Falcons add Aussie winger; Weekend junior B roundup
Lachlan Sucher’s brief exposure to hockey as a youngster was enough for him to fall in love with the game.
The lanky winger for the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons was born in Australia and moved to Saskatchewan for a brief time as a young child where he quickly caught the hockey bug.
“That’s where I started playing hockey,” Sucher said.
Sucher and his family then moved back to Australia for eight years for his father’s job but Sucher’s heart was always in Canada.
“I’ve been looking to get out because you can only go so far in hockey in Australia,” he said.
Sucher hooked on with the Crystal Beach Academy of the North American Prep Hockey League and Great Lakes Prep Hockey League last season where get got reacclimatized to Canada thanks to coach Kevin Rawlick.
Wanting to take his game to the next level this season, Sucher first skated with the Fort Erie Meteors and then hooked on with the Falcons where he immediately felt at home.
“I was looking all over the place to play. I tried out for Fort Erie and saw the level of the game and it was really good,” he said. “I saw the facilities and the coaching staff here and I thought it was really good to come here.”
Sucher quickly fit in with his new teammates.
“The guys here are so wicked, so accommodating. They communicate everything so it’s nice,” he said.
He loves the passion shown for hockey in Canada.
“Just the love of the game around here, you don’t see it (in Australia). We’ve got two rinks in our state and it’s a 30 minute drive to each. I figure I pass seven or eight rinks on the way here. It’s great and the fans — you don’t get that.”
Off the ice, Sucher is adapting well.
“Canada is actually pretty similar to Australia; you see a lot of similarities,” he said. “We don’t get any Tim Hortons down there but here is everyone is so accommodating and kind to foreigners here it’s unreal.”
There are a few things Sucher has had to adjust to, however.
“We don’t have squirrels or racoons so that’s a bit different and driving on the opposite side of the road is a bit of a shock,” he smiled.
The weather is also an adjustment.
“We don’t get the winters like you do here and the summers are a bit warmer. We get warmer weather for a longer period of time.”
While he misses his “mates” and his family in Perth, which is the capital of Western Australia, Sucher is committed to fulfilling his dream of playing at a Division 1 school in the States.
“I’d like to play at a nice school and get good schooling and play hockey. I don’t want to drop it all and just do hockey,” he said. “I just want make it as high as I can and play as long as I can and make a career out of it.”
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby is a big fan of Sucher.
“He’s a reminder of how special the game is,” Bielby said. “Here’s a kid that lived in Canada when he was seven years old and fell in love with the game.
“We’re so happy to be able to give him the tools to bring home and lead his national team at the World Juniors this year.”
Sucher has an assist in three games this season.
“He plays the game simple. It’s north-south, good stick. He plays hard, and most importantly, this is a kid from across the globe and he’s our most vocal guy on the bench,” Bielby said.
The Falcons ran their record to 5-1 with a convincing 7-1 victory at Caledon Saturday.
Luke Gualtieri had a huge night with three goals and two assists while Cam Lowe, Jordan Marconi, Marcus Harris and Dallys Hibbert also scored.
Rookie Jacob Ceranic made 14 saves for the win in goal.
Meteors 3 Sailors 1
John Lloyd kicked out 20 of 21 shots as the visiting Fort Erie Meteors edged the Port Colborne Sailors.
Kyle Adamo, Brock Houser and Sam Tonelli scored for the Mets.
Davin Krakowiak replied for Port.
SUNDAY
Corvairs 5 Panthers 4 OT
Ethan Quick’s second goal of the game, three minutes into overtime, gave the visiting Caledonia Corvairs the win.
Lincoln Swerdfeger, Ethan Royer and Luc Gauvreau also scored.
Francesco Sita had two goals for the Panthers while Owen Hunks and Nichols Gilby added singles.
The Panthers, who earned their first win of the season Friday with a victory over Welland, scored three goals in the third to rally and tie the game.
Logan Snyder made 34 saves in goal for the Panthers.
Junior Canadians 3 RedHawks 2
The Welland Junior Canadians improved to 4-3 with a win on home ice over the Cambridge RedHawks.
Seth Coomber’s goal with 8:15 to play in the third period broke a 2-2 tie.
Joey Marrese and Christiano Stogiannis also scored for Welland.
Ivan Kastelan made 38 saves for the win.
THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
Hamilton at London, 7 p.m.
Caledonia at LaSalle, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
St. Catharines at Sarnia, 7:10 p.m.
Listowel at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Chatham at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Komoka at Port Colborne, 7 p.m.
Pelham at St. Marys, 7:30 p.m.
Fort Erie at St. Thomas, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
St. Marys at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Welland at Komoka, 7:15 p.m.
London at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
LaSalle at Pelham, 2:45 p.m.
Port Colborne at Chatham, 7 p.m.
St. Thomas at Welland, 7 p.m.
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