Michael Ederer lifted the Buffalo Jr. Sabres to a 7-2 victory with a hat trick against the Burlington Cougars.
Ederer notched his first tally 3:27 into the first period. He then added goals at 3:34 into the first and at 17:57 into the third.
Buffalo pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 35 penalty minutes.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 3:42 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.
The Jr. Sabres’ penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on seven Burlington power plays. Buffalo forced Burlington goalie Jeremy Currie to work between the pipes, taking 48 shots. The Jr. Sabres bested their season scoring average. Buffalo averages 4.6 goals per game.
Buffalo additionally got points from Max Mikowski, who also had two goals and one assist. Buffalo also had goals scored by Darren McCormick and Ryan Kuhn, who scored one goal each. In addition, Buffalo received assists from Nick Desimone, who had two, Josh Gabriel, who had three, and Mason Evans, Nico Gonzalez, Tim Kielich, Dylan Howatt, and Dylan Gamble, who contributed one a piece.
The the Cougars penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled seven minors and one major for 29 minutes in penalty time. Burlington surpassed its season average of 21.0 penalty minutes per game. The Jr. Sabres were unable to stop the Cougars from sending pucks towards the net, and Burlington eventually piled up 33 shots on goal.
Buffalo’s Joseph Pianta stopped 31 shots out of the 33 that he faced. The Jr. Sabres registered zero goals on two power play opportunities. Buffalo ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Gamble was ejected from the game. Jeremy Currie made 41 saves for the Cougars on 48 shots. For Burlington, Paolo DeSousa and Tyler Lepore were ejected from the contest.
