The Buffalo Jr. Sabres’ Ryan Schmelzer had a big offensive game, scoring two goals and contributing two assists in his team’s 7-4 win over the Pickering Panthers.
Schmelzer’s tallies came at 1:43 into the third period to make the score 4-2 Pickering and on the power play 16:19 into the third to make the score 5-4 Buffalo.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 9:14 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with two game misconducts.
Buffalo forced Pickering goalie Steven Dombrosky to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots. The Jr. Sabres found the back of the net more times than it usually has this season. Buffalo has scored at the pace of 4.7 goals per game during the current campaign. The Jr. Sabres capitalized on the Panthers’ penalties, netting three goals while skating with a man advantage.
Buffalo additionally got points from Darren McCormick, who also tallied one goal and two assists, Nick Desimone, who also had one goal and two assists, Max Mikowski, who also registered two goals and two assists to lead the team in points, and Nolan Sheeran, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Other players who recorded assists for Buffalo were Tony DeVito, Michael Ederer, and Dylan Howatt, who contributed one a piece.
Pickering’s defensemen played an important role in the offense, chipping in two goals.
The Panthers were led by Michael Walker, who finished with one goal and two assists. Walker scored 12:32 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Pickering. Nicholas Lepone provided the assist. Pickering also got points from Lepone, who also tallied one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Pickering included Tanner Shaw and Ian Chen APM, who each put in one. In addition, Pickering received assists from Keegan Ackerland, who had two and Matteo Condotta and Doug Carter, who each chipped in one.
Joseph Pianta made 25 saves for Buffalo on 29 shots. The Jr. Sabres ended with seven minutes in penalty time with one minor and one major. Buffalo ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Josh Gabriel was ejected from the game. Dombrosky recorded 25 saves for Pickering. The Panthers totaled 16 minutes in penalty time with three minors and two majors and had no power play opportunities. For Pickering, Mark Tenuta and Riley Devine were ejected from the contest.