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By Stephen Dyell

It was one of those nights for Greg Cerilli. Two goals, one assist, kicked out of the game, a puck to the face, slashed wrist and most importantly — a win.

Tanner Hildebrandt celebrates his goal power play goal Thursday night.

“Good to come into our barn and take control,” Cerilli said. “Last two weeks, we’ve had teams come in and we gave them some games we didn’t want to. I’m starting to pick it up as I’m trying my hardest out there but I got to give credit to the guys I’m playing with. Our whole team is coming together right now.”

Thorold made sure no comeback was needed as they conquered the fifth place Welland Jr. Canadians 5-3 with another stellar performance from the penalty kill.

“Our guys take pride in that in practice. Guys are putting their body on the line,” Cerilli said.

One of the heroes on the backend is Matthew Hoszko who’s managed to play in every single game this season but one.

“We are having great teamwork with guys and people are willing to block shots,” Hoszko stated. “We are looking to play more consistent, gel together and make easy plays. Keep it simple like coach tells us everyday.”

Simple is not what describes the play of Evan Buitenhuis as he stopped 30 of 33 shots against him but must look to stand on his head Friday night as the Blackhawks look for their first victory this season in St. Catharines.

The St. Catharines Falcons enter Friday’s game with a 33-5-2 record and sit comfortably atop the Golden Horseshoe Conference.

Blackhawks may not be able to overtake that top position but the game means plenty to the red, black and white.

“We’ve gone to their barn three times and come close so we are looking to get one back tomorrow,” Hoszko said of the challenge Friday. “The goal is to get number one but with them so many points ahead, we are realistically trying to end up third place to hopefully avoid playing Welland in the first round and avoid St. Catharines in the second.”

With a win Friday, Thorold moves into third place which allows for home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs but need more nights like tonight to achieve that goal.

Other goal scorers for the Blackhawks include Robert Bentavegna, Tanner Hildebrandt and Dan Chudobiak — while Taylor D`Andrea dropped the gloves late in the game as the sound of fists and plastic rang together as both players plastered one another in an intense battle resulting in early shower times for both.

After St. Catharines on Friday night, Thorold heads back home to face just as tough of a challenge in Niagara Falls Thursday

By Stephen Dyell

Thorold News

All it took was one Thursday night.

Thorold’s top-ranked penalty netted a goal short-handed to kick Niagara Falls' lousy record to 4-7-4 as the Blackhawks won 1-0. 
 

(Photo Robert MacFarlane awaits the face-off during the second period.)

The Canucks came into this game with the second best record in the Golden Horseshoe Conference and a perfect 14-0 record at home but have struggled all season long on the road, and Thorold took advantage of it.

“I think we played strong against the second-place team. We came out strong and played well together as a group,” the hero of the night, Greg Cerilli, stated.

Thorold improves the team's win streak to four but it was no easy task as both goalies played superbly throughout the night.

Evan Buitenhuis was perfect, stopping 34 out of 34 pucks entering his crease, including 12 minutes of Niagara Falls power play.

This is where Thorold took advantage while killing a penalty.

Halfway through the second period, Colt Kennedy broke up the wing shorthanded. After entering the zone, he passed the puck to Cerilli, who tipped in and pushed his point streak to seven games. Kennedy is playing top-notch, as he pushes 14 points in seven games.

“I knew we could kill whatever came at us,” Cerilli stated.

This game also puts Thorold in a tie for third place with Port Colborne at 17 wins each.

While the win signifies Thorold's dangerous threat in the conference, they have zero time to celebrate as the team travels to St. Catharines Friday night to battle the number one overall team in Ontario.

“After a big win like this, we are ready for St. Kitts,” Cerilli said, icing his knee from a late game hit.

Cerilli wasn’t the only one who was prepared for the challenge as one of the biggest impact players in Mackenzie Macavoy is also up for the challenge.

Macavoy has only been with the team for seven games but already boosts a record of 6-1 with Macavoy in the lineup. His 12 points in seven games puts him at an astonishing eighth overall in team points.

“Coming up to St. Kitts, this win is big heading into the weekend.”

After the St. Catharines game, Thorold travels to Welland for a Sunday night game and then returns home Thursday night.

By Stephen Dyell

Thorold News

There were no guns at Thorold Arena Thursday night but plenty of players were feeling the pain of shooting themselves in the foot as the Blackhawks missed a golden opportunity to beat St. Catharines Falcons, falling 4-3.

PHOTO: Trying to screen the Falcons goaltender during one of Thorold's numerous power plays.

