By Ken Pagan
The St, Catharines Falcons are loaded up for a run at the GOJHL title and and went into Friday’s game unbeaten in regulation in 29 straight games (27-0-2).
But in their first post-trade deadline matchup, the Falcons’ 29-game streak came to an end against the surging Hamilton Kilty B’s, the GOJHL’s youngest club.
The Kilty B’s (26-9-1) extended their own winning streak to 10 games with a 4-1 win over the Falcons (27-4-2), who suffered their first loss in regulation since the Kilty B’s beat them 4-2 on Sept. 24.
It was a statement win for the Kilty B’s, who have 13 regulars in the lineup aged 17 (2001 birthdate) or younger, as compared to the Falcons, who have 14 regulars aged 19 or 20 and just three skaters 17 or under.
Sixteen-year-old goaltender Marco Costantini, a Hamilton Bulldogs draft pick who has signed a commitment with the OHL club for next season, stopped 28 of 29 shots to preserve the win on Friday. Costantini is now third in the 25-team GOJHL with a .926 save percentage.
The Falcons opened the scoring 2:50 into the second on a goal from Joseph Colasurdo, but the Kilty B’s scored four unanswered to seal the win and outshot St. Catharines 39-29, including 18-8 in the third period.
Marino Moro, Luke Croucher, Anthony Pinelli, into an empty net, and Nick Cordeiro scored for Hamilton.
Hamilton 3, Fort Erie 0
The Kilty B’s were coming off a 3-0 shutout of the Fort Erie Meteors (9-22-3) at home on Thursday night. Goaltender Cal Schell made 17 saves for his second shutout of the season. Derek Raposo, Lucas Thompson and Holden Rogers scored for the Kilty B’s, who outshot Fort Erie 42-17.
Huge home game on Monday
With Friday’s loss, the Falcons (27-4-2) dropped one point behind the first-place Niagara Falls Canucks (28-4-1) in the Golden Horseshoe Conference and overall standings.
The Kilty B’s host the first-place Canucks on Monday night at 7 p.m. at Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena at 7 p.m.
