A hat trick by Josh Gabriel was the highlight in Jr. Sabres’ 11-3 win against the Orangeville Flyers.
Gabriel notched his first tally 18:58 into the first period. He then added goals at 2:48 into the third and at 16:08 into the third.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 17:30 into the second period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.
The Buffalo Jr. Sabres forced their penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up six minors and one major for 17 minutes in penalty time. Buffalo had been averaging 14.0 minutes in penalties per game. The Jr. Sabres put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow Orangeville to score on any of its five power plays. The Flyers were unable to stop Buffalo from sending pucks towards the net, and the Jr. Sabres eventually piled up 69 shots on goal. Buffalo outdid its season average for goals scored. The Jr. Sabres have scored at the pace of 4.8 goals per game during the current campaign.
Buffalo also got points from Darren McCormick, who also tallied two goals and three assists, Michael Ederer, who also registered two goals and one assist, and Nick Desimone, who also racked up one goal and two assists. Pat Egan also scored for Buffalo. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Ryan Kuhn, who had two, Dennis Gilbert, who had three, Nolan Sheeran, who had five, and Ben Casale, Nathan Black, and Dylan Gamble, who contributed one a piece.
Orangeville was often in penalty trouble, totaling six minors and one major for 27 minutes in penalty time. The Flyers surpassed its season average of 21.0 penalty minutes per game. Orangeville’s offense rang up 32 shots on Buffalo’s net.
The Flyers were helped by Emmerson Small, who finished with one goal. Small scored 3:40 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Orangeville. Lucas Smilsky assisted on the tally. Others who scored for Orangeville included Colin Rigney and Brad APJ Bollert, who scored one goal each. More assists for Orangeville came via Devon Gillham, Matt Mercer, and Austin Kozluk, who contributed one a piece.
Brandon Mueller made 29 saves for the Jr. Sabres on 32 shots. Buffalo registered one goal on five power play opportunities. The Jr. Sabres ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Dylan Howatt was ejected from the game. Rob Kopytek rejected 58 shots on goal for Orangeville. For the Flyers, Gillham was ejected from the game.
