Canucks set for Siskins
The Golden Horseshoe champion Niagara Falls Canucks begin their quest for a Sutherland Cup Friday at home when they play the Midwest Conference champion Waterloo Siskins in a best-of-seven semifinal. Photo by: BILL POTRECZ
Capturing the Golden Horseshoe championship was just a means to an end as far as the Niagara Falls Canucks are concerned.
“We had three goals at the beginning of the year. One was to win our league, one was to win the Golden Horseshoe playoffs, and one was to win the Sutherland Cup,” Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “We stumbled across the overall GOJHL (Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League) championship as well.”
The Canucks, fresh off an exciting Game 7 win over the St. Catharines Falcons in the Golden Horseshoe finals, begin their quest for a Sutherland Cup Friday at home when they play the Midwest Conference champion Waterloo Siskins in a best-of-seven semifinal.
The Western Conference champion London Nationals meet the wildcard Listowel Cyclones in the other semifinal. The two winners then square off in a best-of-seven final for the Sutherland Cup.
The Siskins qualified after capturing the Cherrey Cup with a 5-2 win over the Listowel Cyclones on Sunday. The victory capped a 4-2 series win and the team’s first conference title since 2014. The Siskins qualified for the Sutherland Cup semifinals in 2014 and 2016 but lost to Caledonia on both occasions.
Pietrangelo and his staff have been pouring over game tape trying to learn as much as they can about the Siskins, who knocked off Cambridge in five games and Stratford in six games to advance.
“Obviously, I don’t know a lot about them,” Pietrangelo said. “Needless to say, they’re a good hockey team or they wouldn’t be playing at this time of the year.
“Our focus and energy had been placed on our playoffs with St. Catharines and before that Pelham. We didn’t know who we were playing.”
The Siskins finished third behind Listowel and Stratford in the regular season with a 32-13-0-3 mark. They did lead their conference with 219 goals and were 17-5-0-2 on their home ice at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex.
“They’re a good skating team, similar to St. Catharines and Hamilton,” Pietrangelo said. “They play on big ice so that’s another adjustment we need to make, especially coming from Jack Gatecliff. It’s a night and day difference. That’s definitely a disadvantage for us we have to work on.
“They have a lot of speed and some skill and have guys who can put the puck in the net and they’re an older team. They have nine 20-year-olds.”
The Canucks are also loaded with veterans, including the likes of Ben Evans, Mitch Mendonca and Nicholas Prestia, who have already won championships at various other levels.
As well, Pietrangelo has a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins while assistant Joe Pantuso was a member of the 1995 Canucks Sutherland Cup champions. Austin Wright also won a title in 2016-17 with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
“The only people who would tell you it wouldn’t help are people who have never won before,” Pietrangelo said. “If you have won, you know what a difference it makes. What you can pass on to others who haven’t been in those situations is tremendous.
“It’s like anything else in life, experience is experience. Either you have it or you don’t. In these cases here, having these guys in the dressing room who have been through it and won championships is immeasurable.”
The Canucks are hopeful Golden Horseshoe regular season most valuable player Justin Kyle will be back.
“He will play but we’re not sure when or how much,” Pietrangelo said.
Game 2 is Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Waterloo. Game 3 is Tuesday, April 16 at Niagara Falls with Game 4 in Waterloo Thursday, April 18.
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