(Newmarket, ON) – Hopefully the better-late-than-never turkey, stuffing, cranberries and pie will take away the bitter taste left in the mouths of Buffalo Junior Sabres players who spent their Thanksgiving holiday watching a third period lead slip away. Jeff DiNallo scored all the goals for the host Newmarket Hurricanes, who came from behind to send Buffalo home with a 4-3 loss.
Buffalo’s Mark Arnone opened the scoring in the first period and added a second goal on the power play in the second period. Shane Bennett also scored for the Jr. Sabres. Parker Gahagen got the start in front of the Buffalo net and turned aside 26 shots. Matthew Wintjes stopped 21 of 24 shots for the Hurricanes.
The Junior Sabres will return home then spend more time on the road this holiday weekend, traveling back across the border to Georgetown to face the Raiders on Saturday night.
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Prior to the game, a ceremony was held to honor Ontario Junior Hockey League players who participated in the World Junior A Challenge, held earlier this month in Langley, British Columbia. Players honored in the pregame ceremony played for Team Canada East, who finished as silver medal winners. Among those honored were Newmarket players Jeff DiNallo, Daniel Leavens and Jason Pucciarelli. Also on hand to be honored were David Friedmann (Toronto Jr. Canadiens), Paul Geiger (Stouffville Spirit), Patrick Megannety (Georgetown Raiders), assistant coach Jason Nobili (Toronto Jr. Canadiens) and assistant coach Greg Walters (Georgetown Raiders).
