Falcons take care of business
Hayden Jeffery has been extra busy of late.
The 18-year-old Grimsby native has been splitting his time between the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons and Niagara IceDogs, which means lots of time on the ice and plenty of shots.
Jeffery was between the pipes Friday as the Falcons defeated the Hamilton Kilty B’s 6-3 in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League game in St. Catharines.
It was a busy day for Jeffery, who also practised with the IceDogs in the afternoon and suited up for them Thursday night as back-up to rookie Matthew Humphries with veteran goalies Owen Flores and Charlie Robertson sidelined with injuries.
“Everyone wants to play every game, but you just have to make sure you take care of yourself and take it one game at a time,” Jeffery said. “ Our team makes it so easy on me, each and every game, because they are always battling with me, so they’re making my job easier every single day.”
Jeffery got his first Ontario Hockey League start Wednesday and held his own in a 5-1 loss at Owen Sound and is expected to dress Saturday when the IceDogs take on the London Knights.
He said the mental side of the game is of utmost importance at the OHL level, particularly with the IceDogs being in the midst of a 12-game losing streak.
“There’s a bit of an adjustment but it’s just believing in yourself I think is the biggest thing,” he said. “If you can go up there and just believe in yourself, I find that’s it. You can do anything if you just believe in yourself.
“It’s nice to know that I believe in myself. I know I can play in the OHL. So it’s nice to get that opportunity, almost as a reward to show I’m able to play in that league and I’m good enough.”
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby is thrilled for Jeffery, who was Niagara’s second choice in the 2023 OHL U18 draft.
“Hayden’s our guy. We believed in him as a rookie and believed in him to bring him back and to see this league through with this,” Bielby said. “I just don’t see a world where I’m not going to let one of my players play in the best amateur league in the world. So when they call and ask, they have my blessing. We’ll rally over here, the next man up.”
While Jeffery is enjoying his exposure to the OHL, he is also focused on a championship with the Falcons.
“It’s one of the only things on my mind right now,” he said. “We have a special group in there and everyone’s mind is on one moment, it’s the Sutherland Cup at the end of the year. Nobody wants to do anything else except win in that room.”
The Falcons were once again undermanned, missing suspended forwards Cam Lowe, Nathan Duplessis and injured forwards Brendan Grenville, Matt Fries and Lachlan Suchar.
Bielby was impressed with his club’s effort.
“I think counting tonight, we’re something close to 150 points out of the lineup right now,” he said. “To be able to come out tonight and have these guys score six goals, we’re not surprised.
“We believe in every guy in the room, but we challenge them all the time. This is your opportunity to step up. You’re not used to playing 20 minutes a night, you better get used to it real quick and you better make a difference.”
The win improves the Falcons’ record to 35-11-1-1. They lead both Ayr and Fort Erie by five points for first place. The Falcons have two games remaining in the regular season, the Centennials and Meteors four each.
The Falcons host the Meteors Friday in their final home game of the regular season.
“We have two games left in the season and we are in control,” Bielby said. “We take that any day but it’s not going to be easy. We’ve got two big games coming up and we’ve got good teams that are trying to catch us.
“We’ve got to be ready to go. It’s going to be a hard week in practice.”
Bielby started a lineup of five black players — William Moore, Dallys Hibbert, Treyson Dewar, Kaleb Littleton and Marcus Harris.
“We play the best game in the world. To honour Black History Month and be able to start these five guys is something very special. Extremely proud of everyone in our room, but no question it was great to see those five boys start. Since a young age they have challenged status quo in our game and our game is better off for it,” Bielby said.
Falcon facts: Lachlan Sucher, Cameron Lowe, Brendon Grenville, Matt Fries and Nathan Duplessis were scratched for the Falcons . . . Ethan Girard, Connor Koropatnicki, Matthew Rabideau, Blake Jankovich and Vlad Visan did not dress for Hamilton.
STATS PACK
Falcons 6 Kilty B’s 3
Falcons defenceman William Moore with a goal while playing forward.
St. Catharines Falcons: Treyson Dewar (24); Ally Mostafaie (23); Juan Agromayor (12); Trent Gates (8); Dillon Atkinson (7); William Moore (2).
Hamilton Kilty B’s: Ryan Woodburn 2 (16,17); Jonny Brooks (16).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Avery Alves (42), by Hamilton on Hayden Jeffery (26); Power plays: St. Catharines 0/2, Hamilton 1/4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 14, Hamilton 10.
Attendance: 511.
Up next: The Falcons are back home next Friday to face the Fort Erie Meteors and in Caledonia Saturday to conclude the regular season.
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