Falcons rebound to take OT win
Caleb Thompson celebrated his birthday in grand fashion Friday night.
The captain of the St. Catharines Falcons, who turned 20 Thursday, fired a pair of goals to lift the Falcons to a 5-4 overtime win over the Hamilton Kilty B’s in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the Seymour-Hannah Sports Complex.
“Obviously, it’s a team game but when you get individual success it always feels good, especially after a big day like your birthday,” Thompson said. “I’m happy we got the two points instead of one. We kind of hung Jeff (goalie Hayden Jeffery) out to dry in the third.”
Thompson also gave props to athletic therapist Carlo Cardelli.
“He likes to put a little magic in my stick,” Thompson smiled.
Thompson, who played the last two seasons with Cobourg of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, has embraced his role as captain.
“It’s a great role to be looked at like that from your peers, it’s obviously something every player wants,” he said. “It’s a great feeling coming to the rink every day and feeling that respect and also respecting others and making our room a home.”
Falcons general manager/coach Tyler Bielby couldn’t say enough good things about his captain.
“He’s everything,” Bielby said. “We’re so lucky to have him here this year. Not only do I have a good player but I think I probably have a friend for life. He’s a great kid. He carries himself properly and deals with these young guys the right way.
“I know if I was a parent and I had my kids away playing hockey in another town, I’d be pretty comfortable knowing they were under Caleb’s watch.”
Thompson’s celebration was almost put on hold as the Falcons built a 4-1 lead heading into the third only to have the Kilty B’s rally with three goals in five minutes to tie the game and force overtime.
Rookie Noah Read won it for the Falcons with his sixth of the season.
“We just said we know we’re the better team,” Thompson said. “We might have fallen asleep for five or 10 minutes but at the end of the day, we’re confident in what we can do and we went out and performed.”
Bielby appreciated his club’s ability to bounce back from what could have been devastating loss.
“We challenged them to close out the third period and I thought for the first 10 minutes that’s exactly how we were playing,” he said. “We had good pace and were all over them. We took an unfortunate penalty and the momentum changed.
“A 4-1 lead is always great but it can be dangerous and tonight it was. They could have shipped it in but they found a way to get the win.”
Falcon facts: Cal Reesor, Mitch Dmytrow, Tyler Hunt, Treyson Dewar and Henry Attard did not dress for the Falcons . . . Ryan Woodburn, Jake Peters, Luke Dekay, Ethan Ingram and Austen Parmerleau were scratched for the Kilty B’s . . . Falcons will be holding a Community Care Food Drive at their home game Dec. 8. Fans are asked to bring non-perishable food items and unwrapped Christmas gifts to the game. Over four barrels of food and items were collected Friday . . . Thompson also won 10 steaks for a fan from Big Red Markets in the Shoot-a-Rama.
Falcons 5 Kilty B’s 4 OT
Falcons captain Caleb Thompson with a pair of goals.
St. Catharines Falcons: Caleb Thompson 2 (16, 17); Cal Petrovsky (8); Noah Read (6); Zach Mambella (2).
Hamilton Kilty B’s: Anthony Giacalone (10); Kaleb Frank (5); Brady Wassink (4); Gianmarco Caringi (2).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Vlad Visan (48), by Hamilton on Hayden Jeffery (32); Power plays: St. Catharines 1/5, Hamilton 0/3; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 8, Hamilton 10.
Attendance: 463.
Up next: The Falcons visit Welland Sunday at 7 p.m.
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