Read gets last laugh
It’s only fitting Noah Read scoring the winning goal for the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons Sunday.
The 17-year-old rookie appeared to have given the Falcons a 5-4 lead late in the third period on a highlight reel “Michigan” goal from behind the net, only to have it waved off by officials due to a high stick.
Moments later, Read buried the winner with 40 seconds remaining in the extra period to give the Falcons a 5-4 win over the Pelham Panthers in Pelham.
“It felt pretty nice to get it back and win the game,” Read said.
Read, who also scored in the first period, wasn’t sure how the goal could be called a high stick when the lacrosse-like goal is achieved by holding the stick parallel to the cross bar and quickly tucking the puck in from behind or beside the goal.
“Ya, they called it on a high stick, I’m not really sure how,” he said. “By calling it a high stick they basically say it doesn’t belong in a game. It was just a normal Michigan. I don’t know.
“I just happened to be behind the net and I picked it up and decided to put it in.”
St. Catharines general manager/coach Tyler Bielby did not think the goal should have been disallowed.
“It was a great goal,” Bielby said. “It was a 16-year-old getting to experience one of the best moments of his life. We consider it a goal. We told him it was a goal and we’re going to celebrate it as a goal.
“It’s a great play by him and for him to go out and get the overtime winner after it was waved off, good on him.”
The win wraps up the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League season for the Falcons who now face the Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. The best-of-seven quarter-final series begins Friday in St. Catharines with Game 2 in Pelham Sunday, March 10 at 2:45 p.m.
Read is eager to get the post-season underway.
“Every team in this league is a good team so we have to battle hard in the next four games to win,” he said. “I’m so excited. I haven’t had a real (playoff) series since I was nine years old.
“It’s going to be pretty fun.”
The Falcons raced out to a 4-1 lead by the halfway point of the second period before the Panthers rallied with three quick goals, including one with the man advantage.
“We were up 4-1 and . . . leave it at that and all of sudden it’s 4-4 at the end of the period,” Bielby said.
Neither team had anything to gain in the standings but both clearly wanted to send a message.
“They threw everything they had at us, but at the same time, we have six guys out of our lineup,” Bielby said. “It’s important to make sure we’re always playing the right way and creating good habits but it’s tough. Everybody knows the season is done, everybody knows who we’re playing.”
The Falcons were without Caleb Thompson, Tyler Hunt, Grayson Gare, Calvin Petrovsky, William Moore and Marcus Harris.
Bielby is confident he will have a full lineup Friday.
The loss wrapped up a 14-33-2-1 season for the Panthers.
“We’ve been preparing for probably the last month for playoffs it just so happens to be the team we’re going into playoffs against is St. Catharines so we took this as a playoff game,” Pelham coach Zac Rinaldo said. “It was a good test for us and a good sample size on what we’re going up against.”
Rinaldo loved how his team batted back from a 4-1 deficit.
“It gave our guys confidence going into third period,” he said. “They just have to keep buying in and keep believing regardless of what the score is, if we’re up a couple or down a couple, it’s never over. I hope they can take that and run with it.”
Aidan Thomson kept the Panthers in the game with a tremendous 51-save effort.
STATS PACK
Falcons 5 Panthers 4 OT
St. Catharines forward Noah Read with two goals, including the OT winner.
St. Catharines Falcons: Read 2 (12, 13); Treyson Dewar 2 (23, 24); Dylan Pergentile (22).
Pelham Panthers: Brendan Grenville (15); Connor Clark (13); Liam Wicks (13); Keagan Knight (5).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Aidan Thomson (56), by Pelham on Cal Gardner (40): Power plays: St. Catharines 1/4, Pelham 1/4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 8, Pelham 8.
Attendance: 260
Up next: The Panthers and Falcons meet beginning Friday in a best-of-seven quarter-final playoff series. Game 2 is Sunday, March 10 at Pelham at 2:45 p.m. The rest of the schedule has yet to be released.
Corvairs 7 Junior Canadians 1
Markus Depewolf potted four goals as the Caledonia Corvairs topped the visiting Welland Junior Canadians Saturday night.
Noah Baltzer added two and Clark Dunford one for the winners.
Jack Ryan netted the lone Welland goal.
The Corvairs swept the home-and-home series with a win in 5-2 win at Welland Sunday.
Dempewolf netted two more while Zachary Naherne, Ethan Royer and Nathan Duplessis added singles.
Jermey Alexander and Christiano Stogiannis had the Welland goals.
SATURDAY
Kilty B’s 4 Meteors 3
Anthony Giacalone netted the winner late in the third period as the Hamilton Kilty B’s edged the Fort Erie Meteors Saturday.
Kaleb Frank, Jake Peters and Yianni Kaidonis also scored for the Kilty Bs who finished the regular season in fourth place with a 24-22-4 record.
Kyle Adamo, Chaka-Benjamin Ntumba-Munto and Liam Beamish replied for the Meteors, who placed second with a 36-12-2 record.
STANDINGS
FINAL
1. Caledonia 40-9-1-1-80
2. Fort Erie 36-12-2-74
3. St. Catharines 36-12-1-1-74
4. Hamilton 24-22-4-52
5. Welland 15-31-4-34
6. Pelham 14-33-2-1-31
7. Port Colborne 12-33-4-1-29
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