Falcons rally past Corvairs in OT
It was a night of redemption and revenge for Nathan Duplessis.
The former Caledonia Corvair atoned for an early penalty with three points as the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons rallied past the Caledonia Corvairs 4-3 in overtime in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action Friday night in St. Catharines.
The 20-year-old winger spent 12 minutes in the penalty box after being assessed a minor for head contact and an automatic 10-minute misconduct late in the first period, but more than made up for that with a remarkable effort late in the game.
Down 3-1 heading into the third, the Falcons were looking for a spark and Duplessis stepped up and lit the fuse. First, he setup Brendan Grenville 8:46 into the period to narrow the gap to 3-2, then netted the tying goal at 13:06 on the power play. Duplessis completed the job with a perfect pass to Marcus Harris 1:16 into overtime for the winner that sent the Falcons flying over the boards in jubilation.
“I think we had a slow start, but we rallied together as a team and we just had our never-give-up mentality,” Duplessis said. “We always find a way.”
Duplessis downplayed the penalty.
“Personally I don’t think I really hit his head, but it is what it is,” he said. “But yeah, letting the boys down with that I always have to rally them back so I’m just glad we were able to able to get the win here.”
Falcons president of hockey operations/head coach Tyler Bielby loved the way his club found a way to win following a slow start.
“We didn’t start on time,” Bielby said. “We finished the way that this team is built to play.”
The Falcons dominated the final 20 minutes, outshooting the Corvairs 17-4.
“I thought that ice was pretty tilted in the third period, we spent a lot of time in there,” Bielby said. “It’s because we were competing, we were structured, we were cycling the puck through.
“First period, I thought we just came out and we were watching a little much. Caledonia was ready to play. They gave us a hell of a hockey game and they came out in the first and acted that way. You could see it. They were on their toes. You could hear their bench and we were missing a little bit of energy.”
Bielby said the team was reminded between the first and second it is unacceptable to have a visiting team have more energy in your own barn.
“I thought we had a pretty good second period with some unlucky bounces that didn’t give us the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “Told them that we’re winning this hockey game in between the second and third. There’s no way I’m going to sit down at that table after and ask what happened.”
Bielby gave credit to Duplessis for finding a way to get the job done.
“He’s a big player for us. I don’t want him in the box for 12 minutes — I need him to be smarter, just keep his hands down there — but at the end of the day that’s what you need out of your 20-year-olds.
“It’s fine to beat Welland 9-2 but how do you show up again Caledonia? How do you compete when everything is on the line as far as your pride and everything goes? I thought he showed up and did his job. Him, (Chris) Grenville and (Cam) Lowe were real good for us in the third period as a line. The 20-year-old got the job done.”
It was the sixth straight win for the Falcons who improved to 30-8-0-1 and lead the Eastern Conference of the GOJHL by six points over Ayr. The Centennials own two games in hand.
The Falcons have 11 games remaining in the season, including a game at Port Colborne Sunday at 7 p.m.
“Don’t get comfortable, keep getting better,” Bielby said. “Actually put our foot on the gas. And keep teaching. Teach every day. We have to show up ready to work. Winning is the hardest thing in the world you’re going to do. And it takes a mindset.”
Falcon facts: Mitch Dymtrow, Lachlan Sucher, Jordan Marconi and Liam Fisher were scratched for the Falcons . . . Former Falcons Mitch Armstrong and Blake Yetman were in attendance.
Falcons 4 Corvairs 3 OT
Falcons Nathan Duplessis.
St. Catharines Falcons: Nathan Duplessis (22); Treyson Dewar (20); Marcus Harris (14); Brendan Grenville (12).
Caledonia Corvairs: Ethan Osborne (15); Drew Agnew (9); Travis Houle (3).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Josh Branton (38), by Caledonia on Hayden Jeffery (27); Power plays: St. Catharines 2/7, Caledonia 0/4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 18; Caledonia 14.
Attendance: 516.
Up next: The Falcons head to Port Colborne Sunday at 7 p.m.
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