Weekend junior B roundup: Meteors win two, Falcons get back on track
The Fort Erie Meteors filled the net over the weekend.
The Meteors combined for 17 goals in wins over the Niagara Falls Canucks and Welland Junior Canadians to pick up their first two victories of the season.
Saturday, Antonio Pugliese potted a hat trick while Hunter Zoccoli added a pair as the Meteors blanked the visiting Niagara Falls Canucks 8-0 at the Leisureplex.
Luke Guiltier, Josh DiFrancesco and Kevin Gould also scored. Marcus Regina chipped in with three assists.
“I thought we came to play early on Saturday,” Meteors coach Nik Passero said. “Starting on time is so important in this league, especially with the firepower all over. Good starts and good goaltending will win you a lot of games and we got both on Saturday. Special performances from Pugliese and our D core were awesome to watch.
“We gave the crowd something to cheer about, that’s for sure.”
Duncan Nichols-Delay made 29 saves to earn the shutout in a chippy game that featured a combined 80 minutes in penalties.
Sunday in Welland, the Meteors scored three goals in each period.
“We had to weather an early storm, we looked to be a little sluggish after an emotional night Saturday,” Passero said. “Smitty [goaltender Josh Smith) settled in nicely after 20 minutes and shut the door.”
DiFrancesco collected three goals while Steven Katsis and Luke Guiltier added two each. Tyler Decoff and Antonio Pugliese rounded out the scoring. Kyle Adamo and Regina collected three assists each.
Tanner Ryan, Peter Spameni, Conner Thomson-Dick and Chase Johnson scored for Welland.
Falcons 3 Panthers 0
The St. Catharines Falcons got back on track Sunday afternoon after back-to-back shutout losses.
Following two scoreless periods, the Falcons found the range in the third with goals from Chris Reid, Wyatt Cupel and Michael Feldbloom.
“Our power play has struggled to start the season, so it was nice to score a few five-on-five goals, all while continuing to shut the door on the backend,” St. Catharines coach Tyler Bielby said. “Chris Reid, with his second game-winning goal in four games, got us on the board and we were able to get a couple quick ones after that.”
Josh Johnson, in his Falcons debut, turned back 22 shots for the shutout, becoming the fifth goaltender in team history to earn a shutout in his debut.
“It was nice to get back into the win column and see Josh Johnson celebrate his first junior win with a shutout,” Bielby said. “He has battled hard in practice and stayed sharp while supporting his Andrew MacLean, who has started the first few games of the season.”
The Falcons are in Caledonia Monday for their third game in four nights. The game was rescheduled from later in the year.
“It’s a quick turnaround,” Bielby said. “We will have to continue to play the team game and execute our game plan in all three zones of the ice.”
SATURDAY
Kilty B’s 5 Blackhawks 2
The Hamilton Kilty B’s jumped out to a 3-0 lead to remain undefeated at 3-0 at Thorold Saturday.
Dylan Abbamont had two goals for Hamilton while Andrew Lukezic, Liam Galton and Justin Monteith also scored.
Brayden McIntosh made 17 saves in net for the win.
Nicholas Rubino and Nathaniel Krbavac replied for the Hawks.
Nico Balice made 27 saves and took the loss.
Corvairs 4 Junior Canadians 1
Ethan Doyle had two goals and an assist as the Caledonia Corvairs topped the visiting Welland Junior Canadians.
Noah Baltzer and Zack De Cesare also scored for the winners.
Ethan Langevin made 30 saves for the win.
Tanner Ryan replied for Welland.
THIS WEEK
MONDAY
St. Catharines at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
Welland at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
St. Catharines at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Niagara Falls at Fort Erie, 7:15 p.m.
Thorold at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
Thorold at Pelham, 2:45 p.m.
Hamilton at Welland, 7:05 p.m.
Fort Erie at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
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