Playoff hockey arrives in November
Something had to give Friday night when the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons met the visiting Fort Erie Meteors in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League Eastern Conference action at the Seymour-Hanna Sports Complex.
The Falcons, who beat Ayr 8-3 Thursday night to tie Ayr for first place in the Eastern Conference, were riding an eight-game winning streak while the Meteors were riding a six-game heater of their own. Fort Erie, which beat the Falcons 3-2 earlier in the season, entered the game in third place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-5-1. Its total of 31 points put it five points behind Ayr and St. Catharines with two games in hand.
The two teams didn’t disappoint producing a game won 1-0 by St. Catharines that featured passion, big hits, countless blocked shots, fisticuffs, many skirmishes, a failed penalty shot and a hit goalpost by St. Catharines with Fort Erie’s goalie pulled followed by a goalmouth scramble at the other end of the ice.
“That was a great hockey game. Two great hockey teams, both well-coached. It was 1-0 and nobody was giving up much. After 40 minutes the shots were 12-11,” said Tyler Bielby, the Falcons’ president of hockey operations and head coach. “That was two teams who were willing to compete and the fans got their dollar’s worth today.”
It was almost like Game 7 of the Sutherland Cup finals in late November.
“It’s good for the league. We have a lot of respect for our opponent and I have a lot of respect for Nik (Meteors head coach Passero). It has been a fun couple of years playing against each other and tonight was probably our biggest crowd,” he said. “It felt like a playoff game and the boys competed like it was one. They have to learn what it is like to be in those one-goal games.”
Bielby loves how his team is trending.
“We scored eight goals last night against the best team in the province at the time and then we can turn around tonight and make sure we don’t let any in. That is a good feeling for a coach when you can’t fill the net one night, that you’re are able to keep the puck out.”
He knows what his team has to do to keep rolling.
“Stay humble. That is an undefeated November and nine straight and we have to make sure that we remind each other every day that talent will only get us so far. We have to be willing to work and that’s going to continue to be the message,” he said. “We have two teams at the top of the West who we have to play next week so it doesn’t get any easier.”
Fort Erie head coach Nik Passero didn’t love the outcome but enjoyed the game like everyone else in the arena.
“That’s playoff hockey. That’s fun,” he said. “We are short-staffed and pretty banged up but they battled their butts off. Obviously (goalie) John Lloyd stood on his head and we just didn’t have that extra offensive push that we usually have but I can’t take anything away from them or us. I thought it was a great game and the fans got their money’s worth, for sure.”
Not that they needed any affirmation, but playing a game like that confirms the Meteors are one of the best teams in the GOJHL.
“We defend with the best of them and I think our D corps is exceptional and I love where we are at,” Passero said. “I think we need to get a little more depth and a little healthier, keep winning the games we need to win and I am sure we will see these guys down the road.”
Playing the hero for the Falcons Friday night was Calvin Petrovsky with the game-winning goal and an excellent game on the penalty kill.
“It was a great weekend for (No.) 28. He has been with me for a couple of years and we communicate a lot. There is a relationship there,” Bielby said. “He would love to score a goal every night but he is such a good 200-foot player when he plays his game. I thought tonight and last night he was our pulse and made a big difference.”
He loves Petrovsky’s consistent play.
“I’ve always thought he is special because of his first three strides, the way he can handle pucks, turn pucks over and kill penalties. I’ve told him if you play the right way the goals will come because there are only so many guys in the league who can play like him.”
Petrovsky had a blast playing Friday night.
“It was just two good teams going at it and obviously a one-goal game. We stuck to our details in the D zone and we’re able to close it out.”
He was happy to net the game-winning tally.
“It was great but it was a team effort though. Ags (Juan Agromayor) made a good face-off play to me there and I found the back of the net.”
The 19-year-old St. Catharines native would love to score even more but realizes he is important to the team in other ways as well.
“I just want to help the boys win and I know I can do that by scoring and just being a buzzsaw.”
He knows he can be even better.
“It’s just having more consistency in my game and showing up every night, working my hardest and keeping my feet moving every night.”
Petrovsky relishes the relationship he has with his head coach.
“He is great. I have been with him for three years now and he has been nothing but great to me. All the conversations we have really help me throughout the season and I can’t thank him enough.’
Falcons 8 Centennials 3
The Falcons tied Ayr for first place in the Eastern Conference of GOJHL with 18-5-0 records following an 8-3 road victory Thursday night.
Ally Mostafaie potted a pair of goals for Falcons and Brendan Grenville, Treyson Dewar, Juan Agromayor, Nathan Duplessis, Marcus Harris and Liam Fisher added single scores.
Hayden Jeffery 30 saves made 30 saves to pick up the win in goal.
STATS PACK
Falcons 1 Meteors 0
St. Catharines’ Calvin Petrovsky with the game-winning goal and an excellent job penalty killing.
For the St. Catharines Falcons: Calvin Petrovsky (6).
For the Fort Erie Meteors: No scoring.
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on John Lloyd 21; by Fort Erie on Hayden Jeffery 21. Penalty minutes: SC 31, FE 27. Power plays: SC 0-3, FE 0-5.
Up next: The Falcons play two road games next weekend.
