Buffalo Stars Thaw the Freeze

2009-12-09


Stars rookie Zack Haun logs a 5 point weekend

The last time the Buffalo Stars CHA Junior B and C teams hosted the Frederick Freeze, the hometown heroes were shut down as the Freeze swept the Stars in Buffalo. Would this weekend be different?

This past Saturday, the Frederick Freeze Junior B and Junior C team once again came to town. The B team played in league play while the C team competed in a non-league set. Were the Stars ready for some redemption?

 

In the first game on Saturday, the Stars and Freeze C teams played even for the first two periods with each team peppering the other goaltending 20 times. Buffalo finally drew first blood one minute into the third period with a solo tally by Anthony DiChristopher. Buffalo quickly added goals by Tyler Ehrig and Jonathan Skorka to take a 3-0 lead. Frederick would break the shutout late in the period but the score would stand with Buffalo skating off with a well earned 3-1 victory.

 

In the Junior B feature game, the Freeze and Stars played to a zero first period draw with the Freeze having the shot advantage in the period.  Frederick came storming out halfway into the second period and tallied four unanswered goals in an eight minute span to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Things looked bleak for the Stars but they battled back with tallies by Zack Haun and Ryan Sheehan to come to within two. Buffalo continued to battle and notched their third goal as Scott Rogers buried one home with 34 seconds left. It was however, too little too late and the Stars fell to the Freeze 4-3.

 

On Sunday, the Stars and Freeze once again started slow, skating to a zero draw. Frederick came storming out in the second period and tallied quickly to take a 2-0 lead. Buffalo fought back with two goals of their own as Anthony DiChristopher and Andrew Gauthier scored to tie the game. The always tough Freeze fought back with two of their own and left the second period with a 4-2 lead.  Frederick came on strong in the third period and quickly took a four goal lead. Buffalo closed out the scoring in the final minute of the game as Ryan Carroll slammed one home but it was too little as the Stars fell 6-3.

 

In the final B game of the weekend, the Freeze scored first midway into the period. Buffalo came right back as Anthony Pellittieri slipped one home to tie. Frederick came back with two more of their own and the period ended with the Freeze up 3-1. In the second period, the teams traded goals. The Freeze went up by four goals just two minutes into the period, but Zack Haun roofed one for the Stars to keep the hope alive. As the third period began, you could sense some urgency on the Stars team. They came out flying and seemed to be on a mission. Shot after shot was stopped, but at the 7:59 mark, Michael Gentner buried one to put the Stars back into the game.  Tyler Kissel, returning from a 3-week injury, tied the game just two minutes later. Was there still hope?  Buffalo battled hard and took it to the Freeze. With just 14 seconds left in the game and after a goalmouth scramble, veteran Chris Kinney found the top corner and the Stars went wild. The stunned Freeze team watched in silence as the Stars skated off with a well earned 5-4 victory.

 

With the victory, the Stars CHA B team improves to 11-8-1 on the regular season and 13-9-2 overall.  The Stars CHA B team is 2-9-1 in league play and 7-12-2 overall.  The Stars Empire Junior B team had the weekend off.

 

This was the first weekend that the Stars used FASTHockey for live internet broadcast of their games. For all future home games, fans can enjoy the Stars on live internet video. Visit www.fasthockey.com for details.

 

The Stars Empire team is on the road this weekend playing at the Empire Showcase in Fitchburg, MA, while the CHA B team hosts the Springfield Pics. The C team is off.  This weekend is part of our Annual Christmas Party and Food & Gift drive. In addition, the Stars are adopting a Military Family from the Niagara Falls Air Base. Full details can be found on the Stars website.

 

For more information about the Buffalo Stars, visit us on line at: www.buffalostars.com