2/6 Recap: Byron gets tricky; Persson returns

In his most dominant performance of the season, Gatineau center Paul Byron scored a goal in each period to lead les Olympiques to a 5-1 victory at Victoriaville. The hat trick raises Byron’s goal total to 25 in just 38 games, and his 44 total points are equal to last season’s 68-game output. Besides burying three of his game-high seven shots on goal, the crafty pivot also blocked seven Tigre shots. The night’s “Mr. Everything”, Byron would also prove skilled in the face-off dot, where he was successful in 18 of 23 draws. Dennis Persson returned to the Nykopings lineup, manning the second defensive pair with his brother Robin in their 2-1 OT loss to Boras. The Sabres first pick in 2006 was out of action for two weeks with a neck injury. In Rochester, the Amerks were out-hit, out-worked, and ultimately, outscored in their 3-1 loss to Syracuse. The Crunch set the physical pace early, and the Amerks didn’t have an answer. Regarding Sabres prospects, Andrej Sekera and Marc-Andre Gragnani assisted on the lone Amerks goal in the third. On the power play, Gragnani fired a shot that was tipped in by Panthers prospect, Drew Larman. Adam Dennis made 26 saves in the loss. Gragnani: 1a, -1 Sekera: 1a, -1 Mancari: -2 Zagrapan: 2 PIM Weber: -1 Hunter: -1, 5 PIM Dennis: 26 saves, L