© Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images

MUNICH — JJ Peterka had the night of his life.

“Unbelievable,” the Buffalo Sabres forward said.

Peterka scored the last goal in the Sabres’ 5-0 win against EHC Red Bull Munchen in the 2024 NHL Global Series Challenge Germany presented by Fastenal in front of a sellout crowd of 10,796 at the grand opening of SAP Garden.

But Friday night was about way more than just scoring a goal and getting a win, the Sabres looking pretty good in doing so too.

Peterka was born in Munich. He was raised here. He learned how to play hockey here. He played for Red Bull from 2019-21. He lives here in the offseason. He knows many of the players on the Red Bull team. He trained with them this summer.

This was a big night for him, maybe the biggest in his NHL career when you factor in the Bavarian pride he carries with him and the opportunity to show it off to his teammates, family members, friends and the fans.

And man did it deliver.

“It was way better than I expected,” Peterka said. “I was a little nervous before the day. That didn’t happen in a long time. Just super excited for the day and it just got better and better.”

Peterka started the night by kicking off Buffalo’s pregame warmups with a solo lap, the kind typically reserved for rookies making their NHL debut. He didn’t know it was going to happen, but his Sabres’ teammates made him do it.

Fans chanted his name as he skated around the rink, the colors changing in the arena from red to blue, the Red Bull colors. Many in the stands were wearing his Sabres No. 77 jersey and some even the No. 77 jersey that he wore as a player for Red Bull.

“Them yelling my name, just super special for me,” Peterka said. “It meant a lot.”

Peterka finished the game scoring Buffalo’s last goal at 3:48 of the third period, a short side wrist shot from the right circle that made up for the wide-open chance he missed in the right circle on the other side of the ice in the second period.

“I was hoping he would get another couple chances, and the next one he got he put in the back of the net,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “That’s a sign of a goal scorer.”

He wasn’t done yet.

After doing several postgame interviews in German and English, Peterka was walking back to the Sabres dressing room when he heard a group of kids screaming his name. They were hanging over the tunnel that led the Sabres onto the ice.

He went over to them and for the next 10 or so minutes signed autographs and took selfies.

“Super proud,” Peterka said.

© Dan Rosen

He felt that pride before the game, when he saw his teammates getting off the bus and walking into the rink wearing the traditional Oktoberfest lederhosen.

“I would say that I have imported the Bavarian culture into the team,” Peterka said in German translated to English. “I think Tage Thompson looked really sharp because his lederhosen was so tight. It looked a bit like a hot pant, but I must admit that everyone looked great.”

Ruff and the assistant coaches wore traditional German hats while standing on the bench.

“Gotta pay a little homage to the tradition here in Germany,” Ruff said. “We all want to be a part of it. The players did a good job of it.”

The atmosphere made the experience memorable for the Sabres.

The fans in the packed standing room only section banged their drums, did their chants and waved their flags from the beginning to the end.

© Dan Rosen

In fact, at one point in the third period the fans in that section screamed something in German. It was to encourage the rest of the fans in the building to stand up. At this point it was already 5-0 Buffalo, but everybody stood up and chanted and clapped as play continued.

Everyone stood again with two minutes remaining in the third period and stayed on their feet cheering, chanting, clapping, banging drums and waving flags until the final buzzer.

“That was awesome,” Thompson said. “It was better than what I was expecting. JJ told me heading into it that it was going to be like a soccer match, football for you guys here, and it was awesome. It was electric the whole night.”

It was special for the fans too.

For Marcel Esser, who lives 40 minutes south of Munich in Dietramszell, it was the first time he got to see his favorite NHL team play in person. Esser became a Sabres fan in the late 1980s when they had German-born Uwe Krupp. He wore his blue Sabres jersey to the game.

“It was not easy getting a ticket,” Esser said. “I’m so very happy to be here.”

© Dan Rosen

Katie Mumbach-Kay and Nicole Karek came all the way from Buffalo to be a part of it. They’re both Sabres season ticket holders at KeyBank Center. They arrived in Munich on Wednesday, went to Oktoberfest on Thursday and the game Friday.

“I’ve always wanted to come to Germany so this was a good reason,” Mumbach-Kay said. “To have it be their opener here is just cool too just to be a part of it. And we’re fans of Peterka. I’m always a fan of the German players. I loved Jochen Hecht so it feels like I have always just had a tie to Germany. So when we got Peterka I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my dude now.’ “

Her dude had a big night, one that will absolutely go down as a career highlight.

“Just super grateful,” Peterka said.