Blowout loss on Meteors home ice a ‘good early lesson’: Passero
September 23, 2024 at 3:24 AM
The Fort Erie Meteors were outscoring opponents 11-0 headed into the third game of the regular season Saturday night, but that hot start cooled off when the Ayr Centennials visited and handed the hometown Jr. B squad a 7-3 loss.
The visitors were up 1-0 after the first period, but added five more in the second period.
The Ayr Centennials scored five goals in the second period of their 7-3 win over the Fort Erie Meteors Saturday. Credit: Kris Dubé | Fort Erie RadioThe Meteors were able to score three in the final period but it wasn’t nearly enough.
“Partly you’ve got to flush it, and partly you’ve got to learn from it,” general manager and head coach Nik Passero told Fort Erie Radio in an interview Sunday.
“We got punched in the mouth a little bit,” he said about Saturday’s home game.
The Meteors will hit the road to visit the Brantford Titans on Thursday night, and Passero hopes his team can learn from some of the mistakes made in Saturday’s game.
The Meteors were unable to capitalize on a second period powerplay Saturday. Credit: Kris Dubé | Fort Erie Radio“The younger guys need to know what it’s like to play here and to play at this level,” he said.
“It’s a good early lesson for us,” he said about getting blown out on home ice Saturday, adding “sometimes