Weekend junior B roundup: Panthers upset Falcons; Mets rally past Corvairs
Logan Snyder made 50 saves as the Pelham Panthers upset the St. Catharines Falcons 3-2 Sunday afternoon. Photo: BRUCE IDESON.
The Pelham Panthers shocked the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons 3-2 Sunday and the timing could not have been better for the winners.
“It’s really good for the room right now,” Pelham head coach/assistant general manager Zac Rinaldo said. “They put the work in, they bought into the game plan, they showed off the great mindset. It’s all about the kids right now and the huge confidence boost that if they play the right way for 60 minutes, they can basically do anything that they set their minds to.”
The win was only Pelham’s second of the season in 12 games while the Falcons dropped to 9-4.
Rinaldo said the team held a meeting Saturday, which seemed to pay off.
“We’ve had too many meetings lately, but you have to do these things when you’re losing,” he said. “We had a really good meeting and I think the mindset, the way I look at it is, I really don’t care who we’re playing, we just stick to our game plan and play the same way.
“I think our mentality shifted into a kill-or-be-killed mentality and doing it as a team and encouraging each other and holding each other accountable and the communication. I think everyone just bought into that mindset that we had today.”
Pelham took a 2-0 lead in the second period on goals by Francesco Sanita and Ty Boone before Nathan Duplessis replied for St. Catharines. Dylan Leslie put Pelham up 3-1 in the third before Calvin Petrovsky scored with less than a minute left for the Falcons.
“It wasn’t an easy game by any means, they were scratching and clawing for every inch of ice,” Rinaldo said. “They have to understand that’s what it takes to win. Winning is not easy. So we just have to make them understand that’s what it takes to win. We have to make strides moving forward and keep the momentum up.”
Goaltender Logan Snyder stole the show, kicking out 50 shots for the Panthers.
“He has been the X-factor for our team,” Rinaldo said. “They love him — he’s a great kid.”
The Panthers picked up Snyder recently from the Niagara Falls Canucks of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
“His work ethic is tremendous in practice. He battles and competes in games, but I think on the personal side of things the boys love him as a friend and then when he goes in net, he’s also showing that he’s for the team,” Rinaldo said. “The guys really feel confident inside of our D zone when he’s in the net and they want to battle for him. They want to block shots for him, they want to do everything possible to help him out just like he’s been helping us out with saves.”
Falcons president of hockey operations and assistant general manager Tyler Bielby lamented his team’s soft start to the game.
“Not the way we wanted to finish the weekend,” he said. “A good comeback win on Friday and let it go to waste by not being ready to start on time this afternoon. We put a lot towards the net in the last 40, but didn’t bear down and capitalize on our chances. We lost the battles in front of both nets and that proved to be the difference.
“Time to re-group, have a hard week of practice, and be ready to go Friday back home (to Pelham).”
SUNDAY
Centennials 5 Junior Canadians 2
Ayr Centennials: Mitchell Ferras 2 (3,4); Nathan McHattie 2 (1,2); Austin Keleher (5).
Welland Junior Canadians: Joey Marrese (7); Joshua Cacciola (4).
W: Kayden Newton (37 saves).
L: Ivan Kastelan (37 saves).
Meteors 4 Corvairs 3
Fort Erie Meteors: Sam Tonelli (8); Danny Adamo (3); Colton Radford (3); Rylan Masterson (2).
Caledonia Corvairs: Evan Bradacs 2 (6,7); Zachary Naherne (1).
W: Finn Moffett (52 saves).
L: Keegan Jackson (39 saves).
SATURDAY
RedHawks 3 Meteors 1
Cambridge RedHawks: David Borzoi 2 (7,8); Shayle Simmons (1).
Fort Erie Meteors: Sam Tonelli (7).
W: Lennat Neisse (32 saves).
L: Nathan Boudreau (31 saves).
Corvairs 5 Sailors 4 SO
Caledonia Corvairs: Ethan Brassard 2 (2,3); Evan Bradacs (5); Drew Agnew (3).
Port Colborne Sailors: PJ Alexander 2 (2,3); Vasily Serov (5); Jace Schaly (3).
W: Davis Penner (34 saves).
L: JJ Salajko (33 saves).
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
Caledonia at Ayr, 7 p.m.
Fort Erie at Hamilton, 7:07 p.m.
FRIDAY
Pelham at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Ayr at Port Colborne, 7 p.m.
Hamilton at Caledon, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
St. Catharines at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Welland at Cambridge, 7 p.m.
Brantford at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
Caledon at Pelham, 2:45 p.m.
Port Colborne at Welland, 7 p.m.
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