Miller's 'little fantasy' comes to life, spurs Sabres to overtime win

Ryan Miller walked into a quiet, empty KeyBank Center for the first time in 2002, after he signed his entry-level contract to officially begin his professional career.
The ice and the boards were absent; a lone net was placed on the concrete floor as a symbol of what Miller would be working to attain. Even then, he had his sights higher.
Miller, curious and analytical, scanned the building, imagining it full, taking note of its intricacies. His glare eventually met the rafters where, at that time, four banners hung.

Rene Robert, No. 14. Gilbert Perreault, No. 11. Richard Martin, No. 7. Tim Horton, No. 2.
"I had that little fantasy," Miller recalled Thursday. "I did. I looked out there, I was like, `Wow, you know, I'm signing with a pro team. We got some banners up there, wouldn't that be cool?"

The setup was the same when Miller returned to KeyBank Center in June - the empty stands, the lone net standing on concrete. That day, surrounded by his family, a video message from Rick Jeanneret played on the video board informing Miller that his fantasy would become a reality.
It did on Thursday. Miller became the 43rd member of the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame and the eighth player to have his number retired, joining Perreault, Horton, Martin, Robert, Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine, and Dominik Hasek.
"This is an amazing dream come true situation," Miller said.
Miller was joined by his wife, Noureen, and their two children, as well as his parents and siblings. Behind him sat coaches, Sabres personnel, and 18 fellow Sabres alumni who played alongside Miller during one of the most beloved eras in franchise history.
Surrounding him were 19,070 fans who came to celebrate a player and man who built a connection with Western New York like few others during his 12 years in the organization.
"This was a special one," he said. "I've been looking forward to being able to reconnect and see people and be here. I do feel like I am a Sabre."

The night paid equal tribute to the three factors that carried Miller from East Lansing, Michigan to the rafters in Buffalo, New York. His fierce, unending focus and competitiveness; his equally persistent dedication to charitable causes in Western New York; and the thrilling teams he was the face of.
That first quality had its roots in Miller's childhood. His father, Dean, recalls playfully poking Ryan in the ribs only to have Ryan analytically ask, "What are you doing?" But it gained shape in Detroit, when Miller - playing nearby for Michigan State - attended Red Wings practices and put his focus on Hasek.
"I got to see what he really did," Miller said. "Like he would practice with intensity, like no one's going to score. And I wanted to do that too, because it just made sense. It's just like, 'Oh yeah, if I can do it out here. It should be more seamless in a game.' And he's definitely a hero of mine."
Thomas Vanek, Henrik Tallinder, and Derek Roy rattled off those same Hasek-esque qualities while describing Miller prior to the ceremony on Thursday.
"Even drills when it was a 3-on-0 against him and we could easily backdoor him, he would find a way to paddle it out like he did many times in real games," Vanek said. "… He hated when we came down and kind of just shot it to shoot the puck. He was like, 'No. Shoot to score.' So, we did."
It was Hasek whose video message welcomed Miller into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.
"I think it was just amazing to have him say kind words about me because that's exactly how I would observe his hockey," Miller said.
Miller's competitiveness made him and his teammates better. His selflessness away from the ice made Buffalo better.
Miller touched on what made Buffalo special during his speech. He referenced strangers in the cereal aisle telling him what he had done wrong on a save attempt the night prior and grandmothers giving him a hug during a winter walk down the street. All of it meant hockey mattered.
He felt indebted to reciprocate that spirit, and so he gave his time and effort to the community. His greatest contributions were to the Courage of Carly Fund, the pediatric program at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Miller was always a phone call away and often made spur-of-the-moment visits to spend time with the children there.
The Sabres welcomed guests from the Courage of Carly program to the ice as they unveiled their gift to Miller: the Ryan Miller Legacy Fund, an endowment established at Roswell Park to benefit pediatric cancer patients. The fund will grow annually through support from the team, players and staff, and fans.

Miller took the podium to deliver his speech. He thanked the fans in Buffalo along with his family, teammates, and coaches. But he was also sure to turn his attention to the Sabres bench, where the full team sat attentively wearing T-shirts bearing his name.
"Keep growing as a group and enjoy this time," he said, the crowd roaring as the video board scanned faces on the bench. "You might have something here, boys."
Miller knows what it looks like when a young team is capable of making the leap. He saw it firsthand here in Buffalo, part of the core along with Vanek, Roy, Jason Pominville and others who spent years growing together in Rochester before fueling consecutive runs to the Eastern Conference Final.
His belief was not lost on the current Sabres, who have bought in to playing for Buffalo and who have stepped up time and time again when the building was full and the stakes were high - winning on both nights honoring Jeanneret last season and, more recently, in their first game back after the devastating blizzard that hit town during the holidays.
Just as Miller once looked up at the four banners honoring Perreault, Horton, Robert, and LaFontaine - and later watched banners raised for Gare and LaFontaine during his own career - members of the NHL's youngest team were able to take inspiration from a legend getting his due.
"It makes us very motivated, for sure," Rasmus Dahlin said. "The words he says, I know he speaks from his heart. It's a special feeling when a legend says that about us. … You just see how much he meant to the city and how good of a player he was. I'm star struck every time I see him."
It was only fitting that a goalie duel ensued. Ilya Sorokin was brilliant as he's been all season, holding the Sabres to one goal for nearly 50 minutes despite being peppered with 45 shots. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen saw less work but was equally dominant in a 24-save effort.
The Sabres finally tied the game 2-2 midway through the third period on a goal from Victor Olofsson. Luukkonen, in as good a tribute to Miller as any, made a pad save on Anthony Beauvillier with less than eight seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
It was there that Dahlin delivered. The defenseman carried the puck over his own blue line off the opening draw and lofted a seeing-eyed pass through the neutral zone. He joked that he had 500,000 thoughts running through his mind as the puck traveled inches over the outstretched glove of Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock and onto the blade of Dylan Cozens' stick at the opposite blue line.
Cozens settled the puck on a breakaway and shot as quick as he could. He said afterward that he blacked out upon scoring the winning goal.
"On a night like this when it's full and they're celebrating such an unbelievable player to this organization, Ryan Miller, you just want to win so bad," Cozens said. "It really fuels us to win it for him on his special night and win it for all the fans who came."

Miller joined the team for a photo on the ice after the victory and in the locker room afterward, both moments reminiscent of Jeanneret's banner night last season. More than 20 years after Miller first walked into KeyBank Center and dreamed his big dream - and nearly a decade since he last played for the Sabres - he had begun a new phase of his relationship with the franchise.
"I loved my time here and I'm glad it was an impactful time, and that the fans enjoyed that time," he said. "But it's also a time to reconnect. I love Buffalo and I want to be around more and now I can be around. This is step one, reconnect. Have fun and go from there."