Falcons wipe out Welland
Noah Blakely is slowly rounding into form for the St. Catharines Falcons.
The Falcons picked up the speedy forward from the Welland Junior Canadians earlier this month in a three-way deal that also included the Niagara Falls Canucks.
Blakely, who had been sitting out in Welland, joined the Falcons and quickly displayed the speed and effort that prompted the club to go after him in the first place, but was clearly out of game shape.
Blakely picked up his first goal for the Falcons Friday and also added three assists as St. Catharines dominated the Junior Canadians 10-0 in a Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference game at Jack Gatecliff Arena.
The Falcons, who improved to 16-3-0-1, have won six straight and have points in 16 straight games.
The Junior Canadians are headed in the opposite direction having dropped six in a row to fall to 5-15-0-1.
“It felt great,” Blakely said. “When you are playing with guys like this, it’s easy to score goals and it makes my job a lot easier out there.”
Blakely, who had gone four games without a point, netted a breakaway, short-handed goal in the second period.
“Against Welland, it was pretty sweet,” he smiled. “It felt good to get that one out of the way and hopefully get a lot more now.”
Blakely admitted it’s been tough to get back into the swing of things after not playing competitively since last season.
“After a few practices and a couple of weeks, I’m really getting used to the systems and how we play,” he said. “I still have a lot of work to do, but we’re going to get there.”
Blakely, a 19-year-old Welland native, netted 18 goals and 38 points for the Junior Canadians last season but wanted a change of scenery.
“We didn’t get a lot of guys back and my brother (Cam) played in this organization and all I heard was great things. It’s a class A organization. I have two years left. I want to compete and I want to win so this was the place wanted to be.”
Falcons coach/general manager Frank Girhiny feels the best is yet to come for Blakely.
“I still think he’s rusty. He hasn’t played since March,” Girhiny said. “This is like his pre-season. I can’t wait to see him after Christmas and in the playoffs.
“The reason we got him was because he’s a relentless, hard worker and he’ll chip in here and there.”
Girhiny loves that Blakely plays with an edge.
“He’s just a workhorse. He’s a dog on a bone,” Girhiny said. “He’s all over the ice and gets under the other team’s skin and if we’re going to continue to grow as a team, we need players like him as well as goal scorers.”
The Falcons jumped out to a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes, outshooting the Junior Canadians 17-7 in the opening period.
St. Catharines padded their lead with four more in the second period, including a pair of short-handed markers.
“I thought we continued and kept pushing and keep pushing,” Girhiny said. “I thought the kids were committed in the third period and stayed away from the interactive stuff going on after the whistles.”
Falcon facts: Dakota Miskolczi, Jaleel Adams, Jack Venneri, Jake Orr and Kristopher Black were scratched for the Falcons . . . Midget AP’s James Gowland and Kyle Glenney were called up to round out the roster . . . Falcons goalie Jack McGovern was honoured before the game as the Golden Horseshoe player of the month for October . . . Kellan Rosenbaum, Aaron Chiarot and Quinn Chevers did not dress for the Junior Canadians . . . Brenden Morin is the lone Welland native on the roster for the Junior Canadians . . . The Falcons annual Give Back food drive will be held next week. Next week’s game versus Pelham is also the Falcons alumni recognition game.
Canucks 5 Panthers 1
The Niagara Falls Canucks improved to 19-2-0-1 with a win over the visiting Pelham Panthers Friday at the Gale Centre.
Justin Kyle paced the Canucks with two goals while Ben Evans, Mitch Mendonca and David D’Agostino added singles.
Noah Caperchione replied for the Panthers, who fell to 13-9-0-1.
Stats Pack
Falcons 10 Junior Canadians 0
BPSN Star of the Game: Falcons forward Noah Blakely with four points.
For the St. Catharines Falcons: Blakely (1); Carson Edwardson 2 (17,18); Jacob Roach 2 (11,12); Christian Girhiny 2 (11,12); Kyle West (8);Xavier Drummond (6); Andrew Somerville (2).
For the Welland Junior Canadians: No scoring.
Game Stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Joey Fratantonio (36), by Welland on Jack McGovern (14); Power plays: St. Catharines 1-for-7, Welland 0-for-7; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 20, Welland 46.
Attendance: 359
Up next: Home to Pelham next Friday.
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