Huge game by Kuhn boosts Buffalo over Burlington, 7-3
Ryan Kuhn had two goals and one assist to lead the Buffalo Jr. Sabres to a 7-3 victory over the Burlington Cougars.
Kuhn found the back of the net 15 seconds into the second period to make the score 2-0 Buffalo and again while 11:32 into the second to make the score 3-2 Buffalo.
Referees had their hands full with a major incident at 7:03 into the third period. Four fighting penalties were dished out along with three game misconducts.
Buffalo forced its penalty killing units to work especially hard during the game, picking up eight minors and two majors for 36 minutes in penalty time. The Jr. Sabres had been averaging 14.0 minutes in penalties per game. Buffalo's offense rang up 40 shots on Burlington's net. The Jr. Sabres surpassed their usual scoring output this season. Buffalo has scored at the pace of 4.8 goals per game during the current campaign.
Buffalo also got points from Josh Gabriel, who also had one goal and two assists and Jason Heerdt, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Pat Egan also scored for Buffalo. More assists for Buffalo came via Nick Desimone, who had three, Max Mikowski and Tim Kielich, who contributed one a piece, and Ryan Schmelzer and Dylan Howatt, who each chipped in two.
The the Cougars penalty box was a popular destination as the team totaled seven minors and three majors for 29 minutes in penalty time. The total exceeded the 21.0 minutes per game Burlington had been spending in the box. The Cougars put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Jr. Sabres to score on any of their six power plays.
Burlington was helped by Tyler Lepore, who grabbed one goal and one assist. Lepore scored 9:31 into the second period to make the score 2-2. Paolo DeSousa provided the assist. Burlington additionally got points from Ryan Wilkinson, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Burlington also got a goal from Spencer Herbst as well. In addition, Burlington received assists from Neil Aird, Ryan Sullivan, and Christian Burel, who contributed one a piece.
Brandon Mueller made 22 saves for Buffalo on 25 shots. Team's Wilson Vershay, Nico Gonzalez, and Kielich were slapped with misconducts and ejected from the game. Jeremy Currie recorded 33 saves for the Cougars. Burlington registered one goal on five power play opportunities. For the Cougars, DeSousa, Brad Johnson, Burel, and Daniel Campbell were ejected from the contest.
