Weekend junior B roundup
The St. Catharines Falcons moved into a tie for second place with an 8-4 win at Fort Erie in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, Golden Horseshoe Conference action Saturday at the Leisureplex.
The Falcons, who improved to 29-13-2, are tied with the Canucks in points at 60, although Niagara Falls has played one less game.
The teams meet for the final time in the regular season Monday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. at the Gale Centre.
Thomas Lenart paced the Falcons with a goal and three assists while defenceman Brady Caruso added a goal and two assists. Former Meteor Cail Cirillo, Noah Blakely, Joshua Urbshott, Xavier Drummond, Adam Cherepacha and Trent Glenney also scored for the Falcons.
“It was nice to find some chemistry on the offensive side of the puck,” Falcons coach Tyler Bielby said. “We had some good balance in scoring and multiple players involved. I felt we were able to establish a cycle and as a result we were able to create those offensive looks. It’s so important to play with purpose. When we do, we are rewarded.”
Bielby would like to see the Falcons tighten up in their own end, he said.
“With all that being said, we will zero in on our D-zone this week in practice. We gave up too many quality scoring chances and it’s just not acceptable this time of year. As important as it is to play with purpose in all areas of the ice, it’s even more important in our D-zone. We must defend as a unit and take pride on that side of the puck.”
Mario Lariccia, Nathan Reichel, Jayden Baldinelli and Philip DeCresce replied for the Meteors.
Former Meteor Ethan Cook earned the win in net with 30 saves. Jacob Hearne and Dalton McBride both saw action in goal for Fort Erie. Hearne permitted seven goals on 34 shots and was tagged with the loss. McBride finished up and made nine saves on 10 shots.
Corvairs 13 Junior Canadians 2
With five games remaining the Caledonia Corvairs locked up the No. 1 seed in the Golden Horseshoe Conference with a lopsided win over the visiting Welland Junior Canadians Saturday.
The win was the 12th in a row for the Corvairs while the Junior Canadians saw their losing streak extended to 21 games.
Colt Corpse paced the winners with three goals while Ryan Littlejohn, Marino Moro and Kessler Skye added two each. Ryan Wells, Matthew Bridgwater, Nick Gunta and Dylan D’Agostino chipped in with singles. Cole Tymkin collected five assists and Tyler Burner four helpers.
Joshua Shears and Dawson Abrahams scored for the Junior Canadians.
Nick Clay made 13 saves for the win while Nicholas Kidd permitted eight goals on 21 shots through two periods and took the loss. Brennan Papineau finished up and gave up five goals in the third on 30 shots.
Sunday
Meteors 6 Panthers 3
Drew Passsero had a career game with two goals and four assists as the visiting Fort Erie Meteors doubled the Pelham Panthers Sunday afternoon in Pelham.
Tyler Decoff, Blake Hall, Marco Lariccia and Dylan Abbamont also scored for the Mets.
Evan Gibbs, Devin Sanders and Jason Gee replied for the Panthers.
Dalton McBride made 32 saves in goal for the win.
Tiago Rocha made 28 saves and took the loss for Pelham.
Junior Canadians 4 Regals 3
Lucas Trimarchi’s power-play marker in the third period lifted the Welland Junior Canadians over the visiting Buffalo Regals Sunday afternoon.
The victory snapped a 21-game losing streak for the Junior Canadians, whose last win was Nov. 9 versus Fort Erie.
Jordan Guigui, James Gowland and Jason Horvat also scored for Welland.
Riley Eberhardt made 34 saves in goal for the Junior Canadians to earn the win.
Brendan Krawczyk had two goals and Jared Hayden one for Buffalo.
Standings
1. Caledonia 39-3-0-1-79
2. St. Catharines 29-13-2-60
3. Niagara Falls 28-11-2-2-60
4. Hamilton 26-14-2-1-55
5. Thorold 23-16-2-2-50
6. Pelham 16-24-0-3-35
7. Fort Erie 11-27-0-5-27
8. Buffalo 8-30-2-3-21
9. Welland 5-34-3-1-14
This week
Monday
Caledonia at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Pelham at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Thursday
Welland at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
Niagara Falls at Thorold, 7:07 p.m.
Friday
Welland at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Niagara Falls, 7 p.m.
Saturday
Hamilton at Fort Erie, 7:15 p.m.
Pelham at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday
St. Catharines at Pelham, 2:30 p.m.
Fort Erie at Welland, 7:05 p.m.
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