Canucks on a seven-game roll

The Niagara Falls Canucks scored two unanswered goals, both on the power play, one-time St. Catharines Falcons netminder Zach Moore made 35 saves, and the visiting Canucks won their seventh game in a row doubling the Falcons 2-1.

Tuesday night’s come-from-behind victory, before an announced crowd of 353 at Jack Gatecliff Arena, improved Niagara Falls’ record to 9-4.

St. Catharines, 9-3, also has 18 points nearing the quarter-mile post of the 50-game regular season but occupy second in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Golden Horseshoe Conference due to a better winning percentage. The Falcons have earned 75 per cent of a possible 24 points, while the Canucks have a winning percentage .692.

Leading the nine-team conference — and the 26-team junior B league — are the Caledonia Corvairs. The four-time defending conference champions blanked the Buffalo Regals 5-0 Tuesday night to improve their record to 10-1, a winning percentage of .909.

Buffalo fell to 0-11 and is the only team in the league that has yet to earn a single point.

Frank Pucci and Dillon Hill each scored a goal for the Canucks who were outshot 36-34 by the Falcons.

It was Pucci’s ninth goal of the campaign and puts in third in goal scoring in league behind St. Catharines’ Matthew Davies and Caledonia’s Adam Craievich, who both have 11.

Davies leads the league in scoring with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points, four points ahead of Pucci and six ahead of Falcons teammate Lucas Smilsky, who has six goals and 14 assists. St. Catharines was playing with a man advantage when Matt Busby opened the scoring 8:36 into the first period to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.

Niagara Falls went 2-for-6 on the power play; St. Catharines, 1-for-4.

Niagara Falls’ winning streak ties the record the Falcons set when they won seven in a row from Sept. 15 until Sept. 29.

“We know we have a bull’s-eye on our back at this time, and teams will be prepared to play when you’re on a streak like that,” Canucks owner-head coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “So we will make sure we’re focused and ready to play the right way.”

Keeping a team focused during a winning streak is a challenge the fourth-year coach welcomes and enjoys.

“It’s a lot easier to coach when you’re winning, as a lot of things are usually going your way,” Pietrangelo said. “Having said this, when you play top teams every shift is important, so the focus on the little things has to be spot on.”

Moore lowered his goals-against average to 2.22 and improved his save percentage to .922 with Tuesday night’s standout performance between the pipes for the Canucks.

With the win, the 18-year-old from St. Catharines improved his record versus the Falcons in league play to 1-2 this season and to 5-2 overall.

Owen Savory, in net for St. Catharines, was tagged with the loss.

At Buffalo, callup Cam Allen, Michael Greco, Bobby Harrison, Sean O’Brien and Isaac Taylor each scored a goal for Caledonia which won its fifth straight and shut out the Regals for the second time in as many starts this season.

Welland native and former Jr. Canadians goaltender Brandon McCorriston turned aside 23 shots for his second shutout of the season.

McCorriston, Savory and Moore are tied in wins, with eight apiece; and rank among the best backstops in the league in goals-against average. McCorriston, the stingiest of all, has allowed a league-low 1.52 goals per game, Savory is third in the province, 2.11; and Moore sixth, 2.22.

McCorriston and Moore top the conference with two shutouts each and are second in the league behind Jet Greaves of the Guelph Hurricanes who has recorded three shutouts so far this season.

Niagara Falls and St. Catharines are back on the ice Friday with 7 p.m. home games. The Canucks host Welland and the Falcons entertain the Thorold Blackhawks.

Caledonia’s next game is 7:30 p.m. Sunday at home versus the Fort Erie Meteors.

Caledonia Corvairs

Record: 10-1, 61 goals for, 20 goals against, 346 penalties, 20 points Special teams: power play, 14 per cent, 10th in 26-team league; penalty kill, 80.4%, 24th

Streak: 5-0

On the scoresheet: Sean O’Brien, 7 goals, 11 assists, 17 points; Adam Craievich, 11 G, 6 A, 17; Jesse Barwell, 3 G, 12 A, 15 Pts

Between the pipes: Brandon McCorriston, 9 games played, 2 shutouts, 1.52 goals-against average, .931 save percentage

Last week: win, at Buffalo, 5-0; win, home to Welland, 7-5

Upcoming: home to Fort Erie, Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

St. Catharines Falcons

Record: 9-3, 56 GF, 32 GA, 330 PIM, 18 Pts

Special teams: PP, 30% 2nd; PK, 88.9%, 3rd

Streak: 0-1

On the scoresheet: Michael Davies, 11 G, 15 A, 26 Pts; Lucas Smilsky, 6 G, 14 A, 20 Pts; Tanner Ferreira, 6 G, 10 A, 16 Pts

Between the pipes: Owen Savory, 10 GP, 1 Shu, 2.11 GAA, .938 Sv%

Last week: loss, home to Niagara Falls, 2-1; win, at Welland, 4-1; loss, home to Pelham, 7-5 Upcoming: home to Thorold, Friday; at Buffalo, Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Niagara Falls Canucks

Record: 9-4, 48 GF, 32 GA, 217 PIM, 18 Pts

Special teams: PP, 21.3%, 7th; PK, 84.9%, 11th

Streak: 7-0

On the scoresheet: Frank Pucci, 9 G, 13 A, 22 Pts; Patrick McCabe, 8 G, 5 A, 13 Pts; Matthew Caruso, 4 G, 9 A, 13 Pts;

