Falcons dispose of Blackhawks
Dakota Miskolczi has turned over a new leaf.
The 20-year-old Fort Erie native still goes all out, all the time on every shift, but is playing a much smarter game in his final season of junior eligibility.
Miskolczi turned in another workmanlike effort Friday, collecting three assists as the St. Catharines Falcons defeated the Thorold Blackhawks 8-2 in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference game at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The Falcons, 37-5-0-2, continue to lead the Niagara Falls Canucks by one point for first place. The Canucks edged the Fort Erie Meteors 3-2 Friday at home.
“I’m just trying to focus on the game. It’s my last year and I’m just trying to win with these guys,” Miskolczi said. “Staying out of the box is key.”
Miskolczi still plays with an edge — he leads the Falcons with 150 minutes in penalties — but he seems to have found the necessary balance he often lacked in the past.
“I’m just trying to keep my temper down and not take dumb penalties all the time,” he added.
Miskolczi’s efforts to stay on the ice have not gone unnoticed by Falcons coach/general manager Frank Girhiny.
“He plays a very important role on this team,” Girhiny said of Miskolczi. “He’s an impact player. If he is in the game, we have an opportunity to win every night.”
Girhiny said a pre-season chat with Miskolczi seems to have paid off.
“We had a good talk with him at the beginning of the year and he’s done a great job of buying in,” Girhiny said. “He’s a 20-year-old veteran who really wants to win.”
Miskolczi’s three points give him 37 in 35 games, a career high.
“He can score goals and he has a pro shot for sure,” Girhiny said. “He’s scored some clutch goals this year. He probably wishes he had a few more but we’re really happy with the way he plays.”
St. Catharines dominated the opening period with three goals, then poured it on and added three more in the second to lead 6-0 after 40 minutes.
The game got sloppy and chippy in the third.
“They are already set in their (playoff) series with Pelham and they’re a team that takes liberties,” Girhiny said of the Blackhawks. “We can’t retaliate because we have a big game Monday in Niagara Falls. We have to take the crap and keep moving forward.
Jack McGovern lost his bid for a shutout when Jonathan Balah scored with a two-man advantage about halfway through the third.
Major midgets Carter Geoffroy and Jonah Boria were called up to fill out the roster and accorded themselves well for the Falcons.
Falcon facts: Adam Pys, Tanner Brown, Carson Edwardson, Ethan Sims and Dawson McKinney did not dress for the Falcons . . . Carson Eden, Dylan Latty, Alex Mourani and Austin Jensen were scratched for the Hawks . . . Thorold lost Trevor Neumann for a check from behind in the first period and Nick Gidney in the third period for a third stick infraction.
Falcons 8 Blackhawks 2
BPSN Star of the Game: St. Catharines forward Jacob Kelly with two goals and an assist.
St. Catharines Falcons: Kelly 2 (4, 5); Christian Girhiny (31); Kyle West (18); Xavier Drummond (16); Tanner Main (7); Noah Solinger (7); Nicholas Boehmer (2).
Thorold Blackhawks: Jonathan Balah 2 (4, 5).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Chase Grsic (37), by Thorold on Jack McGovern (35); Power plays: St. Catharines 5-for-11, Thorold 2-for-9; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 20, Thorold 24.
Attendance: 539.
Up next: The Falcons visit Niagara Falls Monday at 3 p.m.
Canucks 3 Meteors 2
Justin Randhawa’s second goal of the game on the power play with just over two minutes to play gave the Niagara Falls Canucks the win at home.
Patrick McCabe also scored for the Canucks.
Brady Lee and Matthew Minichiello replied for Fort Erie.
Kilty B’s 3 Panthers 2 2OT
Luke Croucher’s second goal of the game in double overtime have the visiting Hamilton Kilty B’s a 3-2 win at Pelham,
Marino Moro also scored for Hamilton.
Noah Caperchione and Brendan Charlton replied for Pelham.
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