Hot Knives: Sabres Scorch Fire for Second Straight

The Lite-Sabres came alive in the second period for the second time in five days, knocking off the Keane Fire 13-5. With the win, the Sabres temporarily move into a tie for second place, pending the outcome of the other week-four games. The Fire drop to 0-4, but showed significant promise in the process.

At the start of the game, the Fire welcomed Donnie Bailey to the line-up, who was donning the Fire jersey for the first time in his career. And it didn't take him long to make an impact on his team, assisting on a Jeff Shute goal less than a minute into the game. Shute doubled the Fire's lead shortly thereafter with his second consecutive tally. But it was Fire goaltender Harvey Snelgrove who was his team's best player in the first period, stopping 10 of 11 shots and leading his team to a 2-1 first intermission lead.

A couple of quick goals by Sabre defensemen Neil Cameron and Josh Blades early in the second turned a one-goal deficit into a one goal advantage for their squad. Three more Sabre goals increased the margin to four. Sabres goalie Chris McMaster then got his team’s fans excited with a couple of sprawling saves that he later classified as "fluky". But the glory was short-lived, as after a subsequent kick save, McMaster tried to corral the rebound with his stick, but ended up sweeping the ball into his own net, much to his chagrin.

Both teams traded goals to close the second frame, leaving the Sabres with a 7-4 advantage, but more importantly with the momentum.

The Sabres rode that wave into the third period, pressuring the tiring Fire at every opportunity. The Sabres were rewarded with six third period goals, including three by Spiro Bokolas. The Sabres’ leading scorer finished the game with five goals and two assists, and was named the game's first star. Jeff Shute notched a hat-trick in a losing cause, while line-mate Donnie Bailey scored two goals and one assist in his 2005B debut.

Milestones: Odin Ortiz scored his 50th career assist in the second period. He becomes the 37th player to reach that total…Defensive-minded Sabre Matt Monk became the league’s all-time powerplay goal leader, scoring his 4th such goal in the second period…Sabre forward Chad Griffin tallied his 15th career game-winning goal, good for second place all-time (#1: John Price 24)…Fire goalie Harvey Snelgrove faced his 3000th career shot in the third period. The only goaltender to face more shots in league history is his counterpart in the game, Chris McMaster (3,324 shots).