Sabres Scythe Through Slayers

Mike Sullivan's third period goal broke a 3-3 third period tie between the Sunnydale Slayers and the Lite-Sabres en route to a 7-3 Sabres victory. Despite the victory, the Sabres remain in 5th place overall with a 2-3 record. The Slayers drop to 3-3, in a tie with the ADC Lynx -- although the Lynx have one game in hand.

The Slayers got off to a good start, however, thanks to some hard work behind the net by Chris Griffin. Griffin won a battle behind the Sabres net and fed the ball to Phil Pellerin, who neatly beat Sabres goaltender Chris McMaster glove-side.

The Sabres tied the game shortly thereafter when defenseman Adam Pettigrew let a shot go from behind the center line that was deflected by Chad Griffin to Dave Watson who tapped the ball into the gaping net. Sabres forward Damien Ho was able to give the Sabres a 2-1 first period lead with a great solo effort behind the Slayers goal. Ho somehow managed to beat Slayers goalie Paul Chui with a shot that appeared to be taken from an impossible angle.

The Slayers started strongly in the second period again as Glenn McCullough tapped home a rebound from a Rob Tyrrell shot. The Slayers retook the lead when defenseman Rene Aucoin's point shot found its way through traffic and into the Sabres net. But it was Watson who tied the game for the second time in the game when he scored on a Mike Sullivan pass to knot the score at three at the end of the second period.

The Sabres built on that goal in the third period, scoring all 4 of the period's goals. Sullivan's early third period goal turned out to be his first career regular season game-winning goal. Another Ho goal and two by Dave MacKenzie, including one worthy of the highlight-reel, finished off the scoring for the Sabres.

McMaster was playing his first game in goal of the season, after taking the first half of the season off with a shoulder injury. McMaster faced his 2000th career regular season shot in the third period. His .946 save percentage was the third highest mark in a regular season game. Meanwhile, Chui raised his season save percentage mark to .836 which would be the fourth best regular season mark in league history.

After scoring no game winners with his first 10 victories with the Sabres, Mike Sullivan now has 2 of the last 3 game-winning goals for his team (including playoffs). This was also the first game in Rob Tyrrell's 18 game career in which he failed to score a goal. Adam Pettigrew's assist on a Dave MacKenzie goal was Pettigrew's first career point. The league is reportedly having the milestone ball bronzed for placement in the hall of fame.