Micron Gold Sabres defeat Blue, 9-7

The Micron Gold Sabres challenged the Blue Sabres on Sunday on the Olympic Rink of the Amherst Pepsi Center. The Micron Gold Sabres defeated the Blue Sabres, 9-7, in a cross-ice pairing.

Elisabeth Sidorski scored a sweet wraparound goal to give the Gold Sabres an early lead. Less than two minutes later, Gold Sabre Ray Faran fired a shot deep in the Blue Sabre net. Gold Sabre netminder Paulie Cartone stonewalled a nice shot by Liam Gallagher.

Sabre Blue goalie Rachael Juneau faced steady pressure from a strong Gold Sabre squad. Sidorski went on a breakaway to net her second goal of the game. In the first period, Juneau was called upon to stop shots by Alex Pronobis and Faran.

The Blue Sabres got on the board after Dante Santora scored on a breakaway. Teammate Kellen Pulera earned the Blue Sabres' second goal after he lifted the puck over the goalie's left side. However, Faran answered back for the Gold Sabres quickly as he scored off a rebound. Faran and Sidorski were called upon defensively to bust up plays by Blue Sabres Calogeno Santora and Eli Utz.

Blue Sabre linemates Santora, Theodore Gogos, Donovan McCann, and Liam Evenson were involved in a scrum in front of the Gold Sabre net with Santora awarded a second goal. Gold Sabre Anthony Trigilio responded by earning a breakaway goal. With 7.6 seconds remaining in the first period, Gold Sabre Alex Dane rocketed a shot from center ice to impress the crowd and give the Gold a 6-3 lead at the end of the first period.

Only 57 seconds into the second period, Gold Sabre Trigilio stickhandled through traffic to earn his second goal. A mere 33 seconds later, Sidorski picked up the puck and deked Juneau to earn a hat trick.

Blue Sabre Alexander Scarozza scored after the Gold Sabre netminder was down after having made an initial save on a Blue Sabre attack. Salvatore Farrauto earned the Blue Sabres' second goal of the period, with the assistance of linemates Liam Gallagher, Gianna Santora, and Scarozza. Scarozza was impressive as he earned his second goal after a high shot to the top corner of the Gold Sabre net.

Faran broke up the Blue Sabres' scoring rally as he scored off a wrister to secure his hat trick. Gold Sabre Michael Kaplan had a nice shot on net but was denied by Juneau.

The Gold Sabres benefited from the two-way hustle of John Courtney and Thomas Peers. Ryan Curtin was key on defense as he skated hard to move the Blue attackers.

Cartone made a nice stick save on a shot by Blue Sabre Dante Santora, but Santora was able to score off his own rebound to earn a hat trick.

Cartone was strong in net throughout the game as he was forced to use stick, pads, and gloves to stop several shots by the Blue Sabre offense.

Micron Gold Sabres

defeat Gray Sabres, 5-4

The Micron Gold Sabres ended 2006 on a high note as they defeated the Gray Sabres, 5-4, on Dec. 31 at the Amherst Pepsi Center.

Gold Sabre Jake Wehr started the scoring early as he broke away to put the Gold on the board. Matthew Bielinski assisted on a goal by Ryan Meade to earn the Gray Sabres' first tally. Wehr played strong defensively as he busted up a play by Gray Sabre Andrew Bruno.

Gold Sabre Anthony Trigilio was on fire as he earned two impressive breakaway goals prior to the end of the first period. Gold Sabre netminder Alex Dane was sharp in net as he stonewalled a Gray Sabre attack by Charleigh Rondeau and Matthew Bielinski.

In the second period, the Gray Sabres celebrated Jack Ohle's first goal of the season. However, the Gold Sabres responded quickly as Trigilio lifted the puck top shelf to earn a hat trick.

Dane and the Gray Sabres' Alex Cicero each played strong in net. Cicero thwarted a breakaway attack by the Gold Sabres' Elisabeth Sidorski. Dane returned the favor as he blocked two separate attacks by Colin Mack.

Gray Sabre Andrew Bruno came alive late in the second period as he scored two unassisted goals to tie the game at 4-4. Gray Sabre Lorenzo Zendano was impressive on defense as he fought hard to protect his net.

The two teams continued to battle evenly throughout the third period. Gold Sabre Victoria Pitman fired a shot from in front of the Gray Sabres' net to earn the game-winning goal.

The Gold Sabres benefited from strong play of Paul Cartone, Thomas Peers, Ray Faran, John Courtney, Ryan Curtin, Michael Kaplan, and Alex Pronobis.