RJ's Last Call is Friday

After 51 years behind the microphone, Rick Jeanneret is calling it a career.
The long-time Buffalo Sabres play-by-play announcer will broadcast his final game Friday night when the Sabres host the Chicago Blackhawks at KeyBank Center.
Tickets for the game are on sale now. For those unable to attend, pregame coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSG. Faceoff is set for 7 on MSG and WGR 550. Check your local TV listings for a schedule of re-airings over the weekend.
Using the Mixhalo app, fans at the game can bring their headphones and listen to RJ's final broadcast live without delay in the arena bowl on their smartphone.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative "RJ's Last Call" T-shirt. "Last Call" content throughout the season has been presented by Wegmans.
Fans will be able to send RJ off with various concourse activations including photos in front of both a "Thank You, RJ" banner and alpha lit letters. Fans can also fill out a placard upon arrival to share a special message with RJ.
After the game, fans are encouraged to stay in their seats to salute Jeanneret one final time.

This season, RJ was honored when a banner celebrating his career was unveiled in the rafters of KeyBank Center alongside those of other Sabres greats.
Jeanneret's banner joined those honoring alumni Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Rene Robert, Tim Horton, Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine and Dominik Hasek, and original owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox.

"RJ Forever," the latest episode of "Beyond Blue and Gold" presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at that special night. It will premiere Tuesday at 7 p.m. on Sabres.com and the team's YouTube channel.
Jeanneret, the longest-tenured broadcaster in hockey, called his first Sabres game on the radio on October 10, 1971. He joined the team's TV broadcast in 1995.

His memorable calls and player nicknames have become forever linked with Sabres history for generations of fans. Fans recently voted "May Day!," which immortalized Brad May's overtime goal in Game 4 of the 1993 Adams Division Seminfals over the Boston Bruins as his greatest call of all time. His signature call of "Top Shelf Where Mama Hides The Cookies" inspired an ice cream flavor.
Jeanneret's career officially began in 1963, when the St. Catharines, Ontario native filled in for the regular announcer at a Niagara Falls Flyers (Junior A) game. He went on to become the color analyst for one season before moving to the play-by-play position in 1965.
RJ is a member of the Sabres Hall of Fame, the Hockey Hall of Fame (as the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 2012), the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Township of Terrace Bay, Ontario's Sports Wall of Fame, and is even an honorary member of the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame.
Jeanneret currently resides in Niagara Falls, Ontario with his wife, Sandra. He has two sons, Mark and Chris, and a stepdaughter, Shelly.