BRANTFORD, ONT – Game four between the Brantford Titans and St. Catharines Falcons took place on Thursday at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. The Titans needed a win to stay alive in this Eastern Conference semi-final series as they entered play trailing the Falcons three games to none. Carter Vicente got the start in goal for the Titans while the Falcons countered with Hayden Jeffery.
St. Catharines would look to set the pace early in this one to try and close out the series and they would get rewarded with a power play just 2:31 into the game. Carter Vicente would get called for delay of game, giving the Falcons a chance to break the ice. Titans had other ideas as they were able to kill off the minor penalty with no harm done. Falcons would continue to control the puck in the offensive zone and a failed clearing attempt by the Titans would get turned back by Easton Poirier and he would beat Vicente for the games first goal. It was an unassisted goal scored at 6:38. Titans would eventually get their chance on the power play with two minor penalties called against St. Catharines in the second half of the opening period. Titans could not convert and could only muster two shots on goal in the first period. Falcons took their 1-0 lead into the intermission, outshooting the Titans 12-2.
In the second, it would take the Falcons 1:13 to find the back of the net again to extend their lead to 2-0. Brendan Grenville would finish off a pretty passing play thanks to the hard work of Easton Poirier and Cameron Lowe who collected the assists. The Titans would then find themselves in penalty trouble through the midway part of the period. Caysen Craig, after stepping out of the box for a previous penalty would get called for checking from behind. His night would end after that hit as he received a two minute minor and a game misconduct. Falcons would score on the ensuing man advantage to go ahead 3-0 thanks to Trent Vaillancourt’s first of the playoffs. Dallys Hibbert recorded the lone assist. The Falcons would lead 3-0 heading into the second intermission, outshooting the Titans 18-7.
The third period would unfortunately be an uneventful twenty minutes as neither team would find the back of the net. The Falcons win game four 3-0 and complete the series victory. Final shots favoured the Falcons 29-15.
St. Catharines will face Fort Erie in the Eastern Conference finals.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tkQOwvhnKY
