Ontario Junior Hockey League
Buffalo Jr. Sabres vs. Kingston Voyageurs
Northtown Center at Amherst
February 17, 2014
Kingston Voyageurs 6, Buffalo Jr. Sabres 5 – Shootout
AMHERST, NY – Cole Bolton scored the winning goal in the shootout to lift the visiting Kingston Voyageurs over the Buffalo Jr. Sabres, 6-5, at the Northtown Center at Amherst on Monday evening.
Buffalo opened the score 8:20 into the first period when Dennis Gilbert fired the puck past Kingston netminder Alex Brooks-Potts. Brody Heleno and Adam Brady replied with two goals to put the Voyageurs in front, 2-1 at the first intermission.
Nolan Sheeran evened the score 6:47 into the second period, but then Alex Tonge scored twice to put Kingston up, 4-2. Buffalo’s Pat Egan scored his 30th goal of the season late in the second period to cut the lead to 4-3.
Buffalo tied the game just under two and a half minutes into the third period on Ben Casale’s goal. Brett Seney put the Voyageurs back in front, 5-4, halfway through the third period. Then, with a power play awarded to Buffalo and Jr. Sabres goalie Joseph Pianta pulled in favor of an extra skater, Michael Ederer fired a low shot from the point that found its way through traffic and evened the score.
Overtime could not determine a winner. In the shootout, Ederer scored Buffalo’s only goal. Tonge succeeded on his shot before Bolton put in his winner.
Pianta made 34 saves for Buffalo (29 wins, 14 losses, 3 OT losses, 3 shootout losses) while Brooks-Potts made 40 stops for the Voyageurs (38 wins, 11 losses, 1 OT loss, 2 shootout losses).
The Jr. Sabres have a busy final week of the regular season with four games in four consecutive days, from Wednesday through Saturday, including two makeup dates from games postponed by severe winter weather. The Jr. Sabres host Hamilton in the Olympic Rink at the Northtown Center at Amherst on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. On Thursday, they host the Whitby Fury at 7:30 p.m. at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo. They then travel to Aurora and Orangeville to finish the regular season on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Jr. Sabres have clinched a playoff spot but await their first-round opponent, pending the completion of games and final standings.
