Falcons end Canucks’ 17-game winning streak
Xavier Drummond continues to make a serious case for the playoff most valuable player award for the St. Catharines Falcons.
The veteran forward once again was front and centre with a goal and two assists as the Falcons topped the Niagara Falls Canucks 3-1 Sunday night at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The win evens the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference best-of-seven final at 1-1.
The loss put an end to Niagara Falls’ 17-game winning streak. Their last defeat was a 3-2 loss to the Falcons Feb. 2.
Drummond, who netted 20 goals this season, already has seven in the playoffs, but said individual awards are the furthest thing from his mind.
“It’s really not a thing that’s on my mind. I want to win a Golden Horseshoe first and then go on a win a Sutherland Cup,” Drummond said. “I could care less about the points.”
Drummond scored the winner early in the third on a perfect pass from Christian Girhiny, then made a nice play to set up Jacob Roach for an empty-net goal at 19:30 with the Canucks pressuring for the tie.
“He’s played real well,” Falcons coach/general manager Frank Girhiny said. “He’s got a nice swagger to him and he’s playing on a good line with Girhiny and Roach. They can find him and he’s got a really good release
“He’s been great for us and his game is getting better.”
The Falcons have been able to bottle up the high-powered Canucks in the first two games, permitting only five goals.
“We’re just utilizing our speed, we know we’re a fast team,” Drummond said. “They have some older guys, maybe a little bit slower than us after playing back-to-back. We had a Hamilton series we were going back-to-back and we’re taking it to them.”
Drummond said it was key the Falcons not fall behind 2-0 in the series.
“It’s huge tonight. 1-1 is way better than (being down) 2-0,” he said. “It’s ground zero. It’s back to a best-of-five now.”
Drummond said even before the series began the Falcons felt they could hang with the Canucks despite losing four of six in the regular season.
“Before the series we knew we were the better team. We just have to show it every night,” he said.
Frank Girhiny has been pleased with the effort from his charges so far.
“We thought we were able to put sustained pressure on their D in their end and they’re getting tired,” he said. “We were able to roll four lines and they were going well. He plays his guys a lot and they’re tired.
“I really like the way our first two games have been.”
St. Catharines outshot Niagara Falls 10-8 in a scoreless first period. Carson Edwardson came the closest to scoring when he fired a shot off the crossbar early on for the Falcons.
Roach broke the stalemate early in the second to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead before the Canucks might power play, operating at over 44 per cent efficiency, tied the game at 1-1 when Ben Evans tipped a shot from the point. The Falcons held a 15-7 edge in shots.
“We’re definitely not generating enough offence,” Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo said. “We have to be better. Tonight was an OK effort, but they were the better team.
“When you get into a series like this, it’s all about changing things and alerting things from period to period sometimes. It’s like a chess match. Sometimes it’s the thinnest of margins (between winning and losing).”
Falcon facts: Dakota Miskolczi, Nicholas Boehmer and Noah Blakely did not dress for the Falcons . . . Patrick McCabe (suspension, game 4 of 6) was scratched for the Canucks .
Falcons 3 Canucks 1
BPSN Star of the Game: Falcons forward Xavier Drummond with a goal and two assists.
St. Catharines Falcons: Drummond (7); Jacob Roach 2 (6, 7).
Niagara Falls Canucks: Ben Evans (10).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Zach Moore (30), by Niagara Falls on Noah Battaglia (19); Power plays: St. Catharines 0-for-3, Niagara Falls 1-for-3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 20, Niagara Falls 12.
Attendance: 738.
Up next: Game 3 Tuesday at Niagara Falls. Game 4 Wednesday at St. Catharines. Game 5 Friday at Niagara Falls. All 7 p.m. starts.
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