Buffalo Skates Past Central Flordia
Joe Malinowski's 5 Point Game Leads Buffalo
January 31st, 2009 at 6:36PM January 31st, 2009 7:06PM
Mount Pleasant, Pa - Joe Malinowski scored two goals and added three assists to lead the Buffalo Wings past the Central Florida Knights 8-2.
Joe Malinowski showed his leadership in giving Buffalo the early 1-0 lead. Alex Durinka fired a hard wrist shot that goalie Daniel Moon couldn't control and Malinowski fired in the rebound. Malinowski continued his strong play by forcing a turnover deep in the Central Florida zone. Tlyer Walser picked up the loose puck behind the net and found Malinowski back door for a 2-0 lead.
In the second period, with Buffalo on the Power Play, Durinka deflected a Walser wrist shot from the slot out of the air and past the UCF goalie for a 3-0 lead. Just two minutes later, Brandon Gasiewicz found a wide open Walser who walked in all alone and scored for a commanding 4-0 lead midway through the second period.
Joseph LaRocco gave Central Florida life heading into the third period, scoring an unassisted goal with 3 minutes remaining to cut the Buffalo lead down to 4-1.
With Walser in the box for hooking, Central Florida had a chance to cut the lead in half. Instead, Durinka scored his second goal of the game, this time shorthanded on the breakaway for a 5-1 lead. Central Florida was quick to answer with the man advantage. Adam Weinberg made a sharp pass from below the goalline and found Connor Cafferty wide open. Cafferty made no mistake, firing the puck up under the crossbar and cutting the lead to 5-2.
With just under three minutes remaining Buffalo spread the floor with some nice passing until Jason Francabandiero and Walser were able to slip behind the defense for a 2 on 0 down low. Walser slid a cross crease pass to Francabandiero and helped give Buffalo a 6-2 lead. Francabandiero and Shaun Golden added tallies late for the final 8-2 margin.