Sailors/Falcons fight to tie

16-Nov-2007 · 9:50pm

The Port Colborne Sailors travelled to Jack Gatecliff Arena in St. Catharines Friday night to fight the Falcons for sole possession of fourth place overall in the standings. The season series between the two teams was tied one win a piece going into Friday night's match.

GOALS BY PERIOD
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	TOTAL
	0	1	3	0	4
	0	3	1	0	4

The first period proved uneventful as neither team could produce any points on the scoreboard during the first 20 minutes of play.

A total of four penalties were called in the first; three against the Sailors (holding, interference, high-sticking) and one against the Falcons (tripping). St. Catharines led in shots on net 15-4 over Port Colborne to end the first period.

Check out the game stats by clicking here...

St. Catharines opened the scoring in the second period with a power-play marker from Adam Moroney 1:50 into the period. Stephen Ceccanese and Chris Stevenson assisted on the first goal of the game that beat Sailors goalie Brendan Sullivan.

Port Colborne bounced back almost immediately, tying the game 1-1 at the 4:17 minute mark of the period. Tanner McGowan scored for the Sailors, his 10th of the season, against Falcons goaltender Steele De Fazio, with assists going to Sean Roche and Dan Minor.

The Falcons jumped out to a 3-1 lead after Port's goal, with scores from Ryan Elbers (Ziraldo, Stevenson) and Chris Stevenson (Ziraldo, Elbers), both even-strength at 12:48 and 15:21, respectively.

The teams hit the dressing rooms after the second period with the Falcons leading 3-1 over the Sailors, as well as 14-9 in shots on net.

SHOTS BY PERIOD
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	TOTAL
	4	9	6	6	25
	15	14	13	3	45

Port Colborne came to within one goal of the Falcons lead with a third period marker 3:07 into the final 20 minutes of regulation play. Eric Tardif scored to make the score 3-2, with assists to Tyler Tanguay and Adam Shoff.

But the Falcons jumped two ahead of the Sailors just seconds before the half way point of the period, with a goal from forward Stephen Ceccanese at 9:37. Brad Jackson and Brandon McGregor helped on the insurance goal.

The Sailors weren't ready to pack up just yet as they came to within one goal, scoring less than a minute after Ceccanese's goal. Curtis Longland, from Brad Borgatti, cut the Falcons lead to 4-3 with just 8:42 left to play in the period.

Port Colborne tied the game 4-4 at the 14:51 mark of the third period to the disbelief of many Falcons fans. Tanner McGowan scored his second goal of the night with an assist from Dan Minor and Sean Roche. The goal turned out to be huge for the Sailors as the game was forced into overtime after 60 minutes of play.

Falcons netminder Steele De Fazio was called for a delay of game infraction with 48 seconds left to play in the overtime period after leaving his crease and covering up the puck.

The first game going into extra time this season inside Jack Gatecliff Arena proved fruitless for the Falcons as the game ended in a tie after five minutes of 4-on-4 overtime play, and both teams finished the game taking home a point each.

Your Mountainview Homes Falcons travel to Port Colborne Saturday night to finish their back-to-back series against the Sailors. Game time at West Side Arena is 7:30pm.

The Falcons play their next home game on a rare Tuesday night inside Jack Gatecliff Arena. The Niagara Falls Canucks visit the Falcons on Tuesday, November 20th with the puck dropping early at 7:00pm.