Squirt Gray Sabres blank Sharks

The Squirt Gray Sabres took another step toward Super Sunday by defeating the Sharks, 6-0, on Saturday on Rink 2 of the Amherst Pepsi Center.

A standing room only crowd was treated to playoff hockey with both teams playing with high intensity and talent.

The Gray Sabres jumped on the Sharks early. Just 90 seconds into the game, Austin Maciok chipped a pass of the boards to Angelo Derossi who sent a rocket toward Sharks' goalie Alex Bender. Bender made the save but Katelyn Koester found the rebound and buried it into the twine.

About two minutes later, Connor Koester started a nice breakout with a crisp pass to his defensive partner, Mark Giangreco. Giangreco carried the puck into the Sharks' zone and crashed the net. Once again, Bender saved the day but a determined Gabe Jewula fought through the Sharks' defense to tip the puck by Bender to make the score 2-0.

Having scored so quickly, the Gray Sabres relaxed and the Sharks gained momentum. Ben Wald, Cameron Czora, Nasir Dara, Nick Peters, and Girard Marotto peppered Gray Sabres goalie Joe Burke.

The Gray Sabres took two penalties toward the end of the period and the Sharks tried everything to even the score.

The second period was similar to the first. The Gray Sabres jumped on the Sharks early in the second period. One minute into the period, Jack Cooper skated from his end to the Sharks blue line before sending a perfect pass to Derossi. Derossi spotted Koester by the post and slid the puck to her for her second goal.

Three minutes later, Koester spotted Giangreco along the boards. He fed him a crisp pass and Giangreco brought the puck into the Sharks' zone before unleashing a cannon at Bender. Bender blocked the shot but JB Beck was waiting and pounced on the rebound.

Once again, the momentum shifted to the Sharks. Tim Kreuz, Jeff Terragnoli, Joe Kramer, and Brendan Quagliana showed no quit but Emma Hubert, Brian Kowalski, Antonio Zendano, and Benjamin Lackner kept the pressure on the Sharks and limited their opportunities. The second period ended with the Gray Sabres leading 4-0.

The Gray Sabres increased their lead about four minutes into the third period. The Sharks' defense of Colin Lawrence, Nick Vermilye, Chris Horton, Nick Bucello, Jacob Mogerman, and Mathias Williams began to tire. Derossi combined again with Koester as Derossi got the goal. Cooper began the play with a fantastic breakout pass.

One minute later, Peter Gossels and Giangreco skated the puck out of their own zone before hitting Jewula in stride down the middle of the ice. Jewula beat Bender cleanly to the stick side to end the scoring.

Although the line of Hubert, Zendano, and Kowalski did not score, they treated the crowd to some of the prettiest passing of the entire year. Both teams skated hard to the end but the Sharks could not solve Burke.

Squirt Gray Sabres

double up Wolves 6-3

The Squirt Gray Sabres took a step toward Super Sunday by defeating the Wolves 6-3, on Feb 24. Six different Gray Sabres scored.

The first period began with both teams feeling each other out. The Wolves defense of Austin Abbarno, Brett Baker, Ryan Burns, Taylor Malesky, and Derek Hafner turned away rush after rush by the Gray Sabres. When the Gray Sabres shots made it through, Connor Juenker took away the net.

The Wolves were also aggressive on offense as Sam Adams, Erica Dombrowski, Max McArthur, Adam Teach, Matt Werwinski, Dennis Yellin, Zack Serotte, and Ron Martin put lots of pressure on the Gray Sabres. Finally at 8:09, Nolan Burch beat Gray Sabres' goalie Joe Burke to open the scoring.

Two minutes later, the Gray Sabres responded when Connor Koester slid a pass to Jack Cooper who saw Antonio Zendano streaking down the wing. Cooper feathered a perfect pass to Zendano as he stepped around the defense and buried his shot into the back of the net.

Five minutes later, it was Cooper's turn to score as he drifted in from his point position and buried a rebound of a Zendano shot. Brian Kowalski also assisted on the play as Emma Hubert covered Cooper's point.

The Gray Sabres jumped on the Wolves early in the second period. Thirty seconds in, Austin Maciok blasted a shot from the point that found the twine. Gabe Jewula and JB Beck assisted.

The Wolves answered seven seconds later an Anthony Carbone made a nice move and scored unassisted.

The Gray Sabres increased their lead as Jack Cooper quickly got the puck to Peter Gossels. Gossels slid it across to Angelo Derossi who used Katelyn Koester as a screen and beat Juenker high to the stick side.

The second period ended with the Gray Sabres leading 4-2.

The Gray Sabres increased their lead 30 seconds into the third period. Maciok launched a pass to Mark Giangreco, Giangreco split the Wolves defense and deked the goalie to make the score 5-2.

The Wolves, showing no quit, responded as Burch went end to end to cut the lead. Three minutes later, Benjamin Lackner fed Jewula for a shot. Juenker made the save but Beck buried the rebound.

Both teams skated hard to the end but the Wolves could not solve Burke.