Moves pay off for Junior Canadians
The Welland Junior Canadians are a work in progress, but coach Keith Osborne feels his players are moving in the right direction heading into the Christmas break in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League.
The Junior Canadians are 12-163-1 and in sixth place in the Golden Horseshoe Division, just behind Thorold and just ahead of Pelham, about where they expected to be.
“We are a young team,” veteran coach Osborne said. “We have lost a lot of close games early in the season. We made a few changes, particularly in our net and our defense. Hopefully, we can add a piece or two up front and maybe move up the standings.”
Well and has scored 110 goals, good for fifth in the league. Caledonia leads the league in scoring with 182 goals. The Junior Canadians have allowed 126 goals, which is sixth in the league. Caledonia is the best team defensively as well, having surrendered 64 goals.
“Up front, we are small and fast,” Osborne said. “We have added some size on the back end. I don’t think we have any defensemen under six-feet. We are trying to give a little protection for the smaller guys.”
Osborne knows his team can’t run-and-gun with the top teams in the league – Caledonia, Ancaster, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls. To succeed his Junior Canadians have to play well in their own end and take advantage of odd-man rushes and power-play opportunities. A string of injuries to key forwards hasn’t helped.
“We also have three of our top forwards out right now, and we are relying on other guys to step up,” Osborne said. “Some forwards are playing too much. There have been times when they just don’t have the energy we need.
“Hopefully we will get healthy over the break. When you lose top scorers on a team that doesn’t score a lot of goals in the first place, you notice it.”
Osborne can’t complain too much about his captain, Matt Hobbs, a fan favourite at the Welland Arena.
It’s Hobbs third year on the team (though he only played four games in his first season, 2015-16). It’s a given that he isn’t going to score a lot of goals. He has five in 32 games. Last year he scored six goals in 47 games.
“He is a good captain,” Osborne said. “He works hard every shift. He sticks up for his teammates. He blocks shots. He’s a good kid. He just isn’t going to score a lot of goals.”
Welland nearly upset Caledonia last Saturday. The Corvairs outshot Welland 15-2 in the first period but could only beat Junior Canadians goaltender Jukka Schotter once. Welland turned it up a notch in the second period. The teams were tied 10-10 in shots with Noah Blakely, Alexander Damenski and Tanner MacEachern scoring for Welland to give the Junior Canadians a 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Then the wheels fell off in what ended up a 6-3 Corvairs victory.
“They got a quick goal,” Osborne said. “Then they got a four-minute power-play and scored on both. They flicked the switch. They have the talent to do that. We played great for 40 minutes, then they hit us with a flurry of punches, and our kids were in shock. We couldn’t hold them down.”
Caledonia Corvairs
Record: 28-3-0-1; 182 goals for; 64 goals against; 760 penalty minutes; .891 winning percentage.
Special Teams: Power-play: 18.79%, 10th; Penalty Kill: 86.34%, 4th.
On the scoresheet: Jessse Barwell, 14 goals, 42 assists, 56 points; Adam Ctraievich 26 goals, 23 assists, 49 points; Sean O’Brien 19 goals, 28 assists, 47 points
Between the Pipes: Brandon McCoriston, 22 games played, 3 shutout, 2.04 goals-against; .911 save percentage.
Last week: Caledonia 6 Welland 3.
Upcoming: Jan. 6, at Fort Erie, 7:15 p.m.
Ancaster Avalanche
Record: 23-7-1-0; Goals for: 129; Goals against; 85; Penalty minutes: 590.
Special Teams: Power-play: 18%, 12th; Penalty Kill: 84.43%, 12th.
On the scoresheet: Liam Van Loon 20 goals; 16 assists, 36; Benjamin Woodhouse 14 goals, 14 assists, 28 points; Dirk Stadig 9 goals, 19 assists, 28 points.
Between the Pipes: Ryan Dugas, 17 games played, one shutout, 2.22 goals against, .927 save percentage; Tanner Sheppard 15 games played, one shutout, 3.03 goals against; .898 save percentage.
Last week: Ancaster 4 Niagara Falls 3; Ancaster 5 Buffalo 3.
Upcoming: Saturday, Jan. 6 vs. Welland, 7:30 p.m.
St. Catharines Falcons
Record: 22-7-1-2; 152 goals for; 83 goals against, 898 penalty minutes.
Special Teams. Power-play: 23.23, 2nd; Penalty Kill: 88.84% First among 26 teams.
On the Scoresheet: Lucas Smilsky 19 goals, 35 assists, 54 points; Michael Davies 20 goals, 24 assists, 44 assists; Tanner Ferriea 15 goals, 25 assists, 40 points.
Between the pipes: Owen Savory, 28 games played, 4 shutouts, 2.09 goals-againsts, .936 save percentage.
