Falcons honour high fliers
Lucas Smilsky wins three awards, including regular season MVP
Years from now Lucas Smilsky will have plenty of reminders of his first season playing with the St. Catharines Falcons.
He led the junior B hockey team in goals during the regular season, with 36; shared the overall points total, with 95; and had the most three-star selections.
Not surprisingly, the 20-year-old from Tottenham led the Falcons in trips to the podium at the awards banquet that wrapped up the 201617 Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season.
Smilsky went home with Rex Stimers Memorial Trophy, for most valuable player during the regular season; the Jack Gatecliff Trophy, most regular season goals; and shared the President’s Trophy, most regular season points; with Zach Main.
Smilsky had 36 goals and 59 assists for 95 points in 44 games, while Main, 21, of Welland had 27 goals and 68 assists for 95 points in 47 games.
The Falcons’ formidable 1-2 punch on offence also finished the playoffs tied for the team lead in scoring, with 18 points each. Seeing action in all 16 of the team’s games in post-season play, Smilsky netted eight goals and added 10 assists, while Main scored seven goals and collected 11 assists.
Defenceman Greg Tomaso, 21, of Toronto paced St. Catharines on the scoresheet in the playoffs with three points and 16 assists for 19 points.
Smilsky spent three seasons in the Ontario Junior Hockey League before coming to St. Catharines. In 160 games he scored 58 goals and added 101 assists for 159 points, all with the Orangeville Flyers.
Main, who unlike Smilsky is ineligible to return for another season at the junior B level, received the Gary Nelson Memorial Trophy for sportmanship and dedication.
The Hall Judd Trophy, for the player showing the most improvement; was awarded to Jack Webb, 20, of Fort Erie. Last season he had 13 goals and 28 assists for 41 points in 47 games after finding the back of the net six times and assisting on six other goals in 28 games the year before.
Webb scored seven goals and assisted on three others seeing action in all 16 of the team’s playoff games.
Earning the Ashton Morrison Trophy as the team’s rookie of the year was Brandon Skubel, 17, of Virgil. He had 16 goals and 25 assists for 41 points in 40 games in league play, and added two goals and collected seven assists in 14 playoff games.
Skubel is unlikely to return for a second season in St. Catharines.
Falcons general manager Frank Girhiny expects the 6-foot, 180-pound forward to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Justin Felker, 21, of St. Catharines had six goals and 25 assists for 31 points in 48 games and ended his junior B career holding the J.S. Elliot Trophy as the team’s top defenceman. In the playoffs Felker, the team’s captain, had eight assists in 16 games.
Best defensive forward and winner of the General Manager’s Trophy was Patrick MacDonald, 19, of Ancaster, who had nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points in 40 games before suffering a season-ending eye injury.
Owen Savoury, 19, of Cambridge, the Golden Horseshoe Conference’s goaltender of the month in October, November and February in league play, carried that succcess over into the post-season receiving the Trillium Award as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He limited opponents to 2.33 goals per game and compiling a 0.928 save percentage in 16 starts in the postseason.
During the regular season Savoury had six shutouts, a 1.99 goals-against average and 0.927 save percentage in 38 games.
He scored one goal and four assists playing defence for the junior B lacrosse Welland Generals. Savoury played in all 20 of the team’s regular season games and led the Generals in penalty minutes with 118.
He was tied with forward Tanner Ferreira, 20, of London, Ont., for third on the Molsons Three Stars selections for the season.
Ferreira had 31 goals and 46 assists for 77 points in 48 games during the regular season.
Smilsky and Main finished first and second, respectively, in threestar selections.
The Tim Award of Merit, for outstanding academic achievement and showing respect for peers, opponents and officials, went to James Guest, 19, of Toronto. He had five goals and 16 assists for 21 points in 47 games. His lone goal in 16 playoff games gave the Falcons a 2-1 road victory over the Caledonia Corvairs staving off elimination against the three-time defending Sutherland Cup champions in the Golden Horseshoe Conference final.
Bruce Ideson received the Jack Lennard Memorial Award as the Falcons’ volunteer of the year.