Falcons fend off Panthers
The St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons and Pelham Panthers are developing quite a rivalry.
The Panthers turned some heads Sunday when they upset the Falcons 3-2, thanks in large part to a 50-save effort from Logan Snyder in goal.
The Falcons returned the favour Friday, doubling the Panthers 4-2 in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League game at the Seymour-Hanna Sports Complex.
St. Catharines forward Nathan Duplessis, who scored twice, admitted the Falcons were out for revenge.
“Yeah, it was definitely on our mind,” the veteran winger said. “It was one we shouldn’t have lost. We’ve been thinking about it all week and working all week at practice for it.
“We’re just glad we got this one tonight.”
Duplessis said the Panthers are not an easy team to play against, despite their 2-8-3 record.
“They just play hard,” he said. “We just (need to) play our game, master physicality, and just work harder than ever. The whole thing is mindset and how we work. I think if we just work harder than them, we’ll be OK.”
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby tipped his cap to Panthers head coach/assistant general manager Zac Rinaldo.
“Credit to Zac and the guys over there,” Bielby said. “It’s not the Pelham of the past. He’s got these guys working, he’s got an ownership group that’s dedicated to trying to make the organization better.
“He gave us two hell of a games in a row and they made us match it.”
Following a scoreless first period, the Falcons took a 3-1 lead after two on goals from Duplessis, Ally Mostafaie and rookie Lachlan Sucher, with his first junior goal.
The Panthers made things interesting late in the third when Colton Ashby scored with five minutes to play but Duplessis sealed the deal with an empty-net insurance marker at 18:49.
“I was happy with our effort tonight,” Bielby said. “We need to bear down on a few more chances, score a few more goals so it’s not so tight.”
The Falcons lost captain Cam Lowe late in the second when he was slammed into the boards by Pelham’s Leif Sigfusson, who was given a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct.
Lowe did not return for the third, but early indications are he escaped serious injury.
The Falcons did not retaliate, which was fine with Bielby.
“Yeah (it’s tough), especially when your captain gets run over like that. You got a kid that wants to help, but he wants to stay in the game. But at the end of the day, we prevail. So any decisions made tonight were the right decisions,” he said.
Rinaldo took little solace from the effort.
“Maybe last year, not this year,” he said. “We had a good first period and we took our foot off the gas for the second period. They scored three goals in the second. That was the deciding factor of the game.
“I think at the beginning, a lot of kids were happy just to have made a junior team. But now those growing pains are over with and we’re moving on to the next chapter with these guys. So losing is not an option anymore.”
The Falcons are in Fort Erie Saturday for their first matchup with the Meteors this season.
“We’ve got to learn to enjoy the wins for a minute but not get too high. The last few times we’ve had great wins we haven’t shown up for the most part so I’m challenging this team to make sure they’re ready,” Bielby said. “We know they’re the ones that sent us home last year. We’ve got to be ready to go.”
Falcon facts: Kaleb Lyttleton, Thomas Dimoulas, Lucas Tuin and Matt Fries were scratched for the Falcons . . . Jaron Marconi, Caleb Macleish, Owen Hunks, Luke Breadner, Daniel Petrov, Patrick Sutherland did not dress for the Panthers.
St. Catharines forward Nathan Duplessis with two goals.
Falcons 4 Panthers 2
St. Catharines Falcons: Nathan Duplessis 2 (6,7); Ally Mostafaie (4); Lachlan Sucher (3).
Pelham Panthers: Ryan Wercholaz (2); Colton Ashby (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Logan Snyder (42), by Pelham on Hayden Jeffery (32); Power plays: St. Catharines 0/4, Pelham 0/3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 10; Pelham 23.
Attendance: 549.
Up next: The Falcons head to Fort Erie Saturday and are back home next Friday to take on the Strathroy Rockets.
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