Falcons bomb Caledon
Brendan Grenville has fit in well with the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons.
The 20-year-old Pelham native took some time to acclimatize himself to his new team, but has been playing his best hockey in recent weeks.
Grenville collected a goal and four assists as the Falcons took care of the Caledon Bombers 8-2 in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action Friday night at the Seymour-Hanna Sports Complex.
It was the sixth straight win for the Falcons who improved to 16-5 and are now just two points in arrears of the Ayr Centennials for first place in the Eastern Conference.
The Centennials, who lost in 5-2 Port Colborne Friday, host the Falcons Thursday in a showdown for first.
Grenville is more than happy to be a Falcon after spending time with Thorold, Port Colborne and Pelham.
“I’m very, very thrilled to be a Falcon,” he said. “Throughout junior hockey they’re known to be a very good championship winning team, so I came here hoping that I could help them.”
Grenville admitted he needed a period of adjustment after joining the team.
“It was tough at first, but the group of guys really believed in me,” he said. “We stuck with it, and the outcomes are coming. We got our sixth win in a row, so things are rolling.”
Grenville is enjoying playing for a winning organization.
“You know what? It’s really fun to win, especially in my last year of hockey. I’ve come from teams that maybe don’t have the greatest past but coming here and winning, it’s really fun.”
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby loves what Grenville brings to the table.
“I think for him, what makes him special, is he works hard and then he’s got a nice shot. He’s smart, he can make plays, and he’s starting to do that,” Bielby said. “He’s our pulse.”
Grenville normally plays with captain Cam Lowe and Nathan Duplessis on one of the most dangerous forward units in the league.
“That line had a hell of a night,” Bielby said. “It started with the way he was working and turning pucks over and forechecking.
“He’s one of our biggest leaders in the room. He’s doing a great job both on and off the ice and we’re so happy to have him around.”
Bielby said Grenville has not taken the easy way out this season.
“One thing I’ve noticed is he hasn’t taken for granted the work we did to try and get him out of Pelham to get him here. He knows he has an opportunity to have a successful last season, and he’s putting everything in day-in, day-out in practice.”
Bielby was fired up after the game as the Falcons continue to play as well as they have all season.
“We’re playing the right way in games like this,” Bielby said. “You can get up 5-1 or 6-1 and it’s easy to start getting into bad habits. For the most part, I thought we did a lot of things really well tonight and there were some beautiful goals. We’re seeing the chemistry starting to come together. We built this team with a lot of depth and we can see it tonight.”
Bielby was also happy to see rookie Liam Fisher net his first junior goal.
“He’s a minor hockey guy that’s used to lots of minutes, used to doing things his own way a little bit. We’re trying to teach him structure and how to be a hockey player both on and off the puck,” Bielby said. “The whole line (with Lachlan Sucher and Dillon Atkinson) has just been amazing for us.”
Falcon facts: Kaleb Lyttleton, Jordan Marconi, Dallys Hibbert and Hayden Jeffery were scratched for the Falcons. Hibbert suited up for the Sarnia Sting of the OHL . . . Members of the Falcons will be at Metro on Lakeshore Road from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday for a meet and greet . . . The Falcons Community Care and Food Drive will be held at home games Friday, Nov. 29, Friday, Dec. 13 and Friday, Dec. 20. Fans are asked to bring Christmas gifts or non-perishable food items to Rink 1 at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
STATS PACK
Falcons 8 Bombers 2
Falcons Brendan Grenville with five points.
St. Catharines Falcons: Cameron Lowe 2 (9,10); Ally Mostafaie 2 (8,9); Nathan Duplessis (14); Marcus Harris (6); Brendan Grenville (4); Liam Fisher (1).
Caledon Bombers: Patrick Polaczek (8); Aiden Shourideh (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Nolan Godfrey (53), by Caledon on Jacob Ceranic (31); Power plays: St. Catharines 1/3, Caledon 1/3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 8; Caledon 8.
Attendance: 265.
Up next: The Falcons are in Welland Sunday night, in Ayr Thursday and back home to Fort Erie next Friday.
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