Joe Colborne’s dream has come true. The Bruins first-round pick, 16th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft was inked to an entry-level contract with the Bruins this morning, forgoing his final two season with the University of Denver.

“I’m extremely excited for this opportunity.” said Colborne during a conference call this evening. “It’s been a dream my whole life to play in the NHL and sign a pro contract.”

And despite being upset by RIT in the NCAA East Regionals, Colborne is ready to begin a new chapter at a new level.

[Click here to read more ---->]

As previously rumored earlier this week, Boston Bruins general manager announced the signing of 2008 first-round draft pick (16th overall) Joe Colborne to an entry-level contract.  The B’s also signed forward Jordan Caron, goaltender Michael Hutchinson, and defenseman Steven Kampfer to entry-level contracts this morning as well.

ProvidenceBruins.com reports that Colborne, Kampfer and forward Maxime Sauve will join the AHL Providence Bruins on an “Amateur Tryout Agreements”.

• 20-years-old, 6′5″ 205 lb. forward for Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Two seasons with the University of Denver: 32-40–72 totals in 79 games played over two seasons

• 19-years-old, 6′2″ 202 lb. forward from Sayabec, Quebec, Canada
• Drafted by Boston in the first-round (25th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft
• Caron played for two teams this season in the  QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League): Starting off with the Rimouski Oceanic, and then traded to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies  Jan. 9, 2010.
• Scoring totals: 26-27–55 in 43 regular season games between the two clubs
• His 6-7–13  in the QMJHL playoffs currently leads all players

• 20-years-old, 6’3” 185 lb. from Barrie, Ontario, Canada
• Drafted by the B’s in the third-round (77th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft
• A 32-12-1-1 record in 46 games for the London Knights of the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) with 3 SO, a .913 save-percentage, and 2.86 goals-against average. The goaltender has started all five playoff games this month — going 4-1-0 thus far with a .901 save percentage with a 2.84 goals against average

• 21-years-old, 5’11″ 197 lb. from Jackson, Michigan
• Drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth-round (93rd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft
• Traded from Anaheim to Boston on Mar. 2, 2010  in exchange for a conditional fourth-round draft pick
• Played in 45 games for the University of Michigan this season — 3-23–26 scoring totals with 50 PIM
• Four season NCAA totals:  7-54=60 totals in 147 games played and 134 PIM
• Went to the CCHA Championship All-Tournament Team in both his junior season and senior seasons

Second Period Summary
SCORE	0	0
SHOTS ON GOAL	9 (22)	5 (11)
FACE-OFFS	11/20 - 55%	9/20 - 45%
BLOCKED SHOTS	2 (7)	5 (8)
HITS	6 (15)	4 (4)
POWER PLAY	0/0	0/0

• The Devils look as if they are still hungover from Sunday’s 5-1 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia — just five shots on goal.
• Only 11 shots on Tuukka Rask tonight, but the 23-year-old is stopping them all.
• Incredibly fast game tonight — end of 40 minutes and only 20 total face-offs.
• Zdeno Chara leads all B’s with 17:56 TOI already tonight.
• Kovalchuk – Zubrus – Zharkov are non-factors tonight — zero shots on goal tonight
• Mark Recchi and Patrice Bergeron have three SOG each, leading the team

NHL Update (8:31 p.m.): The ninth-seed Thrashers (78) are up 2-1 on the Toronto Maple Leafs  – and the 10th place NY Rangers (76) are tied with their neighboring  NY Islanders 2-2. Both games are nearing the end of the second period.

First Period Summary
SCORE	0	0
SHOTS ON GOAL	13	6
FACE-OFFS	5/7 - 71%	2/7 - 29%
BLOCKED SHOTS	5	3
HITS	9	4
POWER PLAY	0/0	0/0

• A definite chess match between two of the top-3 teams in goals-against average. A few decent scoring opportunities for the Bruins, 13 shots on goal, but one of the best goalies of all-time is still between the pipes for the Devils.
• The line of Sturm – Bergeron – Recchi have accounted for five of the team’s 13 in the first 20 minutes.
• The Bruins came out physical and skating well. It didn’t look like they are in their second of  back-to-back night games. This is the 16th of 17th consecutive games for the Boston — an NHL season-high.
• Chara and Seidenberg have done a good job on the blue-line for the B’s of containing the always-dangerous line of Kovalchuk – Zubrus – Zharkov to zero shots on goal.

