Corvairs snap Falcons’ winning streak

It was anything but a happy start to the new year for the St. Catharines Falcons Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.

The defending Sutherland Cup champion saw its eight-game Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference winning streak come to a crashing halt with a 5-4 loss to the Caledonia Corvairs.

The Falcons last setback was a 2-1 overtime decision to Hamilton on Nov. 18 and its last regulation loss was 3-1 at home to Hamilton on Oct. 28.

“We haven’t had a loss in quite awhile so I am just trying to wrap my head around that feeling,” Falcons head coach Tyler Bielby said. “There’s no question that it is our least favourite thing.”

The roots of the loss could be traced to the first period.

“I thought we did some really good things in the first period and we weren’t able to put the puck way. That’s what resulted in the rest of the game,” he said. “It was close and maybe in the first period we could have opened it up. We were a little rusty and we have to make sure we are preparing for games and make sure we don’t get comfortable.

“At the end of the day, we found a way to score four goals coming off of a big break and we just need to clean up on the other side of the puck.”

Leading 3-2 heading into the third period, the game went off the rails quickly for St. Catharines. The Falcons gave up two goals 23 seconds apart in the first 1:06 of the frame and then a power play goal at 3:10 after Bielby called a timeout.

“We have to be ready to start the third period right from our goalie out,” he said. “You have to be ready to start with a one-goal lead and we weren’t. As a result, that is what happened.”

Special teams play also didn’t do St. Catharines any favours Friday night. The Falcons went 2-8 with the man advantage while the Corvairs were a perfect 2-2.

“Coming off a break with the special teams, you have to continue to work through it but we scored two power-play goals and when we do that I expect to win the hockey game.”

Bielby clearly wasn’t happy with the loss but he took it in stride.

“It will be fuel for us and we learned from it. You can’t learn the euphoria of winning until you feel a loss and that is what we really need to take from tonight,” he said. “We have to understand where we beat ourselves and also understand where we did things well. This is all about a process and learning over the next 20 games to get ready for the playoffs.”

Falcons’ forward Blake Yetman continued to roll Friday night with a hat trick. The 20-year-old Whitby native is riding a seven-game points streak and has seven goals and 12 assists during the heater.

“He is a special talent. He loves the game of hockey, he loves to be on that ice and doing his thing and it showed tonight,” Bielby said. “I thought he really brought his compete and he was rewarded with a few goals.”

Mitch Armstrong made a successful return to the lineup for the Falcons by scoring in the second period.

“Army isn’t here to score 50 goals but we talked to them between the first and second period and told them we were putting a lot of shots on net. Pucks were laying there and we weren’t getting there,” he said. “Sure enough, Army was brought in because he is the guy who will stand in the blue paint to get the goal he got tonight on a rebound. He gets in those dirty areas and brings a lot of energy. He a big piece, we are happy to have him and we owe him a win on Sunday.”

The Falcons fell to 25-4-2 with the loss while the Corvairs improved to 16-16-0-1.

STATS PACK

Corvairs 5 Falcons 4

Falcons’ Blake Yetman with a hat trick

For the St. Catharines Falcons: Yetman (20, 21, 22); Mitch Armstrong (1).

For the Caledonia Corvairs: Dylan Dekoe (17, 18); Dominic Mufarreh (1, 2); Tanner Hunt (9).

Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Marek Pavlas 18-11-13=42, by Caledonia on Josh Johnson 10-9-12=31; Power plays: St. Catharines 2-8, Caledonia 2-2; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 9, Caledonia 21.

Up next: The Falcons visit Welland Sunday at 7 p.m.

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