West Division champions and claimed the top seed in the South-West Conference for the 2013 playoffs. That regular season saw forward Tyler Gjurich score 53 goals and a total 97 points in 53 games, leading the entire league in points. Goaltender Parker Gahagen registered seven shutouts among his 29 wins. It was the first time since the 1993-94 season that the Jr. Sabres claimed first place in its division, while Gjurich became only the second player in franchise history to score 50 or more goals (the first was

Brian Gionta Brian Joseph Gionta (born January 18, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Gionta began his NHL career in 2001 with the New Jersey Devils and served as captain fo ...

during the 1996-97 season during the Niagara Scenic era). The 2012-13 roster also produced seven NCAA hockey-bound prospects as of March 1, 2013: Gjurich (Maine), Gahagen (Army), Josh Kielich (Canisius College), Darrin Trebes (Fredonia State), Derek Patterson (Plattsburgh State), Nathan Pelligra (Manhattanville College) and Nolan Sheeran (Canisius College, beginning 2014-15). On October 22, 2013, it was announced the Jr. Sabres Junior A team would be joined by six younger-level teams, also carrying the Jr. Sabres name, in an expanded program that would play at the LECOM Harborcenter, the multi-use facility being constructed by the

which opened in 2014. The team previously played at the Northtown Center.

Season-by-season results

Notable alumni

* Todd Marchant * Aaron Miller * Ryan Callahan * Morris Titanic – former head coach * Frank Downing Jr. – former Michigan captain * Lee Stempniak *

Kevyn Adams Kevyn William Adams (born October 8, 1974) is an American former professional ice hockey center and current general manager of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. During his career, Adams played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbu ...

* Ken Baker - Entertainment Journalist

References

External links

Buffalo Junior Sabres Website
{{NAHL Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League teams Defunct North American Hockey League teams Sports in Buffalo, New York Amateur ice hockey teams in New York (state) 1975 establishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1975 1986 disestablishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1986 2005 establishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 2005 Buffalo Sabres minor league affiliates