Golden Horseshoe mid-term report card
With the Golden Horseshoe season at about the halfway mark, it’s time for the always highly anticipated mid-term report card.
Teams will be graded in the old fashioned letter system with an A being the best and an F being the worst.
The grades will be given out based on a combination of the record of the team over the first half in conjunction with the expectations of the team. In other words, a .500 season for some would be considered a success while for other teams losing as many as they are winning would be a disaster.
So, without further ado, here are the mid-term marks for all nine teams.
Caledonia Corvairs
23-2-0-1
A year off certainly hasn’t to hurt the Corvairs, who sat out the 2018/19 season.
The Corvairs dropped their first game of the season at the Showcase Tournament and then went over two months before being defeated by the St. Catharines Falcons last week.
The Corvairs are loaded with ex-Ontario Hockey League players including Tyler Burnie (Kingston), Ryan Wells (Mississauga), Nick McHugh (Kitchener/Mississauga), Ryan Littlejohn (Flint) and goaltender Aiden Hughes (Sarnia).
And don’t think for a second the Corvairs won’t add before the trade deadline in January if a high-end player becomes available.
The Corvairs did run into some off-ice issues when they parted ways with head coach Ric Nattress, but Mike Bullard jumped back into his former role seamlessly.
The Corvairs are big, talented and seemed poised to make other run at a Sutherland Cup
Grade: A+
St. Catharines Falcons
17-6-2
The Falcons got off to a bit of a shaky start under new head coach Tyler Bielby but have turned things around and are playing their best hockey of the season heading into December.
The Falcons feature a bit of a different look this season. The club has several top-notch veterans such as captain Curtis Edgar, Carson Edwardson and Xavier Drummond, but also have more youth than in the past with the likes of promising forwards Adam Cherepacha, Trent Glenney and Niagara IceDogs draft pick Kyler Watson.
Former IceDog and Guelph Storm defenceman Andrew Somerville is second on the team in scoring while the rest of the rearguards are a solid, if unspectacular collection.
The Falcons’ ace in the hole is former Sarnia Sting netminder Blair Coffin, who has a 2.11 goals-against average and .922 save percentage and has proven to be a big-game goaltender.
Expect the Falcons to be in the thick of things in the race for second place all season.
Grade: A-
Niagara Falls Canucks
16-6-2-1
The defending Golden Horseshoe champions had a huge turnover with several key pieces graduating but are still a top-notch team this season.
American Andrew Bruno has combined with Matthew Riva and Ryan Donovan to form one of the top lines in the league while ex-Falcon Jaleel Adams has produced 28 points in 25 games.
The club got a real shot in the arm last week when league most valuable player Justin Kyle returned after a brief stint in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Anthony Tremonte and Jack Brand have formed a solid duo in goal.
The Canucks, like the Falcons, should be in contention for second all season.
Grade: A-
Hamilton Kilty B’s
15-9-2
The Kilty B’s got off to a torrid start with a 7-1-2 record in their first 10 games but have come back the pack with a .500 record since.
The Kilty B’s feature a balanced attack led by captain Jacob Macdonald and forwards Steven Laforme, Ellis Rickwood, Andrew Salt, Terry Bridgland and Christian Pelley.
Freddie Teeple is a first-class agitator who has also chipped in with six goals.
The Kilty B’s a solid on the blueline, but don’t get much in the way of offence from their defencemen.
Justin Easter (1.99, .936) has emerged as a legitimate all-star in goal.
The Kilty B’s work hard and are not easy to play against most nights, but lack the high-end talent of the top three teams.
Grade: B
Thorold Blackhawks
14-9-2-1
The Blackhawks have put together a strong first half and figure to have a legitimate shot at finishing in the top half of the standings.
The Hawks feature a balanced set of forward lines and have begun to produce offensively led by Nicholas Rubino, Erie Otters draft pick Brett Bressette and Dylan Scriver.
The club picked up Flint Firebirds draft pick Owen Holmes from the Canucks last week and the speedy forward collected four points in his first two games.
Veteran defencemen Nick Gidney provides offence from the back end while Ben Varga has chipped in with 13 points from the blueline.
Chase Grsic and Noah Fortuna have split the goaltending chores and have both been solid in goal.
The Blackhawks could be a sleeper come playoff time.
Grade: B+
Pelham Panthers
8-14-0-2
The Panthers got off to a rough start, both on and off the ice.
Head coach Mark Barrick parted ways with the organization while a handful of players moved on, including Brodie Thomas and Mike Butterfield, who landed in Niagara Falls, and Noah Caperchione, who is now skating for Caledonia. Goaltender Nicholas Kidd started the season as the No. 1 goaltender and is now in Welland.
Veteran bench boss Chris Johnstone and his son, Carson, were brought in to stabilize the situation.
The Panthers work hard under the new regime but are thin up front without a player in double digits in goals. Former Panther Wyatt Thole recently returned from a stint in the Maritime Hockey League and will help in that area.
Goaltenders Nick McGowan and Harrison Flemming have more than earned their keep.
If anyone can turn around a team it’s Johnstone, but it will take time and more talent to get the Panthers back to the .500 mark.
Grade: D
Buffalo Regals
5-16-2-2
Five wins in 25 games is certainly nothing to celebrate about, but after finishing the season with just eight wins last year, the Regals seem to have turned the corner this season and become, on many nights, a respectable team.
The Regals still give up too many goals and are near the bottom in goals scored, but are far from the pushovers they have been in the past.
Nolan Slachetka and Michael Barker are both in double digits in the goals scored while Eli Rivers is a solid playmaker. Defenceman Griffin Green, a former Niagara Falls Canuck, has produced 17 points in 24 games.
The Regals won’t make any noise in the post season but won’t roll over, either.
Grade: D+
Welland Junior Canadians
4-18-3
It’s been a tough start for rookie coach Chris Lukey and his staff in the Rose City with just four wins in their first 25 games.
The Junior Canadians, who don’t have a player in double digits in goals, have been led offensively by captain Matt Baumann (5-15-21), Dario Tesero (7-13-20) and Jarome Myers (8-9-17). Chase Johnson has produced five goals and eight points in just 12 games while Philippe Angervil has been productive lately.
Goaltender Nicholas Kidd has been very good since being picked up from Pelham. IceDogs draft pick Josh Rosenzweig has a 5.03 goals-against average and .891 save percentage at the back.
The Junior Canadians will be in tough come playoff time.
Grade: E
Fort Erie Meteors
3-19-0-4
Veteran coach Rob Hubbert has a young group of players who work hard, but have yet to put it all together with a league-low three wins through the first half.
Cail Cirillo leads the team with nine goals while Marco Lariccia is the top scorer with 22 points in 26 games.
The Mets are tied with Welland for fewest goals scored and have given up a league worst 127.
Goaltender Jacob Hearn has a respectable 3.86 goals-against average and .903 save parentage.
Hubbert will have to work overtime to keep the Meteors confidence up in the second half.
Grade: E
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