The Buffalo Jr. Sabres pulled out a 5-4 (OT) overtime victory over the North York Rangers on a clutch goal by David Baskerville.
Buffalo overcame a three-goal deficit to capture the victory. The Jr. Sabres was down 4-1 after a goal by North York’s Ted Hunt at 9:49 in the second period. Buffalo tied things up at 4-4 on a goal by Joshua Biasillo at 2:03 in the third period.
Baskerville had a great game for the Jr. Sabres, netting two goals. Baskerville found the back of the net on the power play 11:51 into the second period to make the score 4-2 North York and again while short handed 3:25 into the fourth to make the score 5-4 Buffalo.
The Rangers were unable to stop Buffalo from sending pucks towards the net, and the Jr. Sabres eventually piled up 46 shots on goal. Buffalo could not stay out of the penalty box, as the team accrued 40 minutes in penalties during the game.
Others who scored for Buffalo included Andrew Pizzo and Griffin Lunn, who scored one goal each. More assists for Buffalo came via Tim Nicksic, Aaron Reinig, Evan Bennett, Christopher Berger, Christian DiFelice, Nicholas Bondra, Zach Evancho, and Ryan Wheeler, who contributed one each.
North York racked up the penalties in the contest, and ended with eight minors and one major for 51 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 17.0 minutes per game the Rangers had been spending in the box. North York forced the Jr. Sabres goalie Brian Kowalski to work between the pipes, taking 42 shots.
North York additionally got points from Keegan Blasby, who also had one goal and two assists. North York also got a goal from Jake Harris as well. In addition, North York received assists from Nick Campoli, who had four.
Kowalski recorded 38 saves for Buffalo. The Jr. Sabres registered two goals on seven power play opportunities. Gianluca Baggetta made 41 saves for the Rangers on 46 shots. North York registered two goals on six power play opportunities. The Rangers ran into serious disciplinary problems during the contest, and Adam Giacomin was ejected from the game.
