Falcons dominate opener
Josh Urbshott has made a seamless transition from junior C to junior B in only a few short weeks.
The 20-year-old rearguard had a stellar season with the Niagara Riverhawks of the Provincial Junior Hockey League before joining the St. Catharines Falcons once the Riverhawks were eliminated.
Urbshott quickly showed he could handle the jump and has worked his way into steady employment on the blueline in St. Catharines.
Urbshott turned is his usual steady performance Tuesday as the Falcons defeated the Welland Junior Canadians 7-1 in Game 1 of their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series.
The Junior Canadians have now dropped 21 in a row after ending the regular season on a 20-game losing streak.
Urbshott’s effectiveness has come as no surprise to Falcons coach/general manger Frank Girhiny.
“He’s real good,” Girhiny said. “At the end of the day, he’s one of our top D. He did a wonderful job for the Riverhawks and we knew of him.
“He’s a solid, real good defenceman. His ice will get more and more as the playoffs go on.”
Urbshott generally pairs up with Bryce Robertson to give the Falcons an effective pair of shutdown defenders.
“He’s reliable and strong. He’s heads and we’re real happy with him,” Girhiny added. “There’s no doubt about it. He’s one of the top defencemen on our team.”
Urbshott, who is majoring in kinesiology at Brock, is grateful to be able to contribute so much, so soon.
“There’s a lot of good hockey players on this team and for them to have the respect to put me on the ice when they do, it’s a good feeling,” he said. “The league down there is pretty strong so it’s not super difficult to hop right in.”
Urbshott collected nine goals and 28 points for the Riverhawks.
“I joined the team late last year and ended up having a good season and getting a bunch of points,” he said. “I didn’t really expect that. I played big minutes for them and I was happy with it.”
St. Catharines went up 2-0 in the first period on goals by Mike Masotti and Carson Edwardson. The Falcons held a 13-11 edge in shot in a lacklustre, sloppy period of hockey.
St. Catharines dominated the second period, outshooting Welland 18-4 to take a 4-1 lead before adding three more in the third.
“We just have to keep playing the right way,” Girhiny said. “I wasn’t happy with our first period, the second period was a lot better. We sustained a lot of pressure and the third period we continued that.
“We need to get dirtier, but at the end of the day we’ll take the win.”
Falcon facts: Joseph Colasurdo, Ethan Sims and Noah Blakely did not dress for the Falcons . . . Erik Nelson, Anthony Vigliatore, Jacob Thomason, Quinn Chevers, Dryden Rivet and Chase Johnson were scratched for the Junior Canadians . . . A speedy get well to Falcons super fan Pam Archer, who is battling some health issues . . . Former Falcons coach Dan Fitzgerald was a visitor in the press box.
Falcons 7 Junior Canadians 1
BPSN Star of the Game: St. Catharines forward Carson Edwardson with two goals and two assists.
St. Catharines Falcons: Edwardson 2; Mike Masotti; Adam Pys; Jacob Roach; Noah Solinger; Christian Girhiny.
Welland Junior Canadians: Matt Baumann.
Game stats: Shots on goal: St. Catharines on Alex Vendette (50), by Welland on Noah Battaglia (18); Power plays: St. Catharines 3-for-6, Welland 0-for-3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 6, Welland 12.
Attendance: 303
Up next: Game 2 Friday in St. Catharines. Games 3 and 4 are in Welland Sunday and Tuesday.
Panthers 6 Hawks 1
Six players hit the scoresheet as the Pelham Panthers topped the Thorold Blackhawks in Game 1 of their best-of-seven quarter-final series.
Wyatt Thole, Owen Allen, Matt Ruigrok, Brendan Charlton, Dylan Biggar and Devin Sanders scored for the winners.
Dylan Latty replied for the Hawks,
Brandon McCorriston made 29 saves in net for Pelham.
Game 2 is Thursday in Thorold.
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