The St. Catharines Novice A Falcons will head to Niagara Falls to take on the Flyers in the opener of the NDHL Novice Group B Championship Series on Monday evening.
The two teams matched up in the finale of the playoff round robin on March 3rd, with the Flyers edging our Falcons by a 6-4 score.
The Flyers built a huge 5-0 lead in the first period and a 10-1 shot advantage but the resilient Falcons would almost complete the unlikely comeback.
First, it was Sammy Evangelista getting the Falcons on the board with just under four minutes remaining in the second period, with assists going to Preston Burkley and Michael Magnotta.
Then only ten seconds later, the team would strike again, with Justin Flora scoring off assists from Dante DiFranco and Rhys McAdam.
Niagara Falls would score midway through the third period but Sammy Evangelista would score his second of the game with just over seven minutes remaining to pull the Falcons back to within three. Chris Crowe and Justin Flora notched assists.
The Falcons would pull goaltender Quinton Burkley late in the third in an attempt to pick up additional ground and the team would convert on the powerplay, with Jack Dolch scoring his first goal of the season on a point shot, with assists going to Evan Bosela and Rhys McAdam.
The game would end with the Flyers prevailing by a 6-4 score. Despite the shots being 10-1 against after one period, the Falcons would end up outshooting the Flyers for the game by a 19-18 margin.
Niagara Falls will host games one and three of the "first to four points" series, with game two being in St. Catharines on Wednesday night. Game time at Gale Centre on Monday is 7:00pm.
GO FALCONS!!!
GAME SUMMARY
3/3/17: 6-4 LOSS AGAINST NIAGARA FALLS
GOALS: Sammy Evangelista (2), Justin Flora, Jack Dolch
ASSISTS: Rhys McAdam (2), Preston Burkley, Michael Magnotta, Dante DiFranco, Chris Crowe, Justin Flora, Evan Bosela