Behind a great game by Zach Evancho, who had one goal and two assists, the Buffalo Jr. Sabres defeated the Milton Icehawks, 5-2.
Evancho got on the board by slotting home a power play goal 8:56 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Buffalo. Buffalo had gotten the advantage when Milton’s Colt Jaime was sent off for interference. Ryan Kuhn picked up the assist. Evancho dished an assist on Daniel Lafontaine‘s goal that made the score 1-1 at 7:15 into the second period. He added another helper on Kuhn’s goal that made the score 5-1 Buffalo at 12:16 into the third period.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 10:18 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with four game misconducts.
The Jr. Sabres kept the Icehawks’ goalie busy throughout the game, and Jonathan Travers made 33 saves on 38 shots.
Buffalo also got points from Kuhn, who also tallied one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. Others who scored for Buffalo included Josh Gabriel and Chris Moses, who each put in one. In addition, Buffalo received assists from Aiden Salerno, Max McCutcheon, Christopher Berger, Ben Casale, and Bray Crowder, who each chipped in one.
Milton racked up the penalties in the contest, and ended with 11 minors and one major for 27 minutes in penalty time. The Icehawks surpassed its season average of 22.0 penalty minutes per game.
Milton was helped by Steven Goeree, who finished with one goal. Goeree scored 3:08 into the second period to make the score 1-0 Milton. Lucas Martellacci assisted on the tally. Ryan Taylor also scored for Milton. Other players who recorded assists for Milton were Sean Perichak, who had one.
Buffalo’s Nicholas Vilardo stopped 14 shots out of the 16 that he faced. The Jr. Sabres totaled 15 minutes in penalty time with five minors and one major and went 3-for-9 on the power play. Buffalo ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Brenden Dunning was ejected from the game. The Icehawks registered one goal on three power play opportunities. Team’s Goeree and Brendan Doherty were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game.
