It seemed appropriate that before the start of Sunday's Tier I U16-and-under title game between Buffalo and Shattuck-St. Mary's from Minnesota, the weather was unseasonably cold for early April with snow falling outside the Ice Line rink. What better conditions could it have been for two teams from avid hockey regions of the USA? Inside the rink, however, one person was fairly hot and an entire team rode his back and for much of the third period, even though he was suffering from a sore left shoulder. That person would be Buffalo goaltender Billy Sauer. Sauer took a slap shot off his left shoulder but overcame it to stop 37 of 39 shots to lead his Saints past powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary's from Faribault, Minn., 4-2, to capture the championship and conclude an exciting tournament in just its second year of existence.