ST. THOMAS, Ont. – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was reminded of his lone season of Canadian junior hockey with the Sudbury Wolves when he took the ice at Joe Thornton Community Centre, the 2,200-seat facility that played host to the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday.
It was an eventful day for Luukkonen and the other Sabres who made the trip to St. Thomas for the NHL’s annual Kraft Hockeyville preseason game. The team flew from Buffalo to London, Ontario early Wednesday morning and then took the half-hour bus ride to St. Thomas, where a crowd of eager fans awaited the arrival of NHL players in their hometown.
“It was an early wake up today but coming to the rink and seeing there’s so many kids being excited about the game, that makes it that much better,” Luukkonen said.
The excitement of the morning was balanced with the task at hand, which for Luukkonen meant a first taste of preseason action following a productive summer. The 24-year-old stopped 25 of 28 shots in two periods of work in what ended as a 5-2 Maple Leafs victory.