Falcons blank Panthers in opener
Brady Caruso has come as advertised for the St. Catharines Falcons.
The 19-year-old defenceman joined the Falcons this season after time in the Canadian Central Hockey League and Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and has provided the club with an experienced, reliable rearguard who can also chip in on offence from time to time.
Caruso, who netted five goals and 22 points in the regular season, collected a goal Friday as the Falcons blanked the Pelham Panthers 4-0 in Game 1 of their Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series.
Caruso, who hails from Sault Ste. Marie, is happy he made the move south.
“It’s the best decision I’ve made,” he said. “I love it here, from the staff, to the guys on the team, to the coaches. Everything has been unbelievable with my billets as well.”
Caruso, who is majoring in sport management at Brock, was looking for a spot to play where he would have a chance to compete for a championship.
“I’m looking to finish it off with hopefully a win here,” he said. “It’s huge, especially as you get into the later years of your junior career. You want to be somewhere where you can compete and this definitely a spot to do so.
“It (chance to win) was the reason I made the choice to come down.”
Falcons coach Tyler Bielby loves was Caruso brings to the team, on and off the ice.
“For me, as the season has progressed he’s really come along as one of the league’s premier defencemen,” Bielby said. “He’s a big part of our success. He’s a great teammate who’s always keeping things light and he’s finding an offensive touch, which for a team fighting for goals all year, it’s always nice when guys start finding ways.”
St. Catharines jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Caruso and Curtis Egert. The Falcons outshot the Panthers 12-4 in the period.
The Falcons increased the lead to 3-0 on a goal by Adam Cherepacha late in the second after killing off a penalty to Egert, who was ejected for a head shot. Egert will be suspended for at least the next two games. Three minutes into the penalty, the Panthers Terry Bridgland was whistled down for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The Falcons rounded out the scoring in the third on a goal by Max Lightfoot.
“We definitely wanted to set the tone and get ready for the rest of the series. We want to take it to these guys as best we can,” Caruso said. “Tonight was a good one.”
Caruso said the Falcons focused on their own end and the strategy paid off.
“Defence is what wins us games and what wins championships. Defensively, I thought we were great tonight and we’d like to keep that up,” he said.
Bielby liked a lot of what he saw as well.
“The biggest thing for me is there is so much anticipation for the puck drop to get started. I was curious how we would be in the first period in particular,” he said. “We played a playoff game and kept the puck out of our net.”
Pelham coach Chris Johnstone liked how his underdog team hung around with the heavily-favoured Falcons.
“We had a couple of key guys out — no excuses — so we were a little discombobulated. This is a young hockey team with three quarters of them in their first playoff game ever,” he said.
Falcon facts: Xavier Drummond, Roberto Moretto, Luca Mazzo and Carter Geoffroy were scratched for the Falcons . . . Ben McChesney, Devin Sanders, Robbie Stewart, Austen Lucas and Jonah Devereaux did not dress for the Panthers . . . In Niagara Falls Friday, the Canucks topped the Fort Erie Meteors 7–1 in the opener of their series.
Falcons 4 Panthers 0
Front Row Sports Star of the Game: St. Catharines defenceman Brady Caruso with a goal.
St. Catharines Falcons: Caruso (1), Curtis Egert (1); Adam Cherepacha (1); Max Lightfoot (1).
Pelham Panthers: No scoring.
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Tiago Rocha (26), by Pelham on Blair Coffin (15); Power plays: St. Catharines 1-for-6, Pelham 0-for-4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 35, Pelham 48.
Attendance: 426
Up next: Game 2 Sunday at Pelham at 2:30 p.m. Game 3 Tuesday in St. Catharines at 7 p.m.
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