Brandon Caputo
After seven preseason games over the past few weeks, the Niagara Falls Canucks opened their 2024-25 Ontario Junior Hockey League regular season schedule on home ice versus the Buffalo Jr Sabres, in front of 577 fans at the Gale Centre.
As the regular season began, Canucks head coach Frank Pietrangelo announced the team's leadership group earlier this week for this season as defenseman Ryan O'Dell earned the captaincy, while forwards Parker Forlin, Braeden O'Keefe and defenseman Charlie Robinson earned alternate captain honours.
Canucks Starters:
F Parker Forlin (A)
F Lucas Sauve
F Braeden O'Keefe (A) *Attended Kingston Frontenacs OHL training camp in 2024-25
D Esteban Cinq-Mars
D Ryan O'Dell (C)
G Logan Snyder *Dressed for the Brantford Bulldogs during OHL preseason games in 2024-25
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The Sabres would open the scoring 30 seconds into the game on a weird bounce that got by Logan Snyder, stunning the hometown crowd out of the gate. The Sabres would then extend their lead just a few minutes later as a wrist shot from the left half wall went far side on Snyder. Not the start that Niagara Falls were looking for.
The home side would get a powerplay after a Sabres player went off for cross checking but nothing doing and the Canucks trailed by a pair going into the first regular season intermission of the season.
After the Canucks killed off a penalty early in the middle period it was newly named alternate captain Parker Forlin who cut down the right wing and went far side top shelf over the blocker of Alessi to cut the lead to one.
On the following shift, however, it was McFadden taking a sharp angle shot that went overtop of Snyder for his third of the game and extending the Buffalo lead back to two.
In the final period it would be a shot from Doran and cleaned up by Seitz on the rebound to extend the lead for the blue and gold to three. On the next shift, newly named alternate captain Charlie Robinson would dump it in from the red line and it takes a weird bounce over Alessi to get the Canucks back within a pair.
Niagara Falls would capitalize with under ten minutes to play after stable zone pressure on a powerplay as Liam Bazner found Parker Forlin out front who redirected it in for his second of the night as the man advantage expired, cutting the lead to one.
Alessi would sprawl to his left and knock his net off, getting a delay of game penalty and allowing Niagara Falls another later powerplay opportunity with five minutes to play. The Canucks would empty their net with just over a minute to play in regulation and get set up with an offensive zone faceoff following a timeout needing a goal to tie.
Niagara Falls outshot Buffalo in the final period 14-8 and 41-36 overall in the contest but the Jr Sabres were able to escape and hold onto the 4-3 victory, despite a valiant effort until the final buzzer from the home side. Anthony Alessi holds on for the victory and the Canucks fall in their home opener of the 2024-25 season to their cross border rivals from Buffalo.
"Disappointing in the result, falling behind three minutes in the game down two right off the hop," Canucks head coach Frank Pietrangelo stated in the postgame.
"I think the nervous energy was pretty obvious tonight, we didn't have guys who had their legs. This was many of our guys' first junior hockey game so you could see that they were excited but it took over their performance at times and they just didn't have their best 60 minutes tonight."
"Our penalty kill was very good as well (3/3) as our third period comeback, we didn't just die and throw our sticks when we were down 4-1," Pietrangelo added after a disallowed goal for the net coming off spoiled the Canucks completing the comeback. "My hats off to our guys for not quitting but having said that we shouldn't have been down 4-1 and expected to win coming in so we have some stuff to clean up going into Sunday at Collingwood."
Daniel and Partners LLP Canucks Player of the Game
Parker Forlin - 2 goals, 5 shots on goal
Honourable Mention: Liam Bazner - 2 assists, 2 shots on goal
Make sure to check out our weekly episodes of The Beaver Dam Podcast: The Official Podcast of the Niagara Falls Canucks. Hosted by Canucks commentator Matt Sanderson. Available on all audio podcast platforms.
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