Niagara Falls teams feel at home in win column
Junior hockey teams from Niagara Falls went 2-for-2 on the road Thursday.
First to finish the night in the win column were the Niagara Falls Canucks. They doubled the Thorold Blackhawks 4-2 to keep pace with the idle St. Catharines Falcons in the race to finish the regular season first in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Golden Horseshoe Conference.
In an 8:20 p.m. start at Olympic Arena in Dundas, the fifth-seeded Niagara River Hawks scored three answered goals to edge the No. 4 seed Hamilton Huskies Jr. Blues 3-2 to open the Provincial Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Andrew Bruno, with the two goals, the second into an empty net; David Agostino and Nicholas Prestia provided the offence as the Canucks improved to 34-6-0-1 in junior B league play.
Devon Thibodeau and Evan Miller replied for the fifth-place Blackhawks, who lost their third in a row to fall to 18-20-1-4. Thorold was outshot 40-21.
Niagara Falls was scheduled to host the Welland Jr. Canadians, seventh, 8-29-0-4; Friday and visit
the Pelham Panthers on Sunday afternoon. Thorold’s next game is Thursday at home against St. Catharines.
Other Friday night action in the Golden Horseshoe had the Falcons hosting the Fort Erie Meteors, sixth, 11-26-0-3.
Saturday night’s schedule, weather permitting, has Pelham, fourth, 22-14-0-4; at Fort Erie, and St. Catharines at Hamilton Kilty B’s, third, 30-11-0-1. On Sunday, it’s Niagara at Pelham and Hamilton at Welland.
River Hawks 3, Huskies Jr. Blues 2
Visiting Niagara drew first blood in the junior C playoffs coming from behind to beat Hamilton.
Brady Bannon and Jamieson Buck staked the hosts to a 2-0 lead before Nick Volpatti, with two goals; and Carter LeRoux replied for the R’ Hawks.
Niagara excelled on special teams in the opening game in a best-of-seven South Bloomfield Division quarter-final. The
River Hawks went 2-for-2 on the power play.
Game 2 goes 8 p.m. Saturday at Gale Centre in Niagara
Falls, with the third game
Sunday back at Olympic Arena in Dundas for a 6:30 p.m. faceoff.
Action in quarter-final between No. 2 Grimsby Peach Kings and No. 7 Dunnville Mudcats was scheduled to start Friday night at Dunnville Arena. Game 2 is Sunday at Peach King Centre. Both are 7:30 p.m. starts.