It’s hockey season, once again, and I know some of my readers are thinking, “What? It just ended.” Well, that’s not entirely true, especially if you’re a Buffalo Sabres fan, like me. In that case, the season ended a long time ago, back in early April, before the playoffs began. As has been the case the past eight years, I’m hoping this year is different and the Sabres make it to the post-season.

Growing up in Western New York, I became a Buffalo Sabres fan at a young age, but I didn’t get to see a game in person until I was in high school. My art teacher was a big hockey fan, so a couple of my friends and I urged him to organize a bus trip to go to a Sabres game. My father and many of the others didn’t have any interest in driving the 80 miles to Buffalo in the middle of winter to go to a hockey game. Mr. Berlinghoff was kind enough to put it all together, and about 18 of us went to see the Sabres play the Quebec Nordiques.

We got the cheapest tickets in old War Memorial Auditorium; our seats were in the upper level on the end, but we didn’t care, most of us were at our very first NHL game. One nice surprise that happened during the game, was when my cousin Mark Maloney, a beer hawker at Sabres and Bills games, came walking up the steps in our section. I yelled out to him, “Mark!” and he was like shocked to see me there. It was one of those “what are you doing here?” moments. That was pretty cool, and I got to introduce him to a bunch of my buddies that were with me.

I’ve been to many more NHL games in the years since, and not only in Buffalo. At last count, I’ve been to NHL games in eight different NHL cities; not counting preseason games in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

For local hockey fans, the Tulsa Oilers season will begin with a three-game weekend homestand on Oct. 11 – 13. The Oilers will host Kansas City on that Friday night at 7:05 p.m., Allen on Saturday at 7:05 p.m., and Rapid City on Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

The Oilers affiliation with the Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues has been extended through the 2019-20 season. It is the third season for the agreement that allows the Blues to designate prospects under NHL or American Hockey League contracts to Tulsa for development. St. Louis’ AHL affiliate is the San Antonio Rampage.

“It’s a real honor to continue to work with the Stanley Cup Champions,” Tulsa Oilers General Manager Taylor Hall said. “It’s not a coincidence we had our best season in many years, and we’re excited to continue our partnership.”

One opportunity that comes from this relationship will be evident on opening night, Oct. 11, as the Stanley Cup will be on display at the BOK Center. Fans will be able to get their picture taken with what has become the most iconic trophy in all of sports.

TULSA AT SMU

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team will open the American Athletic Conference portion of their schedule by traveling to Dallas this Saturday to play SMU. The kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Gerald Ford Stadium.

SMU enters the game with an impressive 5-0 record, including a 41-38 win over #25 TCU, and a conference win last Saturday at South Florida, 48-21. In that game, Xavier Jones ran for two first-quarter touchdowns and

Shane Buechele threw three second-quarter touchdown passes, and the Mustangs led 41-0 early in the second half.

SMU is averaging 44.4 points per game while holding their opponents to an average of 26.6. points per game. Tulsa is 2-2 following four non-conference games to open the season. The Golden Hurricane has scored an average of 21.5 points per game, and have allowed an average of 26.3. SMU has gained an average of 510 total yards per game, and Tulsa has average 363 total yards.