Last week: St. Catharines 5
Thorold 0;
Upcoming: Friday vs. Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Niagara Falls Canucks:
Record: 21-8-0-3; 136 goals for; 82 goals against, 512 penalty minutes.
Special Teams: Power-play: 19.73%, eighth; Penalty Kill: 85.47%, seventh.
On the scoresheet: Frank Pucci 24 goals, 28 assists, 52 points; Hayden Broomhead 19 goals, 18 assists 37 points; Matthew Caruso 14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points.
Between the pipes: Zach Moore: 26 games, 3 shutouts, 2.58 goalsagainst, .909 save percentage.
Last week: Niagara Falls 9 Buffalo 0; Ancaster 4 Niagara Falls 3.
Upcoming: Friday vs. Welland, 7 p.m.; Thurday, Jan. 4 at Thorold, 7:07 p.m.
Thorold Blackhawks
Record: 12-13-3-3; Goals for 104; Goals against 127, Penalty Minutes: 582.
Special Teams: Power-play 16.08% 16th; Penalty Kill: 81.29%, 18th.
On the scoresheet: Brendan Charlton 17 goals, 11 assists, 28 points; Matt Maidens 8 goals, 20 assists, 28 points; James Guest 9 goals, 17 assists, 26 points, Griffen Fox 8 goals, 18 points, 26 points.
Between the Pipes: Anthony Tremonte: 24 games, one shutout; 3.63 goals-againsts, .887 save percentage.
Last week: St. Catharines 5
Thorold 0;
Upcoming: Thursday, Jan. 4 vs. Niagara Falls, 7:07 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 5 at Niagara Falls, 7 p.m.
Welland Junior Canadians
Record: 12-16-3-1; 110 goals for; 128 goals against; 545 penalty minutes.
Special Teams: Power-play: 16,48%, 14th; Penalty Kill: 84.71%, 11th.
On the scoresheet: Matthew Giannini 14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points; Tanner McEachern 13 goals ,15 assists, 28 points; Daelyn Minovski 6 goals, 20 assists, 26 points.
Between the Pipes: Charles Gimard 21 games; 0 shutouts, 3.78 goals-against; .905 savepercentage.
Jukka Schotter 5 games; 0 shutouts; 3.68 goals-against; .911 savepercentage.
Last week: Caledonia 6 Welland 3; Welland 4 Fort Erie 3;
Upcoming: Friday, at Niagara Falls, 7 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 6 at Ancaster, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 7, vs. Ancaster, 7:05 p.m.
Pelham Panthers
Record: 11-19-1-2; 97 goals for; 151 goals against, 772 penalty minutes.
Special Teams: Power-play: 12.09%, 23rd; 82.52%, 15th.
On the scoresheet: Matt Ruigrok 14 goals, 21 assists, 35 points; Noah Caperchione 17 goals, 10 assists, 27 points.
Between the pipes: Nicholas Kidd 19 games played, 0 shutouts; 4.33 goals against; .890 savepercentage.
Last week: Pelham 6 Fort Erie 4;
Upcoming: Saturday at Fort Erie, 7:15 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 5, vs. Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Fort Erie Meteors
Record 8-19-0-3; 88 goals for; 141 goals against, 619 penalty minutes.
Special Teams: Power-play: 14.55%, 19th; Penalty Kill: 82.67% 14th.
On the Scoresheet: Drew Passero 15 goals, 13 assists. 28 points; Marco Lariccia 10 goals, 18 assists, 28 points; Daniel Nardi 3 goals, 19 assists, 22 points.
Between the pipes: Tyler Szczepaniak 20 games, 0 shutouts, 3.64 goals-against, .899 save-percentage; Jacob Hearne 15 games, 0 shutouts; 5.20 goals-against; .859 save-percentage.
Last week: Pelham 6 Fort Erie 4, Welland 4 Fort Erie 3.
Upcoming: Friday, Jan. 5, at Pelham, 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo Regals
Record: 1-29-0-3; 59 goals for; 213 goals-against, 528 penalty minuts:
Special Teams: Power-play: 8%, 26th; Penalty Kill, 72.14%, 26th.
On the Scoresheet: Cameron Clark 12 goals, 9 assists, 21 points; Nash Braun 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points; Joseph Marszalek 4 goals, 11 assists, 15 points.
Between the pipes: Peyton Zern 21 games, 0 shutouts, 6.67 goalsagainst; .842 save-percentage. Nikolaos Manetas 16 games, 0 shutouts, 6.10 goals-against.
Last week: Niagara Falls 9 Buffalo 0; Ancaster 5 Buffalo 3.
Upcoming: Friday, Jan. 5 at Pelham, 7:30 p.m.