Matt Ellis former Sabres player, current Assistant Coach and Welland native on the ice for practice. Photo: Facebook/Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have a longstanding connection with the Niagara Region.
Despite many Toronto Maple Leafs calling Niagara home, the Sabres have a larger season-ticket base from the Region and are obviously closer geographically.
Over the past 20-plus years, Andrew Peters (St. Catharines), Dan Paille and Matt Ellis (Welland) have played for the Blue and Gold.
Ellis is now an assistant coach with the club, while fellow Welland native and longtime NHLer Dan Girardi, works in the player development department.
The iconic, legendary, hall of fame broadcaster and voice of the Buffalo Sabres for over 50 years – the late Rick Jeanneret – proudly called Niagara Falls home.
With all that being said, the Sabres are trying to grow, if not reconnect, with their fans in Niagara, and Monday announced they have entered into a multi-year partnership to expand the streaming capability of over 40 Buffalo Sabres games into the Niagara region of Southern Ontario, beginning November 27th of this week.
This partnership signifies the first time the Buffalo Sabres’ MSG broadcast will be available to fans in Southern Ontario since 2015-16.
“Our organization remains committed to broadening the Buffalo Sabres’ presence and connecting with fans on a deeper level, and expanding our reach to allow more Sabres fans in Southern Ontario to stream games exclusively with Fubo is a fantastic step in more deeply connecting with our fanbase,” said Buffalo Sabres General Manager, Kevyn Adams.
“We are incredibly grateful for the continued support and partnership with both Fubo and MSG, whose collaboration has been integral in our efforts to bring the spirit of Sabres hockey to a wider audience.”
In addition to in-game coverage, Fubo will stream pre and post-game coverage of Sabres hockey, including but not limited to pre-game breakdowns, highlights, exclusive interviews and studio analysis.
Fubo subscribers residing in zip (postal) codes in which Sabres broadcasts will be available will have access to all Buffalo Sabres game content and
shoulder programming on the newly launched Fubo Sports Niagara channel.
Additionally, to celebrate this new expansion, Buffalo Sabres season ticket members are eligible to receive an exclusive offer for a 30-day free trial of Fubo, while non-season ticket members are eligible to receive an offer for a 14-day free trial.
“Fubo is thrilled to partner with the Buffalo Sabres as their home in Southern Ontario for the next few seasons,” Ben Grad, SVP, strategic partnerships and operations, Fubo, said.
“As we continue to grow our sports-first streaming platform, it was important for us to super-serve Canadians with NHL games they can’t stream anywhere else.
This partnership marks Fubo’s first hockey team rights in Canada, and we could not be more excited to bring Sabres action to their many fans in and around the Niagara region.”Buffalo
Sabres games available on Fubo to Niagara region subscribers began with Buffalo’s road contest against New York Rangers on Monday night.
Entering play Monday, the Sabres sported a (9-10-2) record in the NHL Eastern Conference standings.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