The “giveaway” and “takeaway” stats in the NHL are tricky. NHL monitors in certain cities have different criteria for what merits a giveaway or a takeaway — all depending on the individual. Some stingy. Some biased.

Last night against Buffalo, the Bruins were accounted for six giveaways in their 3-2 loss to the Sabres. But that number is certainly higher as they turned the puck over like a rotating turnstile throughout the 60 minute contest.

Before we get into the revolving door issues here; kudos must be in order to the Sabres team for their relentless forechecking, keeping the puck in the Bruins’ zone, and clogging up the neutral zone.

But the end result: Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas gets pulled for the sixth time this season after allowing three goals on 14 Sabres shots in 26:08, as Boston fails to gain two much-needed-points in the Eastern Conference standings.

“We got our sticks in a good place quite a few times.  If you defend and you’re in the right spot and you try to squeeze some pucks through you can get those opportunities.” said Buffalo’s head coach Lindy Ruff. “I thought tonight was one of those cases where there was quite a few that went our way.”

[Click here to read more ---->]

• Marco Sturm (0-for-2 this season) gets a rare penalty shot early in the period, tries to go five-hole Sabres’ net-minder Ryan Miller, but the Team USA sensation seals the gaps and makes a routine stop.
• The play of the period so far: Vladimir Sobotka, 5′10″, leveled Sabres 6′8″ defenseman Tyler Myers with an open-ice hit right in the middle of the spoked-B in center ice.
• David Krejci gets the first goal of the game — his 17th on the season — with a highlight-reel play;  fake behind the net, pulling Miller off the left post and stuffs it home. Krejci now has 2-5–7 in his last four games, and 5-9–14 in eight of his last 10,
• Zdeno Chara gets credit with his 33rd assist of the season. Nice play by Zee to keep the puck in the zone and feeding Krejci with the pass. Chara now has a four-game point-streak with 2-3–5 totals. The Captain also has 1-5–6 in five games against Buffalo this season.
• Good forechecking by the Black-and-Gold. That tenacity must continue to create more scoring opportunities on this year’s Vezina Trophy front-runner.
• Both goals for the Sabres get a fortunate bounce off Bruins’ blue-liner, Dennis Wideman. The first goal (Myers) off  his left arm, and second one (Gaustad) a missed block off the skates.
• The 20-year-old defenseman Myers has a goal and an assist tonight, bringing his rookie season totals to 11-34–45.
• Kudos to Buffalo for adjusting to the Bruins transition out of their own zone. The Sabres have the B’s D-to-D pass behind Tim Thomas read clearly, and have clogged up the neutral zone, causing Boston to “dump-and-chase”.

First Period Summary
SCORE	1	2
SHOTS ON GOAL	14	11
FACE-OFFS	11/20 - 55%	9/20 - 45%
BLOCKED SHOTS	1	2
HITS	7	6
POWER PLAY	0/0	0/0

Sturm — Bergeron — Recchi
Wheeler — Krejci — Ryder
Lucic — Sobotka — Satan
Paille — Begin — Thornton

Chara — Seidenberg
Stuart — Wideman
Hunwick — Boychuk

Thomas
Rask

Team USA net-minders from the 2010 Winter Olympics, Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller, will most likely get the starts between the pipes for tonight’s Northeast Divisional match-up. The Bruins host the Buffalo Sabres in their fifth of six meetings this season — 3-1-0 thus far — at the TD Garden, live at 7:00 p.m. EST on Versus (HD) and TSN2.

Thomas‘ career numbers against the Sabres: 6-8-2, 3.14 goals-against average and .896 save-percentage
Year-to-date stats at home: 9-9-3, 3 SO, 2.13 GAA and a .919 SV%

Miller’s career stats vs. the Bruins: 15-5-6, 2.55 GAA and .912 SV%
Year-to-date stats on the road: 17-8-4, 3 SO, 2.30 GAA and a .926 SV%

	Year-to-date comparisons
Tim Thomas		Ryan Miller
41	Game Played-In	63
16-17-8	Overall Record	37-16-8
5	Shutouts	5
.916	Save Percentage	.929
2.50	Goals-Against Average	2.11
1,170	Total Saves	1,772

The Boston Bruins host the Northeast Division leading Buffalo Sabres tomorrow, Tuesday Mar. 29,  at the TD Garden, starting at 7:00 p.m. EST. The pregame show on 98.5 FM The Sports Hub begins at 6:30 p.m. and live action will air nationally on Versus (HD) and TSN2.

Game 75: Bruins vs. Sabres

	Stats comparisons
74	Games Played	74
34-28-12 (80)	Record	41-23-10 (92)
5-4-1	Last 10	6-3-1
7th East	Conference	3rd East
4th Northeast	Division	1st Northeast
2.39 (2nd)	Goals-against	2.45 (5th)
2.42 (30th)	Goals-for	2.81 (9th)
85.8% (2nd)	Penalty Kill	85.7% (3rd)
17.9% (17th)	Power play	17.5% (18th)

• This will be the fifth of six meetings on the season between Boston and Buffalo.  Boston has a 3-1-0 record against Buffalo this season — one OT and SO victory each — while outscoring the Sabres 10-6.
• Tomorrow night will also be the 250th meeting in their lifetime series with the Bruins holding a 113-109-29-5 record while the Sabres hold the slight 810-807 scoring edge.
• The B’s have taken six points out of their last four games, while posting 14 goals-for and just six goals-against over that span — an astounding .940 goalie save-percentage.
• A whole bunch of Bruins’ are getting hot at just the right time. Zdeno Chara is in the midst of a four-game point-streak while David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and Mark Recchi are just a few names to have posted three-game point-streaks.
• Dennis Seidenberg lit the lamp for the first time in a Bruins’ sweater, and now has 1-7–8, plus-9, and 28 SOG in his last 10.
• Tim Thomas bounced back from a dismal two-week stretch from early-mid March with a 31 save shutout of the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. Expect the reigning Vezina Trophy winner to get the back-to-back nod for the first consecutive start in nearly three-weeks.
• Milan Lucic has been a welcomed, and long-awaited, cog to the Bruins’ new power play scheme. The B’s snapped an 0-for-22 skid on Saturday by going 3-for-4 with the man-advantage. Since No. 17 has been a big-body in front of the net on the power play — two games — the Bruins are 3-for-7 in two games.
• The Bruins power play has still been white-hot, having successfully killed 16 for their last 18 times short over their last five games.

For all your Buffalo Sabres info, check out my good bud David Oleksy over at Diebytheblade.com on SBNation, and follow him on Twitter

Mar. 27 lineup:

Sturm — Bergeron — Recchi
Wheeler — Krejci — Ryder
Lucic — Sobotka — Satan
Paille — Begin — Thornton

Chara — Seidenberg
Stuart — Wideman
Hunwick — Boychuk

Thomas
Rask

IR: Marc Savard (concussion)
Probably not: Andrew Ference (hernia/groin)

The connections:

• Daniel Paille was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Sabres in 2002. The Bruins’ acquisition of Paille from Buffalo on Oct. 20, 2009 was the first ever trade between the two clubs.
• Shawn Thornton registered his first NHL career point against Buffalo.
• Miroslav Satan spent seven-plus seasons in Buffalo, registering 456 points in 578 games with the Sabres.
• Dennis Wideman was originally drafted by Buffalo, 241st overall, in the 2002 draft with Paille.
• David Krejci and Matt Hunwick each played their first NHL game against the division rivals.

*Keep tabs on Twitter