Thursday, September 11, 2008

9/11 Recap: Byron chips in as 'Piques take opener

Paul Byron (+1) picked up an assist as Gatineau kicked off the QMJHL regular season with a 3-1 win over Victoriaville. Trailing 1-0 in the 3rd period and down a man, the speedster hooked up with J.P. Chabot to get things rolling for les Olympiques. Prior to the game, Byron and his teammates watched as their 2007-08 President's Cup banner was raised to the rafters. The 'Piques will host Val d'Or on Sunday without their top returning scorer as Byron heads to Buffalo's camp. Montreal's T.J. Brennan and Luke Adam will open the regular season Friday at Quebec, while Jacob Lagacé and Chicoutimi will host Drummondville. PEI Rocket defenseman Jordon Southorn will also dress in Friday's season opener in Moncton before joining the rest of the Sabres non-collegiate prospect pool in Buffalo over the weekend. In the OHL, Drew Schiestel was in the lineup as Niagara skated to a 6-4 preseason win over Erie. The Dogs are now 4-1 heading into their season opener with Ottawa on the 20th. In DEL regular season action, Philip Gogulla was -1 in Cologne's 6-4 loss to Iserlohn. On Tuesday, the forward (-2) notched his first point of the season, an assist, as Cologne came up short against the Metro Stars, 7-4. Stumbling to an 0-4 record in the wake of Ivan Ciernik's KHL defection, the Sharks have work to do if they plan on making another run to the DEL final. The 21-year old Gogulla has the talent to emerge as a creative go-to after a 44 point campaign in 2007-08, but for now has posted the single point and a -4 through the streak.