St. Catharines outlasts Welland, 3-2
The St. Catharines Falcons and the Welland Jr. Canadians were evenly matched throughout their contest, but St. Catharines made the most of its opportunities and won, 3-2.
The Falcons gained the winning advantage on a goal by Tyler Jackson 14:39 into the third period and hung on until final buzzer.
The win gave St. Catharines a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
The Falcons were sparked by Jackson, who registered one goal.
St. Catharines was led by Jackson, who had one goal.
St. Catharines also got points from Jake Evans, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Ryan Doucette also scored for St. Catharines. More assists for St. Catharines came via Tyler Hildebrant, who had two and Brock Ackerman, Tyler Morrison, and Broderick Kelly, who contributed one each.
Welland's penalty kill was spotless, allowing no goals on three St. Catharines power plays.
The Jr. Canadians were led by Matt Cuglietta, who registered two goals. Cuglietta scored the first of his two goals at 4:14 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Welland. Nathan MacDuff picked up the assist. Cuglietta's next tally made the score 2-1 Welland with 11:33 left in the first period. Josh Allan provided the assist. In addition, Welland received assists from Brayden Stortz and Adam Barron, who each chipped in one.
Ben Csiernik made 26 saves for the Falcons on 28 shots. St. Catharines incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. Chris Janzen recorded 27 saves for Welland. The Jr. Canadians incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors.
