Weekend junior B roundup: Tonelli comes home; Mets, Corvairs win twice
When Sam Tonelli was looking for a place to play this season, the Port Colborne Sailors were at the top of the list.
The 18-year-old forward was coming off a frustrating season with the Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League where he didn’t see as much ice time as he would have liked and wanted a situation where he could develop.
Being a Port Colborne native and having played for Sailors general manager/coach Scott Barnes before in his rookie season in Thorold was the icing on the cake.
“Playing at home is something that means a lot to me,” Tonelli said. “It’s nice to be able to drive five minutes to the rink and be close to my family and stay at home. It was probably one of the bigger factors.
“I thought for this year this would be a better fit.”
Tonelli, who had four goals and 15 points for the Cougars last season, already has five goals and 15 points in just 14 games for the Sailors.
“It’s been good. We have a great group of guys,” Tonelli said. “It’s sucks we’re on the streak we’re on but it doesn’t take away from how good the group of guys is and how fun it’s been so far.”
Barnes was thrilled to be able to get a player with Tonelli’s skill set back.
“He’s arguably one of the best players in the league,” Barnes said. “When he’s hot, he’s a one-man breakout, one-man entry. Sees the ice well and a great compete level. He’s going to do whatever it takes to get out of it.”
Tonelli was selected in 14th round (263rd overall) by London Knights in 2021 OHL Priority Draft and played his rookie junior season in Thorold where he collected 15 goals before moving to the OJHL.
“It was a good experience. I loved Cobourg, it’s a great spot but it just wasn’t what I was expecting,” he said. “I came back to where I would be getting as much ice time as possible just so I can work on my game. When you don’t get ice time, it’s hard to better yourself.
“It’s tough, thinking that you could be doing things out there but you have to understand you’re on the team for a certain reason, to play a role. I tried to do that as best as I could but it was a little frustrating.”
Tonelli found the play in the OJHL more skilled, but not significantly.
“There are definitely some high-end players, but other than that the pace is a little bit faster, but it’s not too much of a difference,” he said.
Tonelli, who is in Grade 12B at Port Colborne High School, feels the Sailors are close to breaking out of their current slide which has seen them drop five in a row and eight of their last 10. One of those victories was a forfeit over the Hamilton Kilty B’s who used an illegal player.
“We’re on the right track, for sure,” Tonelli said. “We’re doing the right things, but things aren’t going our way right now. We need that one little game to get our momentum back, our confidence back, and hopefully from there everything goes up.”
Barnes, too, is confident the club is close to turning things around.
“Things just aren’t falling. It starts to trickle and you don’t get the bounces,” he said. “What I told them is when you’re at the end of a losing streak you’re losing games you should be winning. You have to start playing well and then hopefully you’ll start getting some wins.
“We’re fine. When we’re healthy, I don’t think there’s a team in this league that’s better than us.”
Barnes reports injured forward Nathan Kelly is targeting a November 17 return while Brenden Grenville may be back by mid-December.
The Sailors dropped a 5-1 decision to the St. Catharines Falcons Saturday at home.
Grayson Gare netted the lone Port Colborne goal.
Treyson Dewar had two goals for the Falcons while Brenden Anderson, Calvin Petrovsky and Michael Colavecchia also scored.
Hayden Jeffery made 29 saves in net for the win.
Tucker Adams faced 46 shots in goal for Port.
Goalie of the Month
St. Catharines goaltender Cal Gardner was named the GOJHL goaltender of the month for October.
Gardner, who was drafted by the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL in the eighth round (161st overall) in 2022, ended the month of October with a 1.17 goals-against average and .961 save percentage. The grandson of former National Hockey League forward Paul Gardner started his junior career with a shutout in a 2-0 win over the Chatham Maroons at the GOJHL showcase, then followed that up with three consecutive wins including a second shutout, Oct. 22 in a 5-0 victory over the Pelham Panthers.
SATURDAY
Meteors 5 Junior Canadians 1
Rookie Liam Beamish continued his strong play with two more goals as the Fort Erie Meteors topped the Welland Junior Canadians at home.
Kyle Adamo also netted a pair while Cameron Golovin had one for the winners.
Braden Carruthers replied for Welland.
Corvairs 8 Panthers 0
Former Pelham goaltender Keegan Jackson made 24 saves for the shutout as the Caledonia Corvairs blanked the visiting Pelham Panthers.
Ex-Niagara IceDog Sami Douglas had two goals and two assists for the Corvairs while Will Bray and scored twice. Steve LaForme, Jayden Lammel, Evan Bradacs and Nathan Duplessis rounded out the scoring.
SUNDAY
Meteors 4 Panthers 2
Beamish netted two more goals to give him 10 on the season as the visiting Mets doubled the Panthers.
Caleb Bidgood and Brody Coe also scored for Fort Erie.
Charlie Burns made 27 saves to improve his record to 12-2 to go with a sparkling 2.15 goals-against average.
Cooper Drennan and Riley Smyth scored for Pelham.
Corvairs 4 Junior Canadians 2
Dylan Wardell scored two goals in the final period as the Corvairs rallied to top the Junior Canadians in Welland.
Markus Dempewolf and Noah Baltzer also scored for Caledonia.
Joey Marrese and Jack Ryan had singles for the Junior Canadians.
THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
Welland at London, 7:15 p.m.
THURSDAY
Stratford at Hamilton, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
London at St. Catharines, 7 p.m.
Strathroy at Port Colborne, 7:30 p.m.
Fort Erie at Listowel, 7:30 p.m.
Hamilton at St.Mary’s, 7:30 p.m.
Pelham at Caledon, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
Ayr at Fort Erie, 7 p.m.
St. Catharines at Cambridge, 7 p.m.
Port Colborne at Komoka, 7:15 p.m.
Listowel at Caledonia, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
Komoka at Pelham, 2:45 p.m.
Caledon at Welland, 7 p.m.
Caledonia at Chatham, 7 p.m.
STANDINGS
1. Caledonia 15-2-0-1-31
2. Fort Erie 14-4-0-0-28
3. St. Catharines 12-4-0-1-25
4. Hamilton 7-9-2-0-16
5. Port Colborne 7-9-2-0-16
6. Pelham 7-11-0-0-14
7. Welland 2-13-2-0-6
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