Falcons not about to panic
The St. Catharines Falcons have hit a rough patch, but head coach Tyler Bielby is confident the slump is nothing more than a blip on the radar.
The Falcons dropped a pair of key matchups with the Niagara Falls Canucks last Friday and Sunday, then lost a 3-1 decision at Hamilton Monday to extend their losing streak to a season-high three games.
“We won six straight prior to that so we can’t lose sight of that,” Bielby said. “We have complete faith in the boys in the room. We had a great practice (Tuesday) and got back to enjoying the process. If you’re not enjoying coming to the arena, we’re not going to get out of this.
“We need to loosen our grip, enjoy the process, and get back to work and move on to Thorold Friday.”
The numbers weren’t kind to the Falcons in the three losses, particularly in the defeats versus the Canucks.
The Falcons permitted seven power-play goals against in those two losses, and spent a combined 74 minutes in the penalty box compared to a combined 24 for the Canucks.
Bielby is well aware that won’t cut it.
“We can chalk it up to we just wanted it too bad, but those are excuses,” he said. “That is what cost you four points on the weekend and put you in a tough position to lose your sixth point on Monday. We have to be better on our discipline side and continue to work on our vision.”
Bielby insists the lockeroom is united in their understanding things must change.
“The biggest thing is there is no panic in the room with the boys,” Bielby said. “At the end of the day, it was an emotional weekend for them. Their emotions got the best of them and as a result, played the most undisciplined hockey they’ve played in the season, yet we were still in every game.
“The message is if we stay out of the box and work on our emotional intelligence, we’ll be on the right side of those games.”
The Falcons lost forward Xavier Drummond for two games for abuse of officials and new forward Matt Barazin for nine games for abuse of officials and physical abuse of officials in the second game versus the Canucks.
“We can’t afford to have guys suspended so that they can’t help the team be successful and try and get out of a slump,” Bielby said. “There is a teachable there. We have to learn to keep our mouths shut, respect the game, play with integrity, and be the better man at the end of all that.”
Bielby admitted the losing got to him as well, particularly after the loss in Hamilton.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t have some sort of emotion driving home Monday night after our third loss, but that’s going to drive myself and my coaching staff to be better as well,” he said. “It’s a process, but it’s three hockey games.
“We dealt with it at the very beginning of the season but at that time it was a little bit different. We were a new group so to have it kind of come together at this point in the season, it’s definitely something we need to manage and how we work through that process.”
The Falcons will be shorthanded when they host the Thorold Blackhawks Friday at home.
“We’ll have three midgets in lineup Friday but a couple of guys’ misfortune is some young guys’ fortune,” Bielby said. “They get an opportunity to play at a higher level. We have complete trust in the AP’s (associated players) we’ve used this year and that will be no different Friday.”
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