In a game where neither team could get a cushion, the St. Michaels Buzzers escaped with a 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.
No lead was more than two goals during the contest, and the winning goal was scored by Dalton Barnes at 14:43 of the second period.
Barnes had a great game for St. Michaels, netting two goals.
The Buzzers’ Mark Manolescu was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 25 saves and let only one puck past him. The solid play of Manolescu will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 3.25.
St. Michaels stifled Buffalo’s power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man.
St. Michaels also got points from A.J. Dorazio, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. St. Michaels also had goals scored by Noah Jordan and Cameron Wright, who each put in one. More assists for St. Michaels came via Sean Kohler, who had one, Mark Paolini, who had two, and Luke Branco and Thomas Beretta, who contributed three each.
The Jr. Sabres put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Buzzers to score on any of their three power plays. St. Michaels was unable to stop Buffalo from sending pucks towards the net, and the Jr. Sabres eventually piled up 32 shots on goal.
Buffalo was led by Zach Evancho, who racked up one goal and one assist. Evancho scored 1:51 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Buffalo. Brenden Dunning picked up the assist. Others who scored for Buffalo included Aaron Reinig and Bryce Ferrell, who scored one goal each. In addition, Buffalo received assists from Tim Nicksic, Nicholas Bondra, and David Baskerville, who each chipped in one.
The Buzzers incurred 10 minutes in penalty time with five minors. The Jr. Sabres’ Brian Kowalski stopped 24 shots out of the 29 that he faced. Buffalo incurred 18 minutes in penalty time with four minors.
