The Buffalo Jr. Sabres look to build off Sunday’s 7-5 victory over the North York Rangers as they host the Burlington Cougars tonight at the First Niagara Rink at HARBORCENTER. Puck drop is set for 7:35 p.m.
The Jr. Sabres recently saw some success with a ten-game winning streak, but have since lost three of the last four. No doubt they’ll look to get back on solid footing with tonight’s game.
The Jr. Sabres remain atop the South West Conference with 55 points, but the Georgetown Raiders are hot on their tails – just two points back, with three games in hand.
Buffalo has gone 26-13-1-2 this season, including 11-7-1-1 at home. The Cougars are seven points back, third in the West Division, with 48 points and a record of 23-13-0-2. They’ve gone 10-7-0-0 on the road.
The Jr. Sabres have scored the most goals this season of any team in the OJHL, with 174 goals in 42 games. They’ve also played the most games; a hadnful of teams have only played 38 games, with one team – Trenton – having played only 35!
Buffalo also leads the OJHL in penalty minutes with 958 on the season.
Captain Zach Evancho leads the Jr. Sabres with 56 points this season, including a team-high 24 goals and team-high 32 assists. David Baskerville has 41 points in as many games, while Tim Nicksic and Chris Berger have also reached the 40-point margin.
David Thomson leads the Cougars with 42 points (15-27) in 37 games, while Jordan Peacock has 39 points, including a team-high 19 goals, in 36 games. Another player to watch: Nathan Gomes, who has 38 points (14-24) in 36 games this season.
Tonight’s game is the fourth and final meeting between the Cougars and Jr. Sabres this season. Burlington has won twice over Buffalo this season, taking 3-1 and 5-2 decisions. Buffalo won the second meeting by a score of 4-3.