Falcons dominate opener
Xavier Drummond came to play Friday.
The 19-year-old forward was among the most reliable two-way forwards for the St. Catharines Falcons during the regular season and has continued that trend in the playoffs.
Drummond turned in arguably his best overall performance of the season with a goal and two assists as the Falcons topped the Hamilton Kilty B’s 5-1 in the opener of their best-of-seven Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference semifinal playoff series at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
Game 2 goes Monday in Hamilton.
“It’s (playoffs) a completely different animal,” Drummond said. “The regular season is intense but there’s nothing like playoffs. There’s a lot more hits and attention to detail is so important.
“It’s a completely different game.”
Drummond skated on an effective line with Christian Girhiny (0-3) and Jacob Kelly (2-0) who netted the Falcons first four goals.
“I’m really happy. I thought I played well, but you have to give it to the linemates too,” Drummond said. “Girns and Kelly played well. We were moving the puck and getting into the right lanes.
“We made it easy for ourselves tonight.”
The Falcons showed no signs of rust after almost two weeks off since the end of the first round.
“We had a good week of practice and were anxious to get going,” said Drummond, who was shaken up with just under five minutes to play and did not return. “We knew we were going to get these guys in the second round and just wanted to get going.”
Falcons coach/general manager Frank Girhiny was thrilled with most of what he saw from his charges.
“The overall effort and the score, I’m really pleased,” he said. “Five-on-five, we’re going to do really well against this team. If we give them opportunities on the power play, you see what happens.”
Drummond gave the Falcons a quick 1-0 lead when he tipped in shot from the point 28 seconds into the game. The Falcons held the edge in play, outshooting Hamilton 17-11 in the period. Drummond almost made it 2-0 when he scored with 5.5 seconds remaining but the goal was disallowed after a brief conference by the officials who ruled the Falcons had knocked off Hamilton goalie Marco Costantini’s glove seconds before.
Drummond set up Kelly as the Falcons grabbed a 2-0 lead less than a minute into the second. The Kilty B’s finally solved Noah Battaglia at 14:25 when Tanner Brennecke scored on a deflected shot.
The Falcons put the game away with an effective final 20 minutes, scoring three times while permitting just six shots on goal.
“We had a really good third period,” Girhiny said. “We kept it simple and played smart and stayed out of the box for the most part.”
Girhiny feels not much should change playing in Hamilton Monday.
“There’s no difference. We play really well up there,” Girhiny said. “The one game we lost 4-3 and we gave up four goals in the first period and we dominated the last two periods.”
Falcon facts: Dakota Miskolczi, Jack Venneri and Noah Blakely did not dress for the Falcons . . . Lucas Thompson, Chris Ishmael and Jordan Simpson were scratched for the Kilty B’s . . . The Falcons have added former centre and OHL player Greg Jambrosich to their coaching staff for the playoffs.
Falcons 5 Kilty B’s 1
BPSN Star of the Game: St. Catharines forward Xavier Drummond with three points.
St. Catharines Falcons: Drummond (2); Jacob Kelly 2 (3, 4); Carson Edwardson (8); Jacob Roach (2).
Hamilton Kilty B’s: Tanner Brennecke (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Marco Costantini (37), by Hamilton on Noah Battaglia (22); Power plays: St. Catharines 1-for-8, Hamilton 0-for-9; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 46, Hamilton 48.
Attendance: 704.
Up next: Game 2 Monday, March 18 in Hamilton. Game 3 Tuesday, March 19 in St. Catharines. Game 4 Thursday, March 21 at Hamilton.
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