By Randy Schultz, NYHOL; Photos by Janet Schultz, NYHOL
The Utah Mammoth defeated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, Saturday night at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center before a sellout crowd. It marked the second straight loss for the Sabres, who are currently playing a five-game home stand.
Buffalo took an early 1-0 lead at the 8:00 mark of the first period on a goal by Tage Thompson. Rasmus Dahlin got the lone assist on Thompson’s third goal of the season.
Just a little over two minutes later the Mammoth tied the score, 1-1 on a goal by Kailer Yamamoto. The score remained tied going into the second period.
Utah added two more goals in the second stanza on goals by Nick Schmaltz (power play goal) and Anders Lee. The two teams finished the second period with the Mammoth leading 3-1.
A single goal in the third period was added by Utah’s John Marino. The final score saw Utah win, 4-1.
Sabres head coach, Lindy Ruff, was obviously frustrated by the team’s loss following the game. He spoke about the frustration his players are feeling.
“You’ve got to have something good happen,” commented Ruff following the game. “You need a game where all of a sudden, a couple of those guys get on the board.
“And when I say squeezing sticks, it means they’re not making plays that I think they can normally make.”
SABRES NOTES – The Sabres play again Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. at KeyBank Center against the Florida Panthers.
Thompson’s goal was his third of the season and fifth point overall.
It was Dahlin’s second assist and third point overall this season.
The Sabres were outshot in the game, 30-24. Buffalo goalie, Colten Ellis, stopped 26 of the 30 Utah shots he faced.
The overall Sabres record this season is 2-3-0.
Photo Album by Janet. All photos property of NYHOL and cannot be copied or downloaded without persmission of Janet@demo1
