Canucks hold off Falcons
Andrew Bruno never had a doubt the puck was going to begin to go in for him.
The 19-year-old forward was off to a strong start for the Niagara Falls Canucks with 12 assists through his first five games, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Bruno finally broke through Tuesday night with two goals and an assist as the Canucks doubled the St. Catharines Falcons 6-3 in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference game at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The Canucks remain undefeated at 4-0-2-1 while the Falcons dropped to 2-4-0-1 and have yet to win on home ice.
Bruno snapped home his first of the season in the first period, then added a short-handed marker in the second.
“It was excellent,” Bruno said with a smile. “I was getting a little frustrated, but I know it would come eventually.
“I just wasn’t getting bounces. It happens, but you have to fight through it.”
Bruno wasn’t overly concerned.
“Our line (Matthew Riva and Ryan Donovan) was playing well, our whole team was playing well,” he said. “I like to be a playmaker. I was getting points, so I wasn’t going to change anything.”
Bruno netted 27 goals on last season’s Golden Horseshoe championship team, so the track record is there.
“He’s an elite goal scorer,” Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “He had chances to score goals and he wasn’t finishing. It’s a confidence thing for him.
“We know what he’s all about. We see him practise and he’s such a crafty guy.”
The Falcons outshot the Canucks 15-11 in solid opening 20 minutes in which each team scored.
The Canucks opened up a 3-1 lead in the second before Carson Edwardson scored on the power play to narrow the gap tp 3-2. Seconds later, Bruno netted his second of the night, this one short-handed, to restore Niagara Falls’ two-goal cushion.
Just 36 seconds into the third Adam Cherapacha scored to narrow the lead to 4-3. The Falcons then pressed big time to get the equalizer before the Canucks scored twice into the empty net.
Pietrangelo will take the win, particularly on the road, in a traditionally tough building to play in.
“We have a lot of new guys, so it’s the first time in a rink like this playing St Catharines with all the hype and everything else,” he said. “I thought we were the better team tonight. I thought we deserved the win, but having said that, we have to play better than that.”
Falcons first-year coach Tyler Bielby isn’t about to push the panic button despite an usually slow start for the team.
“Sutherland Cups aren’t being won tonight, they’re not being won tomorrow, and they’re not being won yesterday,” he said. “It’s a learning process every time and whether we think we deserve a better fate, winners are born after they play their asses off and struggle to win.
“I just challenged my players with that. It hurts because you thought you left everything out on the ice and you came up short, but that feeling is where winners are born.”
Falcon facts: Noah Blakely (Game 2 of 2-game suspension) and Jake Orr did not dress for the Falcons . . . Josh Reilly, Justin Schneider Jack Brand were scratched for the Canucks . . . Niagara Falls has added goaltender Josh Rosenzweig from the Niagara IceDogs . . . The Falcons lost Jacob Romano for a check from behind in the first period . . . IceDogs public address announcer Rod Mawhood filled in admirably for Jack Darling.
Canucks 6 Falcons 3
BPSN Star of the Game: Niagara Falls Canucks forward Andrew Bruno with two goals and assist.
St. Catharines Falcons: Curtis Egert (4); Carson Edwardson (3); Adam Cherapacha (1).
Niagara Falls Canucks: Andrew Bruno 2 (1,2); Ryan Donovan (6); Thomas Lenart (4); Jaleel Adams (4); Michael Hutchings (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Anthony Tremonte, (35) by Niagara Falls on Ethan Cook (34); Power plays: St. Catharines 1-for-4, Niagara Falls; 1-for-3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 6, Niagara Falls 8.
Attendance: 364
Up next: The Falcons play host to Welland Friday.
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