(Hamilton, ON) – The Buffalo Jr. Sabres finished a stretch of three road games in three consecutive days going undefeated, though the last game of this stretch, Monday evening in Hamilton, proved to be the toughest of the stops. The host Red Wings took the first lead, and both sides exchanged them until Buffalo finally gained the upper hand for good in the third period.
After Hamilton’s Dylan Hutton opened the scoring, Buffalo’s Tim Kielich tied the game at the 15:46 mark of the first period. Nathan Pelligra (photo courtesy OJHL Images) scored the first of his two goals just over a minute later.
It was in the second period when Hamilton tied the game at 2-2 before both sides exchanged leads. Scoring for Buffalo in this exchange were Tony DeVito, Max Mikowski, Pelligra again and finally Sean Federow on the power play.
The Red Wings evened the score at 6-6 at the 10:20 mark of the third period, but just one minute and five seconds later Ryan Schmelzer scored what proved to be the game winning goal. Brian Ruff added an insurance goal at the 16:05 mark.
Josh Kielich recorded three assists. Goaltender Bobby Bloomfield turned aside 34 shots to earn his fifth win of the season. The rookie backup’s record is now 5-2 and one shootout loss on the season.
With the win, the Jr. Sabres extended their current win streak to four games. Buffalo (25 wins, 8 losses, 2 shootout losses) will enjoy a day off Tuesday, then resume practices later in the week to prepare for their next game on Monday, December 10 at 7:30pm vs. the St. Michael’s Buzzers at the Northtown Center at Amherst.
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