Meteors look to rebound tonight after falling to Falcons on home ice

Robert Van Ryswyck
March 25, 2024 at 12:35 PM

The Fort Erie Meteors faced a tough defeat on home ice Saturday night, falling to the St. Catharines Falcons 4-2 in game one of round two. A strong showing from the Meteors in the second period wasn’t enough to overcome penalties and a Falcons comeback in the third.

Over 1,200 fans packed the Fort Erie Leisureplex to cheer on their hometown team. A quick Falcon goal in the first two minutes by Matthew Hlacar would keep the fans waiting until the second period for a Meteor reply.

The Meteors showed their resilience in the second period, with Blake Hall knotting the score at 1:19. All-star rookie Liam Beamish put Fort Erie ahead with a power play goal at the 8:45 mark.

The third period proved costly for the Meteors. A high-sticking penalty by Aiden Zimmerman gave the Falcons a power play opportunity, which they capitalized on with a goal from Tyler Hunt.

Six minutes later Noah Read put St. Catharines in the lead with only half a period remaining for Fort Erie to even it up.

With three minutes left in the game and down by a goal, Kyle Adamo took a high sticking penalty, wasting precious moments to pull the goalie.

While the Meteors did kill the penalty, it only took a few moments after they pulled keeper Charlie Burns for Falcon Grayson Gare to seal the Meteors’ fate with an empty-net goal, bringing the final score to 4-2.

The Meteors have a chance to even the series in game two, which starts at 7 p.m. tonight in St. Catharines.