03.08.06 Game Report vs The Buffaloes (by Christine Andrzejewicz)

What a game! The Gator's Wednesday night win over the Buffaloes was definitely something they worked hard for. Although there were no goals scored by either side the entire first period, the game was anything but slow. The teams took to the ice, and skated hard. Scott Magin (3) was called for high-sticking and was sent to the box, but the Gators stayed strong and kept the Buffaloes out for the remainder of the period.

Then, just a little over three minutes into the second period, Dave Salafia (15) received the puck from goalie Jerry Suplicki (35), then passed to Brian Drake (18) who scored the first goal of the game. Back on defense, Frank Warner (5), and Chris Ryan (27) did phenomenal jobs at keeping the Buffaloes from getting any decent shots in. Newcomer Rob Strelick (28) also got in there and helped get the puck back on offense. Suplicki had an amazing second period: the wild shots taken by the Buffaloes varied between low and high corners, and some cheaper close shots on goal...but nothing got by the Gators' goalie until the third period. With a lucky shot in the first thirty seconds of the third period, the Buffaloes finally scored their first -and only- goal of the night. Just moments later, Strelick manged to get the puck from his player, passed to Drake, who passed to Salafia, leaving the score 2-1, Gators.

There were some close calls, and the Buffaloes began to get a little more rough than necessary, but the Gators kept up a solid defense, and tried pushing the offense just a bit more. With Salafia and Drake back on the ice, the puck was brought back to the Buffaloes' goal, and held there for some unsuccessful shots by the Gators. Then, with only 1:32 left in the game, Salafia passed to Ryan, John Scully (32) got his stick in the mix and fended off a Buffalo player, ultimately getting the puck to Drake and in the net to score the final goal of the game.

Also notable: the entire game was played with goalie Suplicki either coming out of the goal to assist with the Gators' defense, on his knees being rushed, tackled, and pummeled with shots by hotheaded Buffaloes. After a slow start, Scully had a good game as well; almost scoring on an unexpected shot in the second period before the puck hit the post. And, surprise, surprise: Ryan was put in the box in the third, but the Gators bounced back and remained on the puck even in his absence on defense. New addition to the team, Strelick followed in the tradition of many Gators before him by both breaking his stick in mid-play, then tripping over his blade. Not bad for a newbie: he incorporated two mishaps in one fell swoop, while most players can only get one foul-up per game. Nice game, guys!

Shots on goal were 27 for The Gators and 31 for The Buffaloes...even though Drake said The Buffaloes had at least 31 just in the 1st period!

Final score: Gators - 3, Buffaloes - 1

Scoring
Brian Drake- 2 goals, 1 assist
Dave Salafia- 1 goal, 2 assists
Rob Strelick -1 assist
Chris Ryan- 1 assist

Penalities
Chris Ryan
Scott Magin

3 stars of the week
First star	Second star	Third star
30 plus saves and held the opposition to just one goal	2 goals and a helper	a goals and 2 assists

Honorable mention

John Scully: would have been one of the stars of the week but; missed an empty netter, hit the post on another shot, and had a "gay" comment between periods. Great game Scully!