Falcons give Girhiny a warm welcome
St. Catharines adds OHL experience and pedigree to lineup
Christian Girhiny wrestled with a decision since the summer — where to play his final season of junior hockey.
He was welcomed back to the Erie Otters of the OHL with open arms for one of the coveted roster spots as an overager — teams are only allowed to dress three 20year-olds.
Home also beckoned. His father is coach and GM of the St. Catharines Falcons, who could use both his forward skills (he was on pace for a 60-points season with the Otters), experience (145 OHL regular season games under his belt) and moxie (having won an OHL championship and played in a Memorial Cup with the Otters).
In the end, home cooking won out, and he was at ease with the decision.
“It wasn’t like a game-time decision or something that you do on the fly,” Christian said. “I talked with everybody about it, and they supported my decision. It was the right time.”
Frank Girhiny said Christian was second on the Otters in scoring and getting plenty of ice time, but Erie is rebuilding and working younger players into more prominent roles.
“He could see the writing on the wall,” Frank said. “He knew he was going to play U Sports hockey at Brock or some other schools that have expressed their interest.”
Otters General Manager Dave Brown wished him well. In a news release, he praised Christian for the way he represented the Otters at and away from the rink.
“We can’t thank him enough for his contributions to the organization during his career,”
Brown said. “We wish him the very best moving forward with his future endeavours.”
The early returns are good for both the Falcons and Christian. They have won both games. Thursday in Thorold he had a goal and assisted one another in a
5-2 in over Thorold. Friday, he had four goals in a 7-1 win over the Welland Junior Canadians.
He played in all 22 games on the Otters run to the 2017 OHL Championship. The Thorold native also suited up for the team in all five of their Memorial Cup matchups in May 2017, recording
a goal in their tournament opener against the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds.
“I can add some leadership having played in the OHL for four years,” Christian said. “I leaned on some guys there, Dylan Strome, Alex DeBrincat, Anthony Cirelli, Anthony Foegele. All these guys are huge in their respectively NHL. What I learned from them, I can adapt and bring it to the Falcons. It doesn’t matter what level you play. Everybody wants to win.
“For me, It’s just nice to be back home with all my family
and friends. The Girhinys have a been a hockey family for a long time around here, and I don’t think it’s going to stop. My dad will probably be 90 and still coaching.”
Golden Horseshoe Round-Up Falcons 5 Blackhawks 2
The Thorold Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period before the St. Catharines Falcons rallied Thursday. Noah Solinger scored twice for the Falcons. Girhiny, Jack Venneri and Jaleel Adams scored one
goal each. Owen Allan and Trevor Neumann scored for the Blackhawks.
Falcons 7 Junior Canadians 1
The St. Catharines Falcons led 2-1 heading into the third before erupting for five unanswered goals against The Welland Junior Canadians Friday. Girhiny had a four-goal effort for the Falcons. Adam Pys. Andrew Somerville and Tanner Brown added one goal each. Phillipe Angervil scored for Welland.
Canucks 7 Meteors 1
The Niagara Falls Canucks outshot the Fort Erie Meteors 40-16 on the way to a win Friday. Kyle Justin scored twice for the first-place Canucks with Patrick McCabe, Justin Randhnawa, Ben Evans, Matthew Riva, and David D’Agostino scored singles. Cail Cirillo scored for the Meteors.
Kilty B’s 4 Panthers 2
Hamilton three goals in an eight-minute span of the first period to take a 3-0 lead in the first period Friday. Nick Cordeiro, Noah Bollert, Marino Moro and T.J. Hughes took care of the goal scoring duties for Hamilton. Mike Marchesan and Brodie Thoms replied for Pelham.
Meteors 5 Regals 2
The Fort Erie Meteors fired three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Lockport Regals Saturday. Luca Marcellitti led Fort Erie with two goals. Nathan Reichel, Marco Lariccia, and Lee Brady scored one apiece. Tim Lopez and Alex Stinis scored for Lockport.
Junior Canadians 4 Panthers 3 (OT)
Nick Bisser scored with 35 seconds left in overtime to spark a wild celebration as the Welland Junior Canadians defeated the Pelham Panthers despite being outshot 63-26 Sunday.
Alex Vendette picked up the win in net for Welland. Bisser scored two while teammates Matt Bauman and Alex Page had one each. Matt Ruigrok, Noah Caperchione, and Brodie Thoms scored for Pelham.