Canucks start junior B season 4-0
Pelham tops Welland in first battle for Rice Road bragging rights
Give Round 1 in the battle for Niagara junior B hockey bragging rights to the Niagara Falls Canucks by a convincing margin.
Andrew Bruno, Ben Evans each scored twice and Justin Kyle paced all point-getters with a goal and three assists as visiting Niagara Falls skated past the Fort
Erie Meteors 9-2 to improve to 4-0.
Canucks owner-head coach Frank Pietrangelo isn’t reading much into the team’s strong start to the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season.
“Sure we’re happy to be in the position we’re in, but it’s much too early to look too far down the road,” he said. “Our approach this season is simple, focus on the task at hand: the next game.”
Pietrangelo said leadership is the key to keep players on the same page, especially at the junior level.
“Our vets have been terrific both on an off the ice to date,” he said. “They have brought the urgency to be mentally and physically prepared every night, which we feel will prove beneficial as the season goes on.”
David D’Agostino, Patrick McCabe, Mitch Mendonca and Justin Randhawa rounded out the scoring for the Canucks, who rebounded from a 1-0 deficit with a eight goals in a row.
Replying for the Meteors, who fell to 0-3-0-1, Cail Cirillo and Anthony Gigliotti.
Niagara Falls outshot Fort Erie 46-16 and excelled on special teams. The Canucks finished Saturday night’s game at the Leisureplex 4-for-10 on the power play, killed all five of their penalties and netted two goals while playing shorthanded.
Niagara Falls won for the second time in as many nights. Evans, with two goals; Nate Crouch, Matthew Riva and Mendonca found the back of the net in a 5-2 victory over the visiting Thorold Blackhawks Friday night at Gale Centre.
Daniel Rocco and Brennan Ireland scored for the Blackhawks who evened their record at 2-2.
Niagara Falls was outshot 40-32 and went 1-for-4 on the power play. Thorold was 0-for-5 with the man advantage.
Wednesday’s Golden Horseshoe Conference schedule has the Canucks in western New
York for a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Lockport Regals.
Fort Erie visits Thorold 7:07 p.m. Thursday.
Panthers 6, Jr. Canadians 1
At Pelham, Brandon McCorriston and Thomas Young celebrated the first-ever skirmish in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Battle of Rice Road with a high school reunion in the winners circle.
McCorriston stopped 19 of 20 shots and Young, his fellow E.L. Crossley Secondary School graduate, scored two goals as the Pelham Panthers renewed their regional rivalry with the Welland Jr. Canadians.
Friday night’s victory before an announced crowd of 356 at Meridian Community Centre marked Welland’s first visit to the new Pelham arena on Rice Road in Fonthill.
Brodie Thoms, Eli Palfreyman, Matt Ruigrok and Zach Thompson also scored for the Panthers, who improved to a Golden Horseshoe Conference-leading 4-0 and have allowed only three goals in four games.
Matt Baumann replied for the Jr. Canadians who were outshot 39-20 and fell to 1-2 with their second loss in a row.
Welland went 0-for-5 on the power play; Pelham, 1-for-4.
Next for the Panthers was a 2:30 p.m. faceoff Sunday at home against the Thorold Blackhawks, 2-2. The Jr. Canadians hosted the 0-4 Lockport Regals 7:05 p.m. Sunday at Welland Arena.
Results from those games were unavailable at press time, but summaries are posted online at stcatharinesstandard.ca, niagarafallsreview.ca and wellandtribune.ca.
Falcons 6, Meteors 1
At St. Catharines, the host Falcons jumped out to a 3-0 lead on their way to a victory over
Fort Erie for their first win of the season.
Jaleel Adams, with two goals; Carson Edwardson, Dawson McKinney, Noah Perlic and Jacob Roach also scored the Falcons who started league play 0-2.
Noah Desmarais found the back of the net for Fort Erie, which fell to 0-2-1.
Shots in the Friday night game at Jack Gatecliff Arena were
30-14 in favour of St. Catharines.
The Falcons went 3-for-5 with a man advantage; the Meteors, 0-for-3.
St. Catharines visits the 3-1 Hamilton Kilty B’s 7 p.m. Monday at Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena.
Billets wanted
The Welland Jr. Canadians are looking for billet families.
People interested in providing players on the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team with a home away from home can email the team at wellandjrcanadians@gmail.com.
They also can call team owner Lou Savona at 905-384-9597 or assistant general manager Curtis Pirson at 905-327-8552.