Meteors ready to get to work
The Fort Erie Meteors are looking at this weekend’s Doug Burr Tournament in Pelham as more than just a few exhibition games.
With a significant turnover of their roster from last season, Mets general/manager coach Nik Passero and his staff will be looking at the games to help finalize their roster for the upcoming Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season.
“Jobs can definitely be won and lost this weekend,” Passero said. “I’d like my number to get down to 25-26 come Tuesday so we’ll start diving into the real stuff pretty quick. Guys go to OHL camps and then we’ll hit the ground running.”
The Meteors take on Caledonia Friday at 8:15 p.m. followed by a 12:45 p.m. game Saturday versus Welland and 6:15 p.m. game against Port Colborne.
The Meteors opened camp Monday with 40 bodies.
“We had a good turnout,” Passero said. “We skated a little bit throughout the summer. Had a really good prospect camp with over 90 guys in May.
“We have a few spots open that guys are fighting for. Last year we were full at this point, we already had our team picked, so it’s a little bit different, but it’s made camp a little more intense, which is great.”
Passero said following two strong seasons, the organization no longer needs to take players just to fill out the roster.
“I think in the last couple of years we set a standard of what we expect from our players on and off the ice and we’re finally at a stage where we don’t have to budge off that for talent,” Passero said. “We’re at a point where the standard has been set and we just have to keep moving forward.”
The Meteors have six players returning from last season — forwards Kyle Adamo, Nolan Stickland, Caleb Bidgood and defencemen Rylan Masterson, Cameron Thorpe and R.J. Schmidt.
Charlie Burns, who played in three games for the Niagara IceDogs this season, has one of the goaltending jobs secured while the second spot is still up for grabs.
“I think we’re going to be a very defensive team,” Passero said. “I think our back end and our goaltending are going to be very solid. I think we’re going to have to find different ways to score, whereas last year we scored at will.
“It’s a little bit different but that will be fun and different for the coaching staff to coach a different way and we’re going to have to adapt to what our team does.”
The Meteors open the regular season Friday, Sept. 15 in Port Colborne before hosting the St. Catharines Falcons in their home opener the next night.
The following is the schedule for the Doug Burr Tournament in Pelham.
| 0 | Fri, Aug 18 | 
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– | 
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 5:15 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Fri, Aug 18 | 
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– | 
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 6:45 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Fri, Aug 18 | 
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– | 
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 8:15 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 9:15 am EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 10:45 am EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 12:45 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 3:15 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 4:45 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sat, Aug 19 |
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– |
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– | Pelham Accipiter | 6:15 pm EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sun, Aug 20 | 2nd Place Div 2 | – | 1st Place Div 1 | – | Pelham Accipiter | 10:15 am EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sun, Aug 20 | 2nd Place Div 1 | – | 1st Place Div 2 | – | Pelham Accipiter | 11:45 am EDT | ||||||
| 0 | Sun, Aug 20 | Semi 2 Winner | – | Semi 1 Winner | – | Pelham Accipiter | 2:45 pm EDT | ||||||
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