The Falcons, who currently reign over the Golden Horseshoe Conference with an astonishing one loss to their name, came out slow and Thorold took advantage.

“The first two periods was some of the best hockey I’ve seen all year,” said goaltender Evan Buitenhuis on what he saw in front of him.

It all began seven minutes into the first period when Joel Forestell wristed one past the St. Catharines goaltender, sending the Thorold bench to their feet after struggling to find the back of the net early last game in St. Catharines.

It was in the second period when Thorold took full advantage of a sloppy Falcons team that had lost Aaron Taylor early in the first with a game misconduct and then in the second with Brad Col, sending a Thorold player head-first into the boards.

Already on a four-minute penalty when the hit from behind happened, Thorold grouped together on the power play. Third-year player Tanner Pagendam made no mistake of a nice pass and beat the Falcons' goaltender to push the lead to two.

With one penalty down, Thorold went for what they believed was the kill shot as Mackenzie Macavoy beat the Falcons' goaltender, forcing him to take a seat on the bench.

That was as good as it got for Thorold.

Five straight Blackhawk penalties were called and the team with the big lead found themselves with a big hole in their foot.

A quick goal on the power play had pushed the lead to only one but within only six minutes, head coach Chris Johnstone had to call a time-out to regroup the boys who now found themselves down one with 10 minutes to go.

A couple more penalties against Thorold and the game was over, leaving Blackhawk players with a very distasteful feeling.

“We shouldn’t have let them back in the game. We were the better team tonight,” stated Buitenhuis, who stopped 39 out of 43 shots.

Colt Kennedy, who assisted on Thorold’s final goal, was tough on himself as he took one of the penalties that put Thorold in an awkward position.

“As an assistant captain and a leader, it’s not acceptable,” The Ajax native stated. “We played 45 minutes of the game. They are a good team but it should have been their second loss of the season. We shot ourself in the foot with the selfish penalties.”

While the team takes the bad more than the good in losses, the first period had plenty of people talking as Johnstone's game plan is flying full steam heading into December.

“No team in Ontario could have stopped us as those were flawless two periods and if we can put together a full 60 minutes, we will be a hard team to beat,” Kennedy said.

Other positive news from this game was that newcomer Mackenzie Macavoy continued his hot streak, scoring his first as a Blackhawk but also pushing his point total to four in three games.

Thorold travels to Buffalo next and then is back home Thursday night against Fort Erie.

By Stephen Dyell

Thorold News

While the Thorold Blackhawks dressed pretty in pink, the score was an ugly matter as the team stumbled to a 5-1 loss against the top-ranked St. Catharines Falcons.

The Falcons came into this game with a 11-1 record, pushing an astonishing 72 goals scored and only 26 against but had a close encounter with a loss earlier in the season as the Blackhawks pushed them into an eventual shootout winner.

The Blackhawks, sporting jerseys in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, did not come close to overtime in this one, falling into an early hole in the first period trailing 3-0 as Tanner Hildebradt put two past Evan Buitenhuis.

Coach Chris Johnstone is looking for his team to understand the concept of the word.

“You can’t give up three goals in the first and try and battle your way back. Guys want to do their own thing and they get a short handed goal and it's game.”

Coming into the second period, the Blackhawks came out with more energy, forcing the play to stay in St. Catharines' end, eventually beating goaltender Brad Pope to cut the deficit to two.

Thorold’s momentum was quickly cut short as the Blackhawks entered a 5 on 3 only to have it backfire as they gave up a shorthanded goal late in the period to push the lead back to three.

“They called a time out and we set up what we wanted. They knew what they had to do and they went out and were selfish. When you do your own thing, you get hurt; it’s the hockey gods.”

The third didn’t offer much more hope for the team as the power play struggled to become organized and missed out on some crucial opportunities and walked off the ice ending the winning streak at two.

The players skated off with their heads down but know there will be bright days.

"We've just got to put it behind us and move on,” rookie Kevin Lavoie said. “I think we've got to start clicking as a unit on the power play. We got a few chances but I believe we will come around soon.”

Thorold’s power play has only scored one goal on the last 24 power play opportunities, which has hurt the team's chances to win all season long.

“Our power play has been a sore point all year. We are going to try some different people,” Johnstone stated.

The lone goal for Thorold was scored by Robert MacFarlane, his first of the year.

Up next for the Blackhawks is a trip to Welland Sunday night. Welland sits third in the Golden Horseshoe Conference at 9-7 while Thorold falls to 7-6-1.