Falcons knock off RedHawks in opener
Matt Fries saw to it his debut with the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons was a memorable one.
The 20-year-old Cambridge native collected a goal and an assist to pace the Falcons past the Cambridge RedHawks 5-1 to open the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season Friday night at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
Fries (pronounced freeze) played the last three seasons with the RedHawks and joined the Falcons this season after enrolling at Brock.
“It was exciting, it was something I’ve been looking forward to since they put the schedule together,” Fries said. “I woke up this morning with a smile on my face and I said there’s no way in hell my former team is beating me today.”
Not only was Fries’ Falcon debut versus his old team, but he was also playing against his younger brother, Cameron Fries, for the first time. The two brothers took the ceremonial face-off together before the game.
“I played two years with him so that’s my first time playing against him,” Matt Fries said.
The brothers crossed paths only once during the game.
“I got a penalty for it. It wasn’t a good penalty,” Matt Fries smiled.
Matt Fries, who netted 25 goals last season, was thrilled to score in his first with his new team.
“It’s always nice to score in your first game, to get that momentum going, especially because I didn’t score a single goal in the pre-season,” he said. “Just to get the feeling of what it’s like to score a goal again was really nice, especially in the first game in front of the home crowd and especially a short-handed goal.”
Matt Fries said he has felt comfortable in St. Catharines since Day 1.
“Oh, it’s awesome. It’s a first-class organization from top to bottom. The players are great. Coach has spoken very highly of what he wants to accomplish here and spoken very highly of this team and it’s definitely something I look forward to,” he said.
Falcons president of hockey operations and head coach Tyler Bielby is a big fan of the elder Fries.
“I think that he took a penalty on his brother because that’s just how hard he plays and it doesn’t matter who on the ice is out there. He showed these guys he wants to lead them. He showed us he wants to be here,” Bielby said. “I mean, that’s a guy that I can win with any day of the week. I’m so happy to have him.”
The Falcons grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Jordan Marconi, who had a solid game with three points, scored just 2:39 into the game. St. Catharines made it 2-0 when Matt Fries scored late in the period.
Calvin Petrovsky later scored two goals while rookie Ally Mostafaie also got into the act with his first rookie goal as the Falcons led from start to finish.
“I thought all four lines brought something to the table tonight and I thought our defence was really good,” Bielby said. “We didn’t give much up and when we did, Hayden (Jeffery) was ready to go.
“A very good team effort.”
Bielby was happy to start the season off on the right foot.
“You’re trying to look at what kind of character you have when two points are on the line. We think we know what we have but you go through the pre-season and you don’t know until you’re playing for two points,” he said. “They kept their foot on the gas and made sure we put them away.”
Falcon facts: Captain Cam Lowe (lower body), Lachlan Sucher and Dallys Hibbert did not dress for the Falcons.
STATS PACK
Falcons 5 RedHawks 1
Young’s Insurance Player of the Game: Matt Fries with a goal and assist.
St. Catharines Falcons: Calvin Petrovsky 2 (1,2); Jordan Marconi (1); Matt Fries (1); Ally Mostafaie (1).
Cambridge RedHawks: Owen Yagar (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Brandon Balcar (34), by Cambridge on Hayden Jeffery (20); Power plays: St. Catharines 1/8, Cambridge 0/4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 10; Cambridge 18.
Attendance: 429.
Up next: The Falcons are in Port Colborne Saturday. The Brantford Titans provide the opposition next Friday.
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