Fans excited to greet new Sabres owner

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Buffalo Sabres fans are anxious to witness the launch of the Terry Pegula era on home ice Wednesday night.

Although the playoffs are over six weeks away, with a new owner, Wednesday night's game carries the same type of buzz. Even Sabres' open practice seemed to have more fans than usual Wednesday morning.

Derek Paternostri said, "There's going to be a buzz about the team, and it's not just going to be one day, it's going to be weeks of buzz. I think once that buzz starts to die a little bit, that's when you'll start to see some of those changes. I think it'll keep it going and keep it rolling right into the off season."

The team's new owner and his family will be in the crowd for the game.

"You can just tell be he's so sincere. You can just tell he's a real Sabres fan. And obviously, he has the money," said Sue Severin.

Severin was picking up a new Tyler Myers jersey on Wednesday. For Tom Richards, Wednesday night will be his first Sabres game.

"I think there's a lot of pressure on the Sabres tonight to perform for the new owner and perform for their fans, too. So I think it'll be an interesting game," said Richards.

Even the players seem to be feeding off of Pegula's high hopes, especially Sabres forward Pat Kaleta, who grew up in South Buffalo.

"I've always been a Sabres fan and I've always loved the Sabres as much as anything. And I can kind of relate to getting my homework done as fast as I can just so I can watch the Sabres' games. Being able to stay up on school nights to watch the playoffs and stuff like that," said Kaleta.

There will be a ceremony before the puck drops on Wednesday night's game. There is also some kind of surprise planned to welcome Pegula and his family.