The Buffalo Jr. Sabres had a five-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 10-4 win over the Hamilton Red Wings.
Buffalo got the win on the strength of a great game by Josh Gabriel, who had two goals and one assist. Gabriel scored the first of his two goals at 3:43 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Buffalo. Max Mikowski picked up the assist. Gabriel’s next tally made the score 7-2 Buffalo with 35 seconds left in the second period. Nick Desimone provided the assist.
The Jr. Sabres made Hamilton’s netminders to work between the pipes, taking 40 shots and forcing 30 saves. Corey Foster made 18 stops and Mark Sinclair made 12. Buffalo bested its season scoring average. This season, the Jr. Sabres average 4.8 goals per contest. Buffalo took advantage of the Red Wings’ penalties, tallying three goals off of five power play opportunities.
Buffalo also got points from Michael Ederer, who also registered one goal and one assist, Mikowski, who also had one goal and one assist, Ben Casale, who also tallied one goal and one assist, and Pat Egan, who also had one goal and one assist. Buffalo also got a goal from Darren McCormick as well. More assists for Buffalo came via Dennis Gilbert, Mason Evans, Ryan Kuhn, Tim Kielich, and Joseph Pianta, who contributed one a piece and Nick Smith and Nolan Sheeran, who each chipped in two.
Hamilton was helped by Alex Zaccaria, who registered one goal. Zaccaria scored 16:44 into the second period to make the score 4-2 Buffalo. Josh Chiarot picked up the assist. Hamilton additionally got points from Corey Caruso, who also grabbed one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Others who scored for Hamilton included Chance MacDonald and Marco Mattina, who each put in one. In addition, Hamilton received assists from Luke Sinclair, Ryan Laufman, Niko Porikos, and Josh LaFrance, who contributed one a piece.
Pianta rejected 18 shots on goal for the Jr. Sabres. Buffalo incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors. The Red Wings totaled 13 minutes in penalty time with four minors and one major and went 1-for-3 on the power play. For Hamilton, Joel Knight was ejected from the game.
