Buffalo Sabres prevail over Ottawa Senators in Kraft Hockeyville game
The relatively small town of Dundas, Ontario was home to some big-time National Hockey League action on Tuesday night, as the Ottawa Senators took on the Buffalo Sabres in a pre-season
game.
Dryden, which has a population of 24,700, has earned its place among the many small Canadian towns that have won the Kraft Hockeyville contest over the past few years. The winning municipality
receives upgrades to their local arena, and the grand prize of having an NHL exhibition game being played in their town.
The 980 fans who packed the J.L. Grightmire Arena cheered the Senators on, but it was the Sabres who skated off with the win by a score of 2-1. Jason Pominville scored the winning goal
for Buffalo as both teams played on an ice sheet that was much smaller than an NHL-calibre rink.
Pominville’s goal came at 11:14 of the third period after he took a great lead pass from Luke Adam. He charged up the right wing, and buried the puck behind Senators goalie Robin Lehner.
Pominville later admitted that the smaller ice was difficult to get used to at first, but eventually, everything came together.
“Slowly yeah, we adjusted,” said Pominville. “It's tough to adjust, to be honest with you. Things happen quickly usually and you take that extra 15 feet away, it makes the ice surface
even smaller, so things happen even faster than what they usually do. You didn't have much time out there and again it's fun and something different.”
The diminutive rink may not have allowed for a lot of big plays to be made, but that didn’t deter Rob Niedermayer. The younger brother of the recently retired Scott tallied for Buffalo
with a shorthanded goal. The goal came at 11:29 of the first frame, and was unassisted.
Defenceman Patrick Wiercioch scored the lone goal for the Senators with 12.7 seconds remaining in the second period. Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller had no chance on Wiercioch’s wrist shot.
Wiercioch is one of many prospects hoping to crack the Senators’ roster, and he has been satisfied with his play in the pre-season.
“From the first game, I'm obviously making huge strides,” the rookie said of his efforts. “Got the first one (goal) tonight, and hopefully, I keep progressing through the pre-season, showing
them what I can do.”
Goalies Lehner and Miller played the entire game for their respective teams. The Senators will be back in action on Wednesday night when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Buffalo will
face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.
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