Falcons hit the Jackpot
Jack McGovern has been a pleasant surprise for the St. Catharines Falcons.
The 17-year-old Waterdown native was brought in to provide goaltending depth behind incumbent Dillon Lamarche and has played well enough to earn six starts so far where he has excelled.
McGovern has fashioned a 6-1-0-1 record to go along with a 2.27 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.
Not bad for a rookie who played major midget AAA last season in Brampton.
“I was just happy to be here and anything extra was just great to have,” McGovern said. “Pretty much the first game I felt pretty good. It was a pretty quick adjustment.
“I knew I could compete.”
The Falcons caught wind of McGovern from former goalie coach Derek Bujan, who recommended the 6-foot-3 backstop.
“We saw him and really liked him,” Falcons goalie coach Nick Gigone said. “Before the season started, we didn’t know anything about him. We watched a summer skate and we knew he could play here.”
Falcons head coach/general manager Frank Girhiny loves McGovern’s approach.
“He uses his size to his advantage,” Girhiny said. “He’s a quiet young man, cerebral, and he’s been working hard in practice and not missed a beat. He just keeps getting better.”
Gigone said McGovern has been a pleasure to work with in practice, always willing to keep an open mind to try something to make his game better.
“He’s here for a reason. He’s a good goalie already but someone who has never played junior hockey, you’re going to have to adjust little things,” Gigone said. “The biggest thing is his confidence. We can see it in games and practices and every week he gets a little bit better.
“He listens. We don’t want to change his game a lot, but just little things and he tries it and if it’s something that doesn’t work, then he adjusts it to something that does work for him.”
McGovern, who was selected in second round (28th overall) by Mississauga Steelheads in 2018 Ontario Hockey League U18 Draft, credits his work ethic and the acceptance of his teammates with his quick start.
“You just have to work hard in practice and the guys were really good to me when I first came here,” he said. “It was an easy adjustment coming into the room.”
McGovern, who attends Grade 12 at Denis Morris, is taking things one day at a time for now.
“I want to try and play here as long as I can and see what kind of opportunities come out of it.”
McGovern has given the Falcons another option to Lamarche, who got off to a slow start, but is playing much better lately.
“We’re in a lot better position,” Girhiny said. “We’re feeling a lot better today than we were in September because of the way he’s been playing and Lamarche has really picked up his game.
“We feel better about our goaltending and that reflects on our team as well. The boys are feeling better about it and we’re playing quite well.”
The Falcons, 11-3-0-1, have a rare Friday off after their scheduled game versus Lockport was been postponed to later in the season. St. Catharines travel to Fort Erie Saturday and Hamilton Monday. They host the Kilty B’s next Friday.
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