Canucks dominate Panthers
The Niagara Falls Canucks powered their way past the Pelham Panthers Sunday afternoon.
The Canucks scored six times on the power play en route to a 7-3 victory in Pelham and a 2-0 lead in their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference best-of-seven semifinal playoff series.
Game 3 goes Tuesday in Niagara Falls.
Pelham coach Mark Barrick didn’t even attempt to hide his frustration with the plethora of penalties taken by his team.
“We stunk,” said Barrick, never one to mince words. “It was absolutely stupid. I can’t blame anybody but ourselves and I’m not going to blame anybody else.
“If we can’t get it through our heads that you can’t play shorthanded against a powerhouse offensive team like that, then we don’t ever deserve to beat them.”
Canucks winger Mitch Mendonca led the offensive onslaught with two goals and an assist, all with the man advantage.
“When we get a ton of opportunities like that we want to capitalize on them,” Mendonca said.
Mendonca said the Canucks success on the power play comes down to more than just an abundance of talented offensive players on the ice at the same time.
“I think every guy on the power play, the first and second unit, no one is selfish,” he said. “It’s not about points or individual success. It’s teamwork and team success. We move the puck around — the puck moves faster that we do — so the more you move it, the more opportunities you get.”
The Canucks led the GOJHL in power play efficiency this season with a healthy 26.37 percent rate of success.
“It’s gotten better in the playoffs because of focus and execution,” Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “There’s no reason to have 10 or 12 power plays in a game, but we’ll take what they give us.”
Dating back to the regular season, the Canucks have now won 14 straight.
“We won our first 12 of the year and we continued where we were at the beginning of February,” Pietrangelo said. “We said we had to win out to win our league and we set our goal to do that.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 3-2 lead after one period before the Canucks score a pair in the second to take a 4-3 lead into the third period. Niagara Falls then added three more in the third, outshooting Pelham 13-7 in the final 20 minutes.
The Canucks can take a 3-0 lead with a win in Game 3 Tuesday at home, but Mendonca said that is not the focus.
“We take every game one at a time. We’re up 2-0 but we’ll take the positives out of every game and put it in the past and keep looking forward and moving ahead.”
Junior B jottings: Patrick McCabe (suspension) did not dress for the Canucks . . . Wyatt Thole, Liam Sodtke, Logan Warner and Denis Denisov were scratched for the Panthers.
Canucks 7 Panthers 3
BPSN Star of the Game: Niagara Falls forward Mitch Mendonca with three points.
Niagara Falls Canucks: Mendonca 2; Justin Kyle 2; David D’Agostino, Justin Randhawa, Ben Evans.
Pelham Panthers: Zach Thompson, Devin Sanders, Terry Bridgland.
Game stats: Shots on goal: By Pelham on Zach Moore (23), by Niagara Falls on Brandon McCorriston (52); Power plays: Pelham 1-for-7, Niagara Falls 6-for-12; Penalty minutes: Pelham 26, Niagara Falls 36.
Attendance: 495
Up next: Game 3 Tuesday in Niagara Falls. Game 4 Wednesday in Pelham.
SUPPORT US
On the right side of our web site, you will notice a yellow SUPPORT US button.
We are asking anyone who finds value in our work and is able to financially help us to click on the button and contribute whatever amount you feel is appropriate and can afford. There is no set amount. Any amount is appreciated.
The funds collected will be used to enhance and offset the expenses of running the web site.