Falcons, Canucks set to renew rivalry
The greatest rivalry in the Golden Horseshoe is set for another chapter.
The St. Catharines Falcons visit the Niagara Falls Canucks Friday night in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Greater Ontario Hockey League semifinal playoff series. Game 2 is Sunday in St. Catharines.
The matchup is a reprise of last season’s final which saw the Canucks defeat the Falcons in a memorable Game 7 with a goal in the final minute of play.
“These are definitely two storied franchises in our league,” Falcons coach Tyler Bielby said. “There was a Game 7 last year between these two teams and there are 20-year-olds on our team who want to change that and 20-year-olds on their team who want to make sure we know it wasn’t a fluke.”
Falls coach Frank Pietrangelo agrees.
“We’re raring to go. This is one of the best rivalries in junior hockey,” Pietrangelo said. “You have two quality hockey teams and having said that, just the proximity of the cites and the tradition of both clubs.
“It’s a great thing for the Niagara area.”
Adding even further fuel to the fire is a big mid-season trade between the clubs that saw Carson Edwardson and Andrew Somerville moved to the Canucks in exchange for Thomas Lenart and Max Lightfoot.
The deal has worked out well for both teams with all four players taking on significant roles in their new surroundings.
As well, Niagara Falls forward Jaleel Adams is a former Falcon.
“This is why we play, to match up against a team like Niagara Falls,” Bielby said. “With the trade mid-season, I know players on both teams are looking to end up on the right side of the trade.”
The teams played three games following the trade with Lenart and Lightfoot each scoring a goal while Edwardson had five points and Somerville four.
The Canucks dominated the season series, winning five of the six games, despite the fact Niagara Falls finished only one win and four points ahead of St. Catharines in the final standings.
Bielby doesn’t put much stock in the those games.
“It’s definitely for us a fresh slate,” he said. “We have to learn from things that happened in the past, but as far as a distraction and what we’re capable of, it’s a clean slate.”
The Falcons lost their cool on a number of occasions during the regular season and were burned by the Canucks’ potent power play.
“I think the easy thing to do would be to blame them but I don’t think that was the case at all. We did it to ourselves. We have to find a way to play the game not too high and not too low and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” Bielby said. “I thought during the regular season we beat ourselves a few of those games by being undisciplined and taking our focus off the task at hand.”
The Canucks were the least penalized team during the regular season with 774 minutes in the box compared to 999 for the Falcons.
“That had nothing to do with us,” Pietrangelo said when asked if the Canucks attempted to get under the Falcons’ skin. “That was on them and whatever happened, happened. We don’t go into games looking to try and throw people off.
“Whatever the referees decide, they decide. Having said that, we were the least penalized team in the whole conference this year and I think that speaks volumes to the discipline we had this year and hopefully that will continue.”
The Canucks appear to have the edge up front with strong, deep lineup of snipers that combined to score 223 goals.
“I think all year we’ve taken a lot of pride in our D zone and that can’t change,” Bielby said. “I think the important thing in this series will be strong puck management and not giving the puck away in areas where they can capitalize, because there is no question, they have a deep top six and if we give them opportunities they will find a way to score.
“It goes back to goals will come and go and that’s been something we have been preaching all year to our players. I see no reason why we would take our focus off that moving into this series because they have a top six that can score at any given chance if given the chance.”
The Canucks are coming off a tough series in Round 1 that saw the Fort Erie Meteors take a game. Niagara Falls needed overtime to secure the series in Game 5.
“It was a good series. I think it was good for us,” Pietrangelo said. “We were allowed to play our game but they weren’t 10-0 games by any means. We’ve seen that in the past where the first round is just a preliminary and you just try and get out without injuries.
“It was a battle. It allowed to face some adversity and that’s very big in learning how to overcome it and deal with it. We ran into a little bit of it in the first round and I do believe it will make us a better team and prepare us for the second round.”
The Canucks are fully healthy heading into the series.
The Falcons are without forward Xavier Drummond, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury, and rookie defenceman Tyler Geoffroy, who is week-to-week with a shoulder injury.
Prediction: It should be another good battle between the long time rivals. The Canucks depth and skill up front might be the tipping point. Niagara Falls in 6.
The other semifinal got underway Tuesday when the Caledonia Corvairs blanked the Hamilton Kilty B’s 2-0.
Tyler Burnie, on the power play, and Ryan Wells, shorthanded into an empty net, scored for Caledonia.
Aidan Hughes made 16 saves for the shutout.
Justin Easter faced 49 shots in net for the Kilty B’s.
Game 2 is Thursday in Hamilton.
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