AMHERST, NY – Buffalo Junior Sabres head coach and general manager Michael Peca and forward Tyler Gjurich have been honored by the Ontario Hockey Association as their Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.
The OHA, which is headquartered in Cambridge, Ont., governs a majority of the junior and senior level hockey leagues throughout the province, including the Ontario Junior Hockey League, in which the Jr. Sabres compete.
Peca, who steered the team to a first-place finish in the OJHL West division during the 2012-13 season, becomes the first coach in Jr. Sabres franchise history to receive this honor by the OHA.
Gjurich is the second player in franchise history to be named the OHA’s Player of the Year. The first was Chris Moran, who received the honor in 2005 during the team’s Buffalo Lightning era. Moran later went on to play college hockey at Niagara University. Gjurich has committed to the University of Maine beginning next fall.
OHA officials will present both men with their awards in a ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Friday, June 7.
