BUFFALO, N.Y. — With the game on the line and an important set of eyes looking down from above, Owen Pickering did his finest Josh Allen impersonation Friday.

Deep in his own end, Pickering took a quick glance, spotted Avery Hayes streaking down the middle and floated a long-bomb pass over all five Boston Bruins skaters.

It landed perfectly in front of Hayes, who skated in alone to score the game winner.

Hayes’ breakaway goal with 26.4 seconds left gave the Penguins a 2-1 victory in their first game at the annual Buffalo Prospects Challenge at LECOM Harborcenter.

“It was amazing,” Hayes said with a grin. “It was like a quarterback. It was sweet.”

Pickering’s deep-strike pass was the play of the afternoon for the Penguins and the exclamation point on what was a strong showing for the 2

See Full Page