Falcons take Game 1 with whistle-to-whistle win

Hamilton is defeated on home ice for only the second time this season, first time in playoffs

Mitchell Armstrong scored three goals, the last two into an empty net, and the visiting St. Catharines Falcons defeated the Hamilton Kilty B’s, 6-2, to take a 1-0 lead in a best-of-seven Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Golden Horseshoe Conference final.

Blake Yetman, Sam Williamson and Jonah Boria also scored for St. Catharines, which improved its playoff record to 9-0 with Monday night’s whistle-to-whistle win over top-seeded Hamilton.

Nolan Underwood and Matthew Duarte replied for the Kilty B’s, who outshot their visitors 28-22 and lost at home for only the second time since the start of the 2021-22 junior-b season. Their last loss at Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena was Feb. 28 when they dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime to the Falcons.

Andrew Maclean, the conference’s most valuable player and the league’s top goaltender, earned the win in the St. Catharines net. Braedyn Mcintosh, who allowed six goals on nine shots, and Gage Stewart, one goal on 11 shots, shared goaltending duties for Hamilton. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play: Hamilton was 0-for-1, while St. Catharines went 0-for-2.

The Falcons never looked back after jumping out to a 3-0 lead and ended the series opener with a three-goal run after the Kilty B’s netted back-to-back goals.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Hamilton with the third and fourth games Friday and Tuesday, May 10, at Jack Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines.

The winner advances to play the champions of the Midwestern and Western conferences in a double round-robin. The top two teams from that qualifier play a best-ofthree final for the Sutherland Cup.

Falcons Feathers St. Catharines is seeking its second Ontario junior-b hockey championship and first since 2012.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Hamilton with the third and fourth games Friday and May 10, in St. Catharines