B’s end losing slide

The visiting Welland Jr. Canadians defeated the Buffalo Regals 5- 2 Tuesday night to within one point of fifth place in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Golden Horseshoe Conference.

Matt Hobbs, power play; Matthew Giannini, shorthanded; Brendan Rylott, Tanner McEachern and Alexandar Dameski, empty net; scored for the Jr. Canadians.

Ryan Kelly and Cameron Clark replied for the Regals, who lost their 18th game in a row and dropped to 1- 31- 0- 3 in league play.

The Jr. Canadians were outshot 41- 36 and finished 1- for- 1 on the power play. The Regals went 0- for- 5 with a man advantage.

Welland improved to 13- 18- 3- 2 to move within one point of the idle Thorold Blackhawks, 13- 153- 3, for fifth place in the conference.

Thorold, which hosts the secondplace Ancaster Avalanche, 26- 7- 1- 0, in a 7: 07 p. m. faceoff Thursday, has two games in hand on Welland.

With the whistle- to- whistle win, the Jr. Canadians slammed the brakes on a three- game losing slide and improved to 4- 0 in head- to- head play versus Buffalo.

Welland leads the season series against the junior B league’s only U. S. team eight points to one. The Regals earned a consolation point in a 3- 2 overtime loss at home Nov. 7.

Buffalo visits the St. Catharines Falcons Friday at 7 p. m. and Welland is home to the Caledonia Corvairs Sunday at 7: 05 p. m.

The Regals trail the season series with the Falcons three games to none, six points to one, and the Jr. Canadians are winless in four starts against the four- time defending conference champion Corvairs.