Falcons hunt down Corvairs
Tyler Hunt continues to be a difference maker for the St. Catharines Falcons.
The 20-year-old Oakville native scored all three goals as the Falcons topped the Caledonia Corvairs 3-1 in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
Hunt, who was selected as GOJHL Player of the Month for December of 2023, now has 13 goals and 28 points in only 14 games this season.
Hunt’s effort did not go unnoticed by Falcons general manager/coach Tyler Bielby.
“Two things can happen with you get called the Player of the Month in front of 700 people before the puck drops,” Bielby said. “You either have an off one and everyone in the crowd wonders what the league was thinking or you go out and get a hat-trick and Tyler goes out and gets a hat-trick.”
Hunt broke a scoreless deadlock at 9:53 of the second on a power play. He then netted the winner late in the third before completing the hat-trick into the empty net.
“It feels nice, it feels even better to get that win against that team,” Hunt said. “That was the main goal tonight.”
Hunt joined the Falcons earlier this season from the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and quickly emerged as a dominant offensive force before injuring his wrist which sidelined him for six weeks.
“The team helped when I was out,” he said. “We had lot of guys out but we found a way to battle when not everyone was in the lineup.”
The victory was the sixth straight for the Falcons who improved to 23-7-1-1 and now trail the Corvairs by three points for first place with a game in hand.
Hunt said the Falcons would love to overtake the Corvairs for top spot.
“For sure it’s something we look at,” he said. “We’re striving to keep going up in the standings and keep improving ourselves as a team.”
The Falcons were playing their first game of 2023 following an extensive layoff for the Christmas holidays.
“I thought we played 60 minutes tonight,” Bielby said. “We have four new forwards in our group and put two defencemen who have been out forever back in the lineup so that’s six new players.
“The talent is there, they still need time to adjust, and I think every shift they got a little more comfortable with each other.”
The Falcons have had difficulty holding leads late in games at times this season, but did an admirable job in that department Friday.
“That’s the best third period we have played as far as closing a game out,” Bielby said.
Bielby loved the contributions Hunt, along with newcomers Dylan Pergentile and Grayson Gare, in that area.
“They are big, strong bodies who take pride in playing the game the right way. They get pucks out and it’s no surprise Pergentile and Gare were on the ice in the last minute.”
Hayden Jefferey had another solid game in goal for the Falcons, kicking out 36 shots. The Niagara IceDogs prospect has a 2.32 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 24 games.
In other Golden Horseshoe game Friday, the Pelham Panthers topped the Port Colborne Sailors 3-1 at Port Colborne.
Ryan Haeney, Caleb MacLeish and Ryan Shier scored for Pelham.
Mitchell Yates replied for Port.
Carter Vincente made a remarkable 60 saves in goal for the Panthers, who improved to 11-20-1-1 and trail the Sailors by one point for fifth place.
Falcon facts: Mitchell Dmytrow, Trent Vaillancourt, Jordan Marconi and Zach Mambella were scratched for the Falcons . . . Dylan Wardell, Michael Derbidge and Conner Doerbecker did not dress for the Corvairs . . . Former Niagara IceDog Sami Douglas-Najem has 37 points (15 goals and 22 assists) in 36 games this season for Caledonia. Douglas played with the IceDogs in 2021-22.
Falcons 3 Corvairs 1
St. Catharines Falcons forward Tyler Hunt.
St. Catharines Falcons: Tyler Hunt 3 (11,12,13).
Caledonia Corvairs: Markus Dempewolf (19).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Keegan Jackson (34), by Caledonia on Hayden Jeffery (36); Power plays: St. Catharines 0/5, Caledonia 1/5; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 14; Caledonia 14.
Attendance: 588.
Up next: The Falcons are in Hamilton Saturday and back home next Friday against Fort Erie.
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