Canucks finish off Panthers
The Niagara Falls Canucks beat the Pelham Panthers 5-2 Wednesday night to sweep their semifinal series. Photo by PETE METHNER.
The Niagara Falls Canucks took care of the Pelham Panthers in short order.
The Canucks topped the Panthers 5-2 Wednesday in Pelham to sweep the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference best-of-seven semifinal 4-0.
Niagara Falls dominated the series, outscoring Pelham 23-6.
“We thought we matched up well with Pelham,” Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “All aspects of our game were really good. Our goaltender (Zach Moore) was really good, our penalty kill was good and our power play was even better.”
Pietrangelo has been impressed with his club’s focus all season.
“These kids know what they want. We set a goal from Day 1 to win a championship,” Pietrangelo said. “We thought realistically we could achieve these goals with the personnel we had.
“We still have unfinished business at hand.”
The Canucks advance to the league final versus the winner of the St. Catharines-Hamilton semifinal. The Falcons lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 Thursday in Hamilton followed by Game 5 Friday in St. Catharines.
The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Dylan Biggar and Matt Ruigrok.
The Canucks then regrouped and scored five times in the second, including two goals with the man advantage. Mitch Mendonca collected two goals while David D’Agostino, Justin Kyle and Justin Randhawa added singles.
Andrew Bruno had an unsuccessful penalty shot attempt in the third period.
Zach Moore made 22 saves for the win.
Pelham coach Mark Barrick had high praise for his squad for their efforts over the season.
“We’re all competitive and when we’re in it, we’re all there to win,” Barrick said. “It’s hockey and there’s life lessons and all kinds of things that can be learned from it.
“In perspective, we made huge strides this year and have lots to be proud of. It’s part of building a program and changing a culture.”
Barrick said it was difficult for the veterans who graduated.
“We had nine guys who played their last games of junior hockey. It’s an emotional time for all of us. At the end, there’s always tears of joy when you win and tears of sorrow when you lose. If you care, that’s the way it is.”
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