Weekend junior B roundup: Falcons clip Panthers; Mets finish strong
William Moore took a page from fellow defenceman Trent Vaillancourt’s playbook and got in on the scoring for the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons.
Moore picked up right where Vaillancourt left off Friday, netting his first goal of the season and also adding an assist as the Falcons defeated the Pelham Panthers 4-1 in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League game Sunday afternoon in Pelham.
Vaillancourt, best known for his defensive prowess, had two goals in a win over Brantford Friday.
“Feels good,” Moore smiled. “Got the puck, pinched, and sent it on net and it went in. Was due for that about 100 games in now, probably around. So it’s about time one went in.”
Moore’s record was updated following the game to indicate he scored a goal last season. Falcons staff had kept the puck thinking it had been Moore’s first junior goal.
“I had an empty-netter last year, so it’s my second goal,” Moore said.
Scoring is normally the last thing on the 20-year-old Markham native’s mind.
“Honestly, I’ve played defence since I started skating, I’ve always played defence,” he said. “It’s what I like to do so it (scoring) doesn’t really affect me.
“I have a good role. Everyone on the team has a role. If we keep doing it, we’ll keep winning.”
Rick Girhiny, subbing for suspended head coach Tyler Bielby, enjoyed seeing Moore get rewarded on the scoreboard.
“You do the right things — we know Moorsey’s going to block the shots, he’s going to get pucks out. But when you can contribute every now and then on the other side of the puck, it boosts the lineup too because everybody else sees that and they feel good for him,” Girhiny said.
Girhiny also appreciates Moore’s steadiness.
“The best defenceman is a predictable defenceman who does the right things, doesn’t do to try to do too much and get caught up,” Girhiny said.
Moore, Lucas Tuin, Luca Santostefano and Dallys Hibbert anchored the defence Sunday with the help of call-up Zach Lowe as the Falcons continue to battle the injury bug.
Moore, who previously played in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League with Aurora and Pickering, joined St. Catharines last year after enrolling at Brock.
He is eager to see what the second half brings.
“We’re all excited,” Moore said. “We’re a bit injured right now so we’ll just fight through those injuries and once we get everyone going it should be exciting for sure.”
The Falcons head into the Christmas break in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 24-7-0-1 record, two points up on the Ayr Centennials, who have played two fewer games.
The Panthers sputtered this week, also losing 5-1 at Port Colborne Thursday and sit in 10th place with an 8-18-5 mark, one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot.
Pelham coach Zac Rinaldo wants to see more grit from his club as they head into the break.
“I didn’t like our pushback, I don’t think we had enough pushback,” he said. “Our hate-to-lose mentality was nowhere to be found in the last couple of games.”
Rinaldo said the distractions of the holiday season are no excuse.
“I think that I’ve sent that message all year long. No matter where we are, who we’re playing, it doesn’t matter. The time of year shouldn’t matter. It’s irrelevant to me, so it definitely should be irrelevant to them.”
Rinaldo wants to see the Panthers be ready to battle for a playoff spot come January.
“I need our guys getting healthy,” he said. “We have a lot of banged up guys right now. They’re dealing with minor aches and pains and strains and tears and stuff. I think the main goal for them over the break is to get healthy because we’re going to need everybody coming back with no excuses, no lingering injuries. So they have to take care of their bodies coming back and just be healthy.”
STATS PACK
Falcons 4 Panthers 1
St. Catharines defenceman William Moore.
St. Catharines Falcons: William Moore (1); Nathan Duplessis (18); Ally Mostafaie (15); Trent Gates (3).
Pelham Panthers: Francesc Sanita (5).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Pelham on Hayden Jeffery (33), by St. Cathrines on Gabriel Long (32); Power plays: Pelham 0/2, St. Catharines 0/4; Penalty minutes: Pelham 54, St. Catharines 38.
Attendance: 218.
Up next: The Panthers are back in action Friday, Jan. 3 when they host Welland while the Falcons host Port Colborne the same night.
Meteors finish strong
The Fort Erie Meteors head into the Christmas break on a roll having won four straight to improve to 20-8-2.
After a convincing 6-1 win over St. Catharines at home Wednesday, the Mets followed up with a 2-1 overtime win at Ayr Thursday and a 4-3 victory over the Port Colborne Sailors Saturday at the Leisureplex.
Sam Tonelli netted the winner 5:29 into overtime in Ayr while Dylan Coers also scored.
Finn Moffett was outstanding in goal with 46 saves for the Meteors.
Tonelli came through in the clutch again Saturday, breaking a 3-3 tie with his 19th of the season with just 23 seconds remaining.
Kyle Adamo added two and Danny Adamo one for Fort Erie.
Vasily Serov, Jonathan Dudziak and Frankie Cararella replied for the Sailors.
John Lloyd earned the win in goal with 26 saves.
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