Meteors push Caledonia to brink of elimination
Fort Erie is just one victory away from capturing the franchise’s first championship since 1979
Liam Beamish and Sam Tonelli each scored two goals, Charlie Burns made 30 saves and the visiting Fort Erie Meteors defeated the Caledonia Corvairs, 4-2, to take a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Golden Horseshoe Conference final.
Thursday’s come-from-behind victory was the second in as many nights for the Meteors, who are now only one win away from winning the franchise’s first championship since 1979.
Fort Erie pushed Caledonia to the brink of elimination despite struggling out of the gate.
“We were not ourselves in the first two periods. I think we were a little tired from the night before; we didn’t have our legs,” general manager-head coach Nik Passero said. “I just challenged the guys to ‘Go get one’ and see what happens.”
What wound up happening was a four-goal run that began with a short-handed marker from Tonelli and ended with an empty-netter from Beamish.
“We got a great short-handed goal from Tonelli,” Passero said. “We put them on their heels and we rolled them over.”
Burns, who has improved his playoff record to 10-4 in goal for the Meteors, stopped 19 of 21 shots over two periods to keep his team in the game.
“He made some big saves. Even in the first two periods, when we weren’t great, I don’t think we gave up much,” Passero said. “But, the big saves we needed, he made them and then in the third we repaid him.”
No. 1 seed Caledonia outshot second-seeded Fort Erie 32-22. Each team scored one on the power play. The Meteors finished 1-for-6 with the man advantage and the Corvairs were 1-for-4.
Caledonia, which is seeking its first Golden Horseshoe playoff championship since 2018, took a 2-0 lead into the third period on an even-strength goal from Brayden Russell and a power-play marker from Steve LaForme.
Game 6 is Saturday night at the Fort Erie Leisureplex with a seventh contest, if needed, Monday at the Haldimand Caledonia Community Centre.
The Meteors had a chance to close out their semifinal against the third-seeded St. Catharines Falcons heading into Game 6, and they did just that.
They hope this recent history repeats itself Saturday night in front of their home fans. Passero doesn’t want the third-round series to go the distance.
“One hundred per cent. I never want to go back there again,” he said.
Passero’s message to the team heading into the first elimination game of the final was largely congratulatory.
“Well, first off, it’s ‘Enjoy your day off.’ They deserve it, they’ve earned it,” he said. “Then you get to come home in front of 2,500 people and a chance to win some hardware.”
Fort Erie’s coaching staff doesn’t need to remind the players to hit the ice on Saturday with a Game 7, must-win mentality.
“I honestly don’t think our staff has to do that. I think the players inside know,” Passero said. “They’re so well led by our leadership group, and they know what’s at stake.
“They’ll be ready to go; they always are. Even when we’re not at our best, they’re still working their butts off. They’ll go and get it done.”
The winner of the series will advance to play the Midwestern and Western conference champions in a three-team double round-robin tourney. The top two go on to face each other in a best-of-seven playoff for the Sutherland Cup, which is presented annually to the Ontario junior-B hockey champion.
All three conference finals feature the top seeds, and the higher seed was a win away from taking the title in both the Midwest and West heading into play Friday night. The Listowel Cyclones were leading the Stratford Warriors 3-1 in the Midwest and the London Nationals were up 3-2 on St. Marys Lincolns.
Fort Erie has yet to win a Sutherland Cup, while Caledonia is seeking its fourth title in franchise history and first after winning three in a row from 2014 to ’16.
Caledonia won the season series four games to three, but Fort Erie ended head-to-head play on a winning note with victories in the last two meetings.
Meteor writes Liam Beamish is the Golden Horseshoe 2023-24 rookie of the year after scoring a teamhigh 27 goals and collecting 29 assists in 46 regular-season games. He has seven goals and nine assists in 15 playoff games … The Meteors last won a championship in 1978-79 in the final season of the Niagara District Junior-B Hockey League. They joined the former Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League the following season.
‘‘ Even when we’re not at our best, they’re still working their butts off.
NIK PASSERO METEORS GM AND COACH