Jr. Sabres Win Big Over Burlington

Sixteen of the nineteen skaters who suited up for the OJHL’s Buffalo Jr. Sabres in Monday’s 14-2 win over the Burlington Cougars had at least a point, with Ryan Schmelzer leading the way with a pair of goals and a trio of assists in the victory.

Of the fourteen Buffalo goals, six were scored on the special teams – three on the power play, and three shorthanded. Both of Burlington’s goals came during 5-on-5 play.

Pat Egan opened the scoring with his 21st goal of the season at 5:48 of the first period after a cross checking penalty was delivered to Burlington’s Adam Burnett. Alex Dagnal and Schmelzer assisted on the goal, their first (but certainly not last) points of the evening.

Three and a half minutes later, Max Mikowski upped the lead with a goal at 9:16 from Nolan Sheeran and Nathan Sucese, making it 2-0 in favor of Buffalo. A quiet second half of the first period would keep it 2-0 at the end of the first.

The second and third periods would see the Jr. Sabres explode offensively, tallying five times in the middle frame and scoring seven times in the third.

It all began with an interference penalty to Buffalo’s David Seward just 2:27 into the middle frame. The Jr. Sabres would score not one, but two shorthanded goals on the penalty, with the goals coming from Nathan Pelligra and Schmelzer.

With the score now 4-0 Buffalo, it was far from over. Tim Kielich scored his first of the game at 6:54, and Schmelzer tallied his second of the night two and a half minutes later. He’s now just one shy of 20 goals on the season.

Captain Derek Patterson also scored with less than a minute remaining in the middle frame to make it 7-0 Buffalo.

The third period would be the most offensive for the Jr. Sabres, with the scoring starting just 1:23 in on a power play goal by Ryall Ledyard.

Five minutes later, Burlington tallied its first of the game, a goal by Tyler VanKleef at 6:30 of the third period. Assists were credited to Adam Ostermeier and Adam Glynn.

With the Cougars on the board, the Jr. Sabres proceeded to score five goals in three minutes and thirty-two seconds. Josh Kielich, Sean Federow, Nick Scamurra, Kollin Schultz and Nathan Sucese all scored in that brief amount of time, with the goals coming faster than you can imagine. Schultz’s goal came on the power play, while Sucese’s goal was shorthanded after a slashing penalty to Patterson.

Less than three minutes later, Josh Kielich added his second goal of the game to make it 14-1 in favor of Buffalo.

Burlington’s Mitchel Kreis would score with six seconds remaining in regulation, making the final score 14-2.

Aside from Schmelzer’s five-point night, both Patterson and Scamurra had four-point nights, with several other players tallying at least two or three points on the evening.

Jr. Sabres goaltender Bobby Bloomfield had 18 saves in the victory, while Cougars goaltender Alex Murray played the full sixty minutes, allowing 14 goals on 43 shots faced.

The Jr. Sabres will play next on Tuesday, December 15 with a home game against the Orangeville Flyers at 7:30 p.m.With a 27-1-1-0-3-11 record and 61 points, the Jr. Sabres are at the top of the OJHL West Division and South West Conference, and just one point shy of the league lead.