Weekend Junior B roundup: Meteors sweep; Panthers split; Sailors top Falcons
Dylan Coers has fit in like a glove with the Fort Erie Meteors.
The 20-year-old defenceman was added near the trade deadline and has provided offence and depth as the Meteors look to repeat as champions.
Coers collected three assists Saturday night as the Mets topped the visiting Welland Junior Canadians 5-1 in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action at the Leisureplex.
Coers, who began his junior career with the Thorold Blackhawks before moving to his hometown Port Colborne Sailors when the franchise relocated, is enjoying being a Meteor.
“I’m loving it,” he said. “The atmosphere in the room is unreal. We have as much fun as we can. I want it to go on as long as we can.”
Coers was having a solid season with the Sailors but had no issue moving down Highway 3.
“I wanted to play as long as I could and I thought I had the best opportunity to go as far as I could with this team,” he said. “I’ve got confidence in us.”
Coers watched the Meteors earn their first Golden Horseshoe championship last year and would love a taste of that in his final season of junior eligibility.
“I want to go even further this year though,” he said. “I think they had some unfinished business. They had a great year but I think we can piggyback off it and keep going.”
Meteors coach/general manager Nik Passero has been pleased with Coers’ efforts in black and orange.
“He’s helped our power play for sure,” Passero said. “He’s an older D and I think that’s the way you win in this league, is with older D. He helps out our already veteran D corps, so he’s fit right in.”
Passero has used Coers with a variety of defensive partners.
“We switch it up,” he said. “We play him little bit with (Derek) Smyth and we played his with (Cam) Thorpe. We’re just trying to figure out our best six getting into the playoffs here and it’s been a mix and match.”
Coers, who is a kinesiology student at Brock, feels he can contribute even more down the stretch.
“I can’t complain but I think I can take a step in the direction to produce more and help the team more,” he said. “Playing on our power play, we’ve got high-end guys, all of them. It makes things a lot easier.”
Caleb Bidgood paced the Mets with two goals while Hunter Coley, Zac Mizzi and Tate Donald also scored.
Finn Moffett made 24 saves for the win.
Cooper Reid replied for Welland.
The Mets completed the weekend sweep Sunday in Welland with a 5-1 victory.
Sam Tonelli had two goals for the Mets, Aiden Zimmerman, Eric Cunningham and Chris Reid one each.
Denimes Mosler-Plata replied for Welland.
The Meteors hold down third spot in the standings, two up on the Port Colborne Sailors and four behind Ayr for second place.
Passero wants to see the Meteors at their best down the stretch.
“I think there’s a way to win games in October and a way to win games in February,” Passero said. “I think we’re just getting to that point now where we’re trying to figure out our best route and how to play. We keep it out of the net with the best of them but we’ve got to find a way to be productive consistently on offence.”
Panthers split
The Pelham Panthers continue to play well, splitting a pair of games to improve to 14-21-5.
The Panthers edged the Caledonia Corvairs 3-2 at Caledonia Saturday night behind a 52-save performance from Logan Snyder.
Weslee Crosswell, Owen Hunks and Allan Watt scored for the Panthers.
Ethan Quick and Joey Wassilyn replied for Caledonia.
The Panthers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end Sunday at home with a 5-3 loss to the Cambridge RedHawks.
Sean Short, Hunks and Zachary Bell scored for the Panthers.
Snyder made 38 saves for Pelham.
The RedHawks broke a 3-3 tie with a pair of late goals in the third.
SUNDAY
Sailors 3 Falcons 2 OT
The Sailors rallied from a 2-0 deficit to top the St. Catharines Rankin Construction Falcons 3-2 in overtime at home Sunday night.
Jake Salvatore netted the winner 1:46 into the extra frame.
Easton Lynds scored twice in the third to tie the game at 2-2.
Dillon Atkinson and Matt Fries had the St. Catharines goals.
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
Welland at Ayr, 7 p.m.
Brantford at Hamilton, 7:07 p.m.
FRIDAY
Hamilton at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Cambridge at Port Colborne, 7 p.m.
Fort Erie at Caledon, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
St. Catharines at Cambridge, 7 p.m.
Port Colborne at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
Welland at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
Hamilton at Pelham, 2:45 p.m.
Caledon at Welland, 7 p.m.
Cambridge at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
STANDINGS
1. St. Catharines 30-8-1-1-62
2. Ayr 28-9-1-0-57
3. Fort Erie 25-10-2-0-53
4. Port Colborne 24-12-2-1-51
5. Caledonia 19-13-4-2-44
6. Cambridge 20-15-3-1-44
7. Hamilton 17-19-3-0-37
8. Pelham 14-212-5-0-33
9. Brantford 12-20-5-0-29
10. Welland 10-26-3-0-23
11. Caledon 3-24-1-0-5
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