Falcons end Kilty B’s season
It was a night to remember for Easton Poirier.
With his father, Steve Poirier, a former Falcon in attendance, the 16-year-old St. Catharines native netted his first junior goal Friday night to help the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons defeat the visiting Hamilton Kilty B’s 5-1 and win their first-round Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League series 4-1.
“It feels awesome. I couldn’t have done it without this group and there is no place I would rather be,” the 5-foot-11, 160-pound forward said. “It felt unbelievable.”
The goal was anything but a thing of beauty but the AP player will take it.
“I try to go back door to Trotsky (Calvin Petrovsky) and it hit off the guy’s skates. It was a little bit of a lucky bounce but it went in so a goal is a goal.”
It will be a night he won’t soon forget.
“I am going to remember this night for the rest of my life. Obviously scoring your first junior goal is huge.”
Poirier now has a goal and two assists in three playoff games for the Falcons after recording an assist in five regular season games. It has been an adjustment suiting up for playoff hockey.
“Playoffs is a whole different thing. It feels like a different league. It is a lot faster, more physical and a lot more close.”
He is thrilled he got the call from the Falcons.
“I am very excited and thankful for this coach and team and how they have welcomed me.”
He is not trying to be any different than the way he plays for the Niagara North Stars U18 squad.
“I just play my role: Play physical; forecheck; back check and the playing time and the points will come.”
Making his time with St. Catharines even more special is the fact that he is a second-generation Falcon.
“It feels almost fake to be honest. It is crazy that my dad played awhile ago and now I am here. Hopefully I can fill his shoes.”
His father is a big part of his hockey career.
“He’s huge. He is probably my No. 1 supporter and I couldn’t have done any of this without him. If I am doing something wrong, he will go hard on me and he’ s always trying to push me to get me better. I’m thankful for that too.”
Easton wouldn’t have it any other way.
Falcons head coach/GM Tyler Bielby would have loved to have played Poirier a lot more this season.
“You can only have two 16-year-olds on your team and if that wasn’t the case he would have been here all year. He is a great kid, plays with a lot of pace, is fearless and he had a great game up in Hamilton. He only played seven minutes last night and he had two primary assists, three registered hits and two shots from the house (slot).”
His play earned him a promotion Friday onto a line with veterans Cam Lowe and Nathan Duplessis.
“Not bad for a 16-year-old,” Bielby said, adding he made the move because he Poirier is capable. “He is a Hamilton (Brantford) draft pick and he has a bright future. He has a very good chance of playing in the OHL. Brody (Niagara North Stars U18 coach Kritsch) and the team did a great job with him as well as Zach Lowe. I thankful for the work Brody did with the two APs we have been using the last few nights.”
Poirier was told early in the day that he would be on a line with Lowe and Duplessis.
“I found out in the morning and I was fired up all day.”
He knew he had to step it up.
“It’s a lot faster playing with those older guys so I have to play more faster and more physical.”
Bielby was happy with how his team played in dispatching the Kilty B’s in five games.
“I thought we played a good series in general. We just didn’t win our battles in Game 2. We put a good game together but didn’t do the little things like get to the house. The other four games of the series we tightened up and got it done.”
He was most proud of his team’s compete level.
“We have a lot of talent here but we are not winning anything without compete. I like how they played physical and we were the more disciplined team in the most important moments of the game. That was the difference the last two nights.”
Bielby was glad his team finished the series early.
“It was part of the plan. We really want to get healthy. You saw the handshake line. There was a lot of guys not wearing equipment out there. We are going to have a couple great weeks of practice and make sure we are prepared. The guys can focus on their exams a little bit too and we can get ready for Round 2 against whoever that may be.”
He expects the next round won’t start until the first week of April.
“It’s good. We need to get healthy, take care of each other and get the illness out of our room.”
STATS PACK
Falcons 5 Kilty B’s 1
St. Catharines’ Nathan Duplessis with a goal and an assist.
St Catharines Falcons: Liam Fisher (1); Easton Poirier (1); Juan Agromayer (2); Nathan Duplessis (3); Ally Mostafaie (2).
Hamilton Kilty B’s: Ryan Woodburn (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Avery Alves (46), by Hamilton on Hayden Jeffery (20); Power plays: St. Catharines 2-9, Hamilton 0-4. Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 32, Hamilton 35.
Attendance: 589.
Up next: The Falcons get some needed rest to prepare for the next round of the playoffs.
