The Burlington Cougars tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Buffalo Jr. Sabres held on for a 4-3 victory.
A goal by Joshua Biasillo put Buffalo up 3-1 in the second period, but Burlington pulled to within one on Jack Jeffers‘s tally 18:14 into the third period.
The Jr. Sabres were sparked by Christopher Berger, who tallied one goal and one assist. Berger scored 19:05 into the third period to make the score 4-3 Buffalo. Tim Nicksic picked up the assist.
Buffalo forced the Cougars goalie Andrew Lee to work between the pipes, taking 39 shots. The Jr. Sabres could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 52 minutes in penalties during the game.
Buffalo also got points from Nicksic, who also registered one goal and one assist. Buffalo also got a goal from David Baskerville as well. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Christian DiFelice, Andrew Pizzo, Brenden Dunning, and Griffin Lunn, who contributed one each.
Burlington put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Buffalo to score on any of its five power plays. The Cougars kept the Jr. Sabres’ goalie busy throughout the game, and Brian Kowalski made 34 saves on 37 shots. Burlington’s penalty killing units received substantial work throughout the game as the Cougars finished with 46 penalty minutes.
Burlington was helped by Daniel Volpe, who grabbed one goal. Volpe scored 18:27 into the third period to make the score 3-3. David Thomson assisted on the tally. Mike Faliero also scored for Burlington. In addition, Burlington received assists from Zac Herrmann, Devin Pierce, Ben Morris, and Samuel Gagnon, who each chipped in one.
Lee recorded 35 saves for the Cougars. Burlington registered two goals on eight power play opportunities. The Cougars ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Volpe was ejected from the game.
