Game 1, Eastern Conference Championship Series
(3) Fort Erie Meteors 3
(1) St. Catharines Falcons 5
(SCF leads best-of-7 series 1-0)
Hibbert’s 3-point effort helps Falcons to series opening win
Defenceman Dallys Hibbert scored his 3rd and 4th goals of the playoffs and added an assist as the Falcons took a 1-0 series lead in front of 1323 spectators at the Seymour Hannah R.C.
The Falcons, who had lost 4 of 5 regular season meetings to the Meteors, won their 8th straight playoff game, while the Meteors saw their 6-game playoff win streak come to an end.
Hayden Jeffery (W, 9-1) made 32 saves for his 8th straight win of the playoffs. John Lloyd (L, 8-3) made 24 saves for the Falcons.
With the game tied 2-2 midway thru the second, the key sequence came when the Falcons cashed in on two power play chances late in the middle frame with goals from Treyson Dewar and Ally Mostafaie to take a 4-2 lead into the third period where the teams traded goals for the 5-3 final.
Falcons general manager Zack Schipper felt that his team was primed for a good performance in the series opener and acknowledged the part special teams played in in the win. “Very happy with the effort tonight. The guys had a great week of practice, our coaching staff had everyone prepared and ready to go. We were able to capitalize on a few power play chances in the second period which ended up being the difference. We will be ready to go again tomorrow night for game 2.”
Meanwhile, Meteors GM/head coach Nik Passero admitted his team did not put in a full 60-minute effort and hopes the return to home ice for game 2 will make a difference. “We had a solid twenty minutes. There is a lot more in the tank for us. It was a good playoff atmosphere, and we’re looking forward to getting home and playing in front of our fans.”
Falcons forward Cameron Lowe had 2 assists and currently leads the league in playoff scoring with 18 points in 10 games. Brantford Bulldogs draft pick Easton Poirier scored the game’s opening goal for the Falcons to extend his goal streak to 6 games.
Danny Adamo (4), Kyle Adamo (3) and RJ Schmidt (1) scored for the Meteors. Sam Tonelli had an assist to extend his point streak to 7 games.
Game 2 will take place Saturday night at the Fort Erie Leisureplex. Game time is 7:00pm.
The Western Conference Championship Series resumes with Game 2 on Sunday at 7:00pm when the #1 St. Marys Lincolns visit the #2 Chatham Maroons. The Lincolns lead the series 1-0.