Between the pipes: Zach Moore, 11 GP, 2 Shu, 2.22 GAA, .922 Sv%

Last week: win, at S. Catharines, 2-1; win, at Fort Erie, 5-1; win, home to Thorold, 5-3

Upcoming: home to Welland, Friday, 7 p.m.; at Ancaster, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Ancaster Avalanche

Record: 6-2, 41 GA, 25 GA, 228 PIM, 12 Pts

Special teams: PP, 22.5%, 6th; PK, 88.5%, 4th

Streak: 2-0

On the scoresheet: Liam Van Loon, 6 G, 5 A, 11 Pts; Benjamin Woodhouse, 4 G, 6 A, 10 Pts; Kyle Kennery, 5 G 3 A, 8 Pts

Between the pipes: Tanner Sheppard, 4 GP, 1 Shu, 3.25 GAA, .874 Sv%; Ryan Dugas, 4 GP, 3.00 GAA, .900

Last week: win, home to Buffalo, 7-2; win, home to Fort Erie, 5-2 Upcoming: home to Niagara Falls, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; at Pelham, Sunday, 3 p.m.

Pelham Panthers

Record: 4-7, 28 GF, 53 GA, 288 PIM, 8 Pts

Special teams: PP, 11.97%, 20th; PK, 78.4%, 25th

Streak: 2-0

On the scoresheet: Noah Caperchione, 6 G, 0 A, 6 Pts; Jake Herrberg, 4 G, 2 A, 6 Pts; Chris Webber, 4 G, 1 A, 5 Pts

Between the pipes: Eric Schneider, 3 GP, 4.67 GAA, .895 Sv%

Last week: win, home to Buffalo. 5-2; win, at St. Catharines, 7-5 Upcoming: at Fort Erie, Saturday, 7:15 p.m.; home to Ancaster, Sunday, 3 p.m.

Welland Jr. Canadians Record: 3-6-1-1, 39 GF, 41 GA, 184 PIM, 8 Pts

Special teams: PP, 14.1%, 13th; PK, 79.2%, 23rd

Streak: 0-5-0-1

On the scoresheet: Matthew Giannini, 6 G, 5 A, 11 Pts; Noah Blakely, 5 G, 6 A, 11 Pts; Daelyn Minovski, 3 G, 8 A, 11 Pts Between the pipes: Charles Grimard, 8 GP, 3.52 GAA, .908 Sv%

Last week: loss, home to St. Catharines, 4-1; loss, at Caledonia, 7-5 Upcoming: at Niagara Falls, Friday, 7 p.m.; home to Thorold, Sunday, 7:05 p.m.

Thorold Blackhawks

Record: 3-6-1-0, 33 GF, 46 GA, 160 PIM, 7 Pts

Special teams: PP, 14%, 15th; PK, 79.2%, 23rd

Streak: 0-2

On the scoresheet: Griffen Fox, 4 G, 5 A, 9 Pts; Brendan Charlton, 5 G, 3 A, 8 Pts; Matt Maidens, 1 G, 7 A, 8 Pts Goaltending: Anthony Tremonte, 8 GP, 4.47 GAA, .878 Sv%

Last week: loss, at Niagara Falls, 5-3; loss, home to Caledonia, 7-1 Upcoming: home to Buffalo, Thursday, 7:07 p.m.; at St. Catharines, Friday, 7 p.m.; at Welland, Sunday, 7:05 p.m.

Fort Erie Meteors

Record: 2-7, 19 GF, 43 GA, 179 PIM, 4 Pts

Special teams: PP, 4.3%, 26th; PK, 76.1%, 26th

Streak: 0-2

On the scoresheet: Mario Lariccia, 1 G, 6 A, 7 Pts; Mike Masotti, 3 G, 3 A, 6 Pts; Drew Passero, 4 G, 1 A, 5 Pts; Between the pipes: Tyler Szczepaniak, 5 GP, 4.00 GAA, .881 Sv%; Jacob Hearne, 5 GP, 5.75 GAA, .855 Sv%

Last week: loss, home to Niagara Falls, 5-1; loss, at Ancaster, 5-2

Upcoming: home to Pelham, Saturday, 7:15 p.m.; at Caledonia, Sunday, 7:30 p.m.

Buffalo Regals

Record: 0-11, 11 GF, 65 GA, 241 PIM, 0 Pts

Special teams: PP, 6.5%, 25th; PK, 84.6%, 12th

Streak: 0-11

On the scoresheet: Clark Cameron, 3 G, 2 A, 5 Pts; John Mueller, 2 G, 2 A, 4 Pts; Shawn Kross, 2 G, 1 A, 3 Pts Between the pipes: Peyton Zern, 7 GP, 8.03 GAA, .809 Sv%; Nikolaos Manetas, 6 GP, 4.18 GAA, .886 Sv% Last week: loss, home to Caledonia, 5-0; loss, at Pelham, 5-2; loss, at Ancaster, 7-2

Upcoming: at Thorold, Thursday, 7:07 p.m.; home to St. Catharines, Tuesday, 7 p.m.