The blade gang is moving from the sidewalk to the ice-level spotlight on Tuesday, when the group will officially bang the drum ahead of Game 5 between the Sabres and Bruins at KeyBank Center. For nine boys from South Buffalo, ages 18 to 24, a playoff ritual that started outside the rink is now part of the building’s routine.
South Buffalo Friends
The Blade Gang is made up of childhood friends and hockey teammates: Sean Maloney, Jack Ellis, Danny Maloney, Alex Pawlik, Ian Macvie, Jackson Soto, Luke Soto, Tommy Maloney, and Michael Bollenbacher. The full crew is about 15 friends strong, but this group of nine has become the face of the run.
Jackson Soto first drew attention at the start of the playoffs when he was filmed blading through the South Buffalo suburbs in full uniform. From there, the group’s visibility widened fast, and the attention pushed the ritual out of the neighborhood and into playoff conversation.
Bob the Dummy
The viral turn came when the group fought a dummy outside KeyBank Center and TD Garden. The dummy wore a Boston Bruins Cam Neely jersey, and Sabres fans Nick Mastrocovo and Mike Lewandowski created it; Mastrocovo bought it in Rochester after finding it on Facebook Marketplace before Game 1.
“We’re taking him out. He’s got a Boston jersey on. He’s dead,” the Blade Gang said about the dummy. Lewandowski said, “That’s the video that went viral where he threw his glove in the air, and it wasn’t planned,” and added, “He fell backwards and fell, and the dummy got tackled, and by that time, there had to be a couple of thousand people watching. It was just so much fun. The atmosphere just took off from there.”
Nick Mastrocovo said, “It’s been absolutely crazy. You know we went down there just to maybe make some people laugh and have some fun and joke around,” which fits the scale of what followed. Paul Bisonette, Dave Portnoy, and Lindy Ruff all remarked on the group after they went viral, and Ruff said, “I’d actually like to play with those guys,” after the Boston takeover.
KeyBank Center Tuesday
Max Maloney said the group had planned to go home the morning before Game 4 in Boston, but stayed another night. “We were planning on going home this morning,” he said. “But it’s gotten so big, I’m like, let’s stay another night. I think what we’re gonna do is just pregame rollerblade and then watch (Game 4) in the car on the way home.”
That kind of answer tells you where this has landed: a homegrown playoff stunt has become a schedule item inside an NHL game night, with the crew expected back in Buffalo for Game 5. The group said, “That place is going to be rocked out,” and added, “We’re going to be rocking out for. We’re going to have all the boys there, and Neely’s going to be back. He’s gonna be suited up. We’re going to be ready to go.”
For the Sabres, the smart move is obvious: let the local ritual ride, because the Blade Gang is already doing what playoff teams want from their own crowd — bringing noise, a story, and a roomful of friends who will show up again. Tuesday turns that online joke into an arena beat, and KeyBank Center gets the version that people outside Buffalo have already been watching.
