Saturday, September 27, 2008

9/27 recap: Allard fuels comeback; Myers debuts

Jean-Simon Allard (+1) had a goal and an assist as Quebec came from behind to defeat Gatineau 4-3 in overtime. Trailing 3-2 heading into the third, Allard tied the game on the power play at the 10:56 mark. He then set-up the game winning goal just :32 into OT to seal the Remparts win. Paul Byron (-2) had an assist for Gatineau in the loss, and has yet to score a goal in his three games. He'll give it another shot against familar faces as les Olympiques do battle with Montreal (Luke Adam, TJ Brennan) tomorrow. Drew Schiestel had a power play assist in Niagara's 4-2 defeat of Brampton. Continuing to exhibit a more physical tone, the 6'2 Schiestel also picked up slashing and roughing minors in the home-ice win. Schiestel now has a goal and four assists through his first three games. Also in the OHL, Nick Crawford scored his first goal of the year as Saginaw fell to Sault Ste Marie, 6-2. In NHL pre-season action, Tyler Myers made his blue and gold debut in the Sabres 3-2 OT win over Toronto. He logged twenty shifts for a total of 15:59, going even with a tripping minor. He showed good recovery speed after a neutral zone miscue in the first, and reacted positively to the game speed and physical play. The Kelowna Rockets defender will likely be returned this week as the Sabres start paring things down to their opening night club. Philip Gogulla (17:29) and Marek Zagrapan (14:59) also put in quality minutes tonight, while Felix Schutz (6:56) was used in a limited role. Zagrapan made a few sacrifices to advance play, but won just one of ten faceoff attempts. Mike Weber was ejected in the first period after earning five and ten for a cross-check on Matt Stajan. Tyler Ennis and Medicine Hat are a period deep in their game with Lethbridge. We'll have an update when it finishes.