Hurricanes prospects suffer 7-4 loss to Sabres

Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network
Peter Koutroumpis, Triangle Sports Network

Lindholm tallies two assists in losing effort

TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. – The Carolina Hurricanes prospects lost 7-4 to the Lindsay Division-leading Buffalo Sabres during their final game played at the 2013 Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament played at Centre I.C.E. Arena on Sunday.

Even with Elias Lindholm (2 assists) in the lineup and Ryan Murphy (3 assists) setting up numerous plays, the Hurricanes could not dig themselves out of the hole they got into early on, trailing Buffalo 3-0 after the first period.

Carolina improved its play during the second period and put more shots on net that resulted in goals from defenseman Trevor Carrick and Brock McGinn, whose two markers trimmed the Buffalo lead down to 5-3 heading into the final period.

Sergey Tolchinsky (1 goal, 1 assist) tallied points in his third consecutive tournament game, including scoring in the third period to keep the Hurricanes close, while goaltender Daniel Altshuller continued to stay busy in facing 34 shots throughout the game.

The Sabres added to their 5-4 lead in the third period, beating Altshuller one more time and adding an empty-net goal to secure the three-goal win.

With their second consecutive loss, the Hurricanes ended round-robin play in third place in the Lindsay Division with a 1-2 record, and will finish play in the tournament when they face off against the St. Louis Blues (1-2), third place finishers in the Howe Division, on Monday at 4 p.m.