(Oakville, ON) – All eyes are now on Tyler Gjurich in anticipation as he seeks his 50th goal of the season. However, Saturday night at Oakville was instead one of Parker Gahagen’s finest hours as he turned aside 54 shots and allowed just one goal, as the Jr. Sabres downed the host Blades, 5-1.
Buffalo jumped into an early two-goal lead in the just the first two and a half minutes of play. David Seward scored his 12th goal of the season at the 1:09 mark, assisted by Gjurich and Ryan Schmelzer. Alex Dagnal made it 2-0 in favor of the visitors at the 2:25 mark, assisted by Brian Ruff and Nolan Sheeran.
Just 33 seconds into the second period Buffalo built its lead to 3-0. Tony DeVito, a defenseman for most of the season who was recently moved to forward, scored his second goal of the season, assisted by Ryall Ledyard. Oakville got several power play opportunities in the second period, putting 23 shots on Gahagen in that period alone. The Blades finally beat Gahagen on a power play at the 10:41 mark. Greg Campbell scored the goal, assisted by the Renouf brothers Jonah and Nathan.
The third period belonged to Buffalo, as Seward scored his 13th goal of the season at the 2:18 mark, assisted by Ruff and Sean Federow, followed by Sheeran’s 16th goal of the season at the 11:40 mark, assisted by Ruff and ex-Blade Sean Federow.
Gahagen was named the game’s first star, with Federow and Jr. Sabre Nick Scamurra earning second and third star honors, respectively. Oakville’s Evan Buitenhuis stopped 22 of 27 Buffalo shots on goal.
With the Georgetown Raiders also victorious on Saturday night, the Jr. Sabres remained in first place in the Ontario Junior Hockey League West Division by one point, with one game in hand. Buffalo next plays at home on Sunday night, February 17, beginning at 7:30pm against the Mississauga Chargers on Alumni Reunion Night.
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Photo of Gahagen courtesy OJHL Images
