Corvairs cruising
Four-time defending Golden Horseshoe champs remain class of the conference, league
Age-restricted leagues, such as the 20 and younger Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, are cyclical by nature.
Stars come and go, usually to the Ontario Hockey League if the light they cast is especially bright, so the window to contend for a championship doesn’t stay open all that long. At most, teams have four years to lift themselves from the ground floor of a rebuild to the penthouse.
And that’s only if all the pieces come together – and fit together.
Because of this, and in an effort to avoid the deep valleys that can follow high peaks, teams with the goal of putting a competitive product on the ice are constantly retooling, even as they rebuild.
In junior B hockey’s Golden Horseshoe Conference, no team has been better doing this than the Caledonia Corvairs.
While the St. Catharines Falcons and the Niagara Falls Canucks are no slouches when it comes to taking a long-term view of the future, both of these successful franchises have to take a back seat to the Corvairs.
As they approach the one-third point of the 50-game regular season, the four-time defending conference champions remain the class of the ’Shoe and of the 26-team league overall. Their 12-1-0-1 record, for a winning percentage of .893, is best in the league.
While the 12-2-1 Leamington Flyers, the best in the west so far this season, and the 12-3 Listowel Cyclones, pace-setters in the Midwestern Conference, also are earning points at least 80 per cent of the time, Caledonia leads the league in most goals scored, 77; and fewest allowed, 27.
This is not to say the Golden Horseshoe is a one-team league.
Hardly. Right behind the Corvairs, and showing no signs of slowing down, are the Falcons, 11-3-0-2, and the Canucks, 11-6.
Though they have played the fewest games in the league, the 10-2 Ancaster Avalanche, only four points back of Caledonia, with two games in hand, also belong in the conversation. Their 4-3 overtime victory over the Corvairs last Saturday increased Ancaster’s winning percentage to .833, tied with Leamington for third in the league.
Only Caledonia, .893, and the Stratford Warriors, .846, have achieved more successs of art his season than the under-the-radar Avalanche.
In comparison, the defending Sutherland Cup champion Elmira Sugar Kings, 8-7, have a winning percentage of .533.
No place like home
Home may be where the heart is, but points?
Not so much if you’re talking about the St. Catharines Falcons or the Niagara Falls Canucks.
St. Catharines and Niagara Falls have been forces to reckon on the road – 8-0 and 7-3, respectively – St. Catharines and Niagara Falls have been downright pedestrian at home. The Falcons so far are .500 at Jack Gatecliff Arena, 3-3-0-2, and the Canucks are slightly better at Gale Centre, 4-3.
It’s a trend that Falcons head coach Dan Fitzgerald wants to “buck immediately.
“But I don’t think it should be as shocking as many people think,” he said. “In this league, where the travel is so light, there really isn’t a grind of being on the road.
“Every team is fresh for every game, regardless of whether they are in their own rink or not.”
The first-year coach isn’t specifically worried out the team’s record at home.
“I’m focused on our team improving, so we are frustrating to play against, whether we’re at The Jack or not.”
Canucks owner-head coach Frank Pietrangelo also isn’t about to rent a bus to drive around the Gale Centre parking lot to simulate preparations for a road game.
“Sure, 4-3 is not ideally the record we want, but our three losses at home are to St. Catharines, Caledonia and Ancaster, all of them very good teams,” he said. “Over the course of the season we think these things will even out.”
In the Golden Horseshoe Ancaster and Caledonia are taking advantage of home ice the most. Both are 6-1 when they have the final shift change.
Fort Erie, at 4-3, is the only other team in the nine-team conference with a winning record at home. Thorold, 3-3-1, is right at .500, the Welland Jr. Canadians, 3-3-0-1, one point below, and the Pelham Panthers, 3-4, a full game back.
Buffalo, the league’s lone winless team, is 0-8-0-1 at home.
Break out the ginger ale
There was no reason to break out the bubbly Tuesday night when the Buffalo Regals forced overtime against the Fort Erie Meteors.
However, raising glasses of ginger ale in celebration would not have been out of order.
TheconsolationpointintheRegals’ 6-5 loss was their first of the season after starting league play 0-14.
Buffalo’s Peyton Zern and Jacob Hearne, between the Fort Erie pipes, had a busy night as the Meteors outshot their hosts 45-43 in a game highlighted by play on special teams. Fort Erie went 4-for-6 on the power play, while Buffalo, 0-4 with a man advantage, scored two shorthanded goals.
Fort Erie was 1:07 away from taking a 5-2 lead into the final period when the Regals replied with three goals to force overtime.
Defenceman Andrew Somerville ended the drama and prevented the Meteors from becoming THE team to end Buffalo’s season-long winless streak with an unassisted goal 3:54 into overtime.
Drew Passero, with two goals, Marco Lariccia, Luca Mazzo and Alex McAteer scored in regulation for Fort Erie which improved to 5-10.
Replying for the Regals were Logan Gare, two goals, both shorthanded, Benjamin Gallivan, Joseph Marszalek and Joseph Trifone.
It was Buffalo’s third one-goal loss of the season, and the second of the year to Fort Erie. The Regals dropped a 4-3 decision to their cross-border rival in the opening game of head-tohead play Sept. 16 at the Leisureplex. Their losing streak includes a twogoal setback.
Meteors head coach Todd Clayton wasn’t at the game Tuesday night, but he was not surprised at the result.
“Buffalo has definitely improved,” the second-year coach said.
Canucks owner-head coach Frank Pietrangelo agrees with that assessment. Saying “there are no easy games in this league,” he said parity is evident.
“Buffalo is much improved from last year, so hats off to them for doing a fine job,” Pietrangelo said. “It makes our league so much better.”