10/2 Recap: Gerbe gets another

Nathan Gerbe scored his second goal of the pre-season as Buffalo cruised past Columbus, 5-2. The only prospect to get a point on the evening, Gerbe finished a breakaway with a nifty backhand deke on Fredrik Norrena in the third period to ice the Sabres victory. The speedy forward saw just 9:42 of time, but used it wisely by leading the team with 4 SOG and making noise late with slashing and roughing minors after a scrum with the Jackets' Rick Nash in the final minute. Mike Weber continues to look like a guy ready to stick with the top club, garnering a +1 while logging 20 shifts despite 12 PIM - including a 10-minute misconduct stemming from a fracas near the Buffalo crease. To round out the other Sabres prospects on the ice, Tim Kennedy was +1, while Chris Butler (-1) led the Sabres blueliners with two blocked shots in 16:30 of time. Both are expected to be shipped to Portland later this week as the Pirates camp opened this morning. In SEL action, Dennis Persson was -1 in 18:40 of ice time as Timra stumbled against MODO, 4-3. Persson has averaged 17:00 on the nose in Timra's six games this season after seeing just an average of 7:22 in 21 outings last season with Djurgradens. In the OHL, Drew Schiestel had an assist as Niagara lost in the shootout to Belleville, 3-2. The defenseman has scored a point in all four games he's played for the Dogs, cashing in a goal and five assists to date. Hamburg native John Cullen made 27 saves and looked to be on his way to a 3-0 start for Niagara before the Bulls' Bryan Cameron forced overtime with :15 to play. On Tuesday, Philip Gogulla returned to Cologne in time for the Sharks 4-0 win over Hannover. Further proving how NHL camps can bolster a player's game, the 6'2 forward picked up two assists and was +2 in the win. Gogulla had one assist and was -4 in four games before leaving for Buffalo.