Falcons come back to win game 1

[Port hockey1]

The Falcons came back to edge Welland 3-2 tonight in game 1. Welland led 2-1 after the first period, they outshot St.Catharines 11-7. The Falcons came out flying in the second outshooting Welland 8-0 early in the period. They finally tied the game with 6 minutes to play in the second. The Falcons outshot Welland 12-5 in the period.

The Falcons broke the tie with around 6 minutes left in the third. Welland pulled Janzen late in the game but came up empty.

Final shots were 30-28 for the Falcons.

[Hockey Mom]

The game was a nail-biter.....too bad the refs had to decide the game.

[zantimisfit]

Typical Hockey Mom.....blame the refs when their kid's team loses the game. Saddest excuse in the book.

[Volvoman]

Well, I wasn't at the game but I am friends with some of the parents on the St. Kitts team. They agreed on a very bad call for the 3rd goal.(and they did say continued bad -no calls- as well). Apparently Janzen had the puck covered and they allowed the players to keep poking and shoving at him. But what they said was the net was off! AND the ref shoved it back on and allowed the goal!! Wow!
Can anyone comment??

[hurricane73]

The winning goal was not a result of Janzen freezing the puck and a `no whistle' by the fefs causing the Falcons to bang the puck loose. Tyler Jackson picked up a loose puck and did a wrap-around behind the net and scored on the far side. Janzen tried to knock off the net to stop the play but was too late, but not late enough for the puck to squeeze under the net and hit the backboards. The refs deliberated for some time and made the right decision. It was clearly a goal. There was very little protest from the Welland players or the bench. The refs actually called a reasonably good game and had no bearing on the outcome regardless of who had won.

[Volvoman]

Great explanation. But how could Janzen try to push the net off if he was down on the ice? I did here it was a good back and forth game. Oh well, anyway, I'm heading out to the next game, I'll have to see if the reffing gets any better for myself.

[Hockey Mom]

The Falcons did not incur a penalty until the middle of the third period....really?

[wolfman]

Wow !!! As i was sitting RIGHT BEHIND the net. and YES Janzen was down on the puck, as St. Cath had 3 -4 shots and pokes at him. and as He covered the puck, the players crowded Janzen and was SHOVED into the net (yes,with some Welland players), the BACK of the net lifted off the ice , as the ref (behind the net pushed it back down., as the puck was jammed into and THROUGH and under the net , even the puck coming out the backside of the net and into the corner before the whistle blew and the ref calling it a goal !!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME !!! Thats good ref-ing ???? If it was such a good goal, why did the ref's call a 4 ref meeting in the corner ??? come on.....not a good way to decide a PLAYOFF tie game with minutes left. TYPICAL of ref-ing in st.cath ALL SEASON !!! BTW, nice to see the replay on the video that was taken, theres your proof !!!

[Port hockey1]

Sounds like typical reffing in this league. They're all a bunch of power tripping losers.

[zantimisfit]

Wow !!! As i was sitting RIGHT BEHIND the net.

Hey wolfman, if you saw what you claimed to see, then you were sitting RIGHT BEHIND the net alright.......at a table in the Queensway Hotel having a beer. hurricane73 explained the situation EXACTLY as it happened. At least the Welland players and coaches understood the situation. As for the Welland fans, I guess they were crying all the way home.

[Stkitts]

Well hello everyone. I have been reading these posts for some time now with some interest and amusement. It is interesting to see how each side tries to post what they believe to be the truth in what they saw. zantimisfit- you made the comment to hockey mom 'blame the refs when their kid's team loses the game'. Saying that makes it clear your loyalties lay with St. Catharines and therefor you would be unable to state an unbiased opinion or comment.(especially to Wolfman's posted comment). Wolfman is partly correct in what he says- but exaggerated to say the least. Here's what really happened on the last controversial goal as I observed from watching in the corner: a wrap around goal was attempted but Janzen went pad down and made the save. The puck was loose (yes it was Wolfman), and St.Catharine players were poking at it in attempt to 'push it in'. A 'Welland' player in an attempt to help, came from behind the net, and as he did pushed the net FORWARD so it pivoted on the 2 front pegs with the back clearly in the air. That is when the persistent poking at the puck caused it to enter the net. The referee leaned forward to make sure the net was down (something he should NEVER have done) and then pointed to a good goal. There are two problems here: #1- with the net in the air, a puck entering the goal must be whistled down as the goal net is NOT secured. #2- when the referee loses sight of the puck, he must stop play. With the puck in between the goalies pads, and too much time elapsing, the referees 'should' have whistled the play dead. Otherwise, it allows the opposing team to push, poke and shove forever!
In this situation, with a 2-2 tie in a playoff game, there is just too much controversy and doubt to allow such a goal. And that is exactly the truth. My statements come form nothing more than my observation of the game. My son played for St. Catharines some years ago and the referring was and always will be a very difficult task. But in this instance, they got the call wrong. I really was looking forward to an exciting, good scored goal in overtime.
One more comment, a statement was made how there were no penalties called on St. Catharines until the 3rd. I believe the referees were attempting to 'let the players' decide the game. In reality, only 1 call was made against Welland, a very obvious call and then too many men. (not a referees judgement call).
I encourage to keep the discussions to move forward. There are quite a few good games to come.