First NHL game at Marine Midland Arena
The Sabres hosted the Red Wings on 10/12/1996 in the first regular-season NHL game at Marine Midland Arena — Sabres opened Marine Midland Arena (now KeyBank Center).
1st
FIRST NHL GAME AT THIS ARENA
Track Every KeyBank Center Game You've Attended
KeyBank Center has been the Buffalo Sabres home since October 4, 1996—the same building later printed Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, and First Niagara Center. Ticket Timeline helps you log every Sabres game you attended there and build a personal archive of the players and moments you witnessed in person.
Moments Witnessed at KeyBank Center
Verified milestones and rare moments that actually happened in this building.
Brett Hull's controversial Cup winner
Brett Hull scored in triple overtime at Buffalo in Stanley Cup Final Game 6 — the 'foot in the crease' goal that ended the 1999 Final and remains debated today.
ALL-TIME
ICONIC NHL PLAYOFF GOAL
Sabres retire Gare's No. 18
The Sabres raised Gare's No. 18 to the rafters in a pregame ceremony before facing the New York Rangers in a 2-3 home loss.
18
JERSEY RETIRED
Sabres retire Hasek's No. 39
The Sabres raised Hasek's No. 39 to the rafters in a pregame ceremony before facing the Detroit Red Wings in a 1-3 home loss.
39
JERSEY RETIRED
2022 NHL Heritage Classic
Buffalo Sabres hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at Tim Hortons Field in the 2022 NHL Heritage Classic.
35th
OUTDOOR NHL GAME IN LEAGUE HISTORY
Why track KeyBank Center attendance?
If your stub says Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, or First Niagara Center, that is this same Buffalo building — not Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, which was a different barn. KeyBank Center is the later printed name. Log those Sabres nights on the Buffalo Sabres game tracker. This page holds the roof those four printed names share. Memorial Auditorium is not this building.
Three earlier printed names all point at this same Buffalo room. Ticket Timeline matches Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, and First Niagara Center tickets to the Sabres games you actually attended. Buffalo Memorial Auditorium was a different barn.
- Log Sabres home games you personally attended—not today's crowd count or a live scoreboard.
- Match tickets printed Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, or First Niagara Center to this same venue.
- Keep Buffalo Memorial Auditorium stubs on that earlier barn—not mixed in as KeyBank Center.
- Count this building toward your wider NHL arena progress across every barn you've visited.
- Import old stubs, spreadsheets, or Gmail confirmations instead of retyping every date.
KeyBank Center at a glance
Key facts about the building—useful when dating a Marine Midland or HSBC Arena stub. All sourced from Ticket Timeline's verified Sabres team data.
- Sabres here since: October 4, 1996 in Ticket Timeline's data—after Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
- Current tenant: Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
- Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
- Printed names (same building): Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, First Niagara Center, and KeyBank Center all refer to this downtown arena
- Former home (different building): Buffalo Memorial Auditorium—Sabres through April 14, 1996 in Ticket Timeline's data
Teams and leagues at KeyBank Center
Follow the teams and league context connected to this building.
Tenant teams
League hubs
What You Can Track at KeyBank Center
Once a Sabres game is in your timeline, Ticket Timeline surfaces the attendance story from your seats—not a league-wide feed.
Games You Attended Here
Log every game you were physically at in this building—matchups, dates, and scores tied to nights you actually had a ticket.
Players You've Seen Here
Ticket Timeline matches each attended game to real rosters, so the athletes you watched in this building become part of your personal record.
Milestones Witnessed Here
Surface career highs, records, and rare moments that happened while you were in these seats—not league-wide highlights you only saw on TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I track every Buffalo Sabres game I attended at KeyBank Center?
Yes. Ticket Timeline helps you track Sabres games you attended at this Buffalo arena—including nights whose tickets still say Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, or First Niagara Center—along with the matchup, players, and moments tied to each game.
Can Ticket Timeline match tickets that say Marine Midland Arena or HSBC Arena?
Yes. Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena, and First Niagara Center all refer to KeyBank Center—the same building under earlier printed names. The venue context still maps here.
Is a Memorial Auditorium ticket the same as a KeyBank Center ticket?
No. Buffalo Memorial Auditorium was a different barn. The Sabres' last game there in Ticket Timeline's data is April 14, 1996. Nights at this building start October 4, 1996.
Can I see which players I watched at KeyBank Center?
Yes. Ticket Timeline matches each attended Sabres game to real box scores and rosters, so the players on the ice that night become part of your personal KeyBank Center record—not just the final score.
Does KeyBank Center count toward my NHL arena progress?
Yes. Ticket Timeline helps you see arena progress across the Sabres and NHL games you've attended, so nights here contribute to which barns you've been to and keep building that record over seasons.
Does Ticket Timeline sell tickets?
No. Ticket Timeline does not sell tickets. It is a stat tracker for games you've already attended, built to help you explore the players, moments, and milestones you witnessed at KeyBank Center.
Start Tracking Your KeyBank Center Nights
Download Ticket Timeline to turn every Buffalo Sabres game you attended at KeyBank Center into a lasting personal record.