Lincoln, NE (SportsNetwork.com) – Ameer Abdullah and the 16th-ranked Nebraska
Cornhuskers will be in action once again this Saturday, as they host Big Ten
Conference newcomers Rutgers at Memorial Stadium.
Rutgers’ first season in the Big Ten has gone as well as could be expected.
The Scarlet Knights own a 5-2 overall record, although they have only managed
a 1-2 start in league play. The optimism for the team took a big hit last
weekend when Ohio State posted a 56-17 win over Kyle Flood’s team.
“Today is a great example that when you play a really talented football team,
the margin of error is very small,” Flood said following the loss. “We just
didn’t play very clean football. As a coaching staff, we need a better plan.”
The margin for error will once again be razor thin for Flood’s squad this
weekend, as it faces a powerful Nebraska team. The Cornhuskers bounced back
from their first loss of the season against Michigan State with a 38-17 road
win over Northwestern last weekend. They are now 6-1 overall and 2-1 in Big
Tem effort today.”
The Ducks also are inching closer to getting a pair of players back. Both
forward Dany Heatley and defenseman Bryan Allen were able to practice on
Monday. Neither has played yet this season, with Allen suffering an
undisclosed injury just prior to the start of the campaign and Heatley
sustaining a lower-body injury during the preseason on Sept. 28.
The Sabres hope to avoid a third straight shutout defeat as they head out west
to begin a three-game trip. They also will stop in Anaheim and Los Angeles
before traveling to Toronto to cap the swing.
Buffalo notched its first win of the season with a shootout decision over
Carolina on Oct. 14, but lost to Florida 1-0 on Friday and then 4-0 to Boston
the following day.
The Sabres unleashed a season-high 32 shots versus the Bruins, but couldn’t
get one past Niklas S saves in defeat for the
Sabres.
“I thought we had good spurts of pressure. We have to continue to find ways to
get pucks at the net,” said Buffalo forward Brian Gionta.
Buffalo has been shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since Oct.
9-11, 2003 and has never gone three straight without scoring a goal.
The Sabres’ could end their scoring drought if they can find a way to get
their power play going. They went 0-for-7 versus the Bruins and are 0-for-22
on the man advantage this season.
Buffalo has been held to a pair of goals or fewer in five of its six games
(1-5-0), including a 5-1 home loss to Anaheim on Oct. 13. William Karlsson
scored his first two NHL goals for the Ducks and Andersen needed to make only
11 saves.
Tyler Ennis scored for the Sabres and Michal Neuvirth stopped 39-of-44 shots
faced.
The Ducks have won three in a row overall versus the Sabres and four of the
last five meetings in Anaheim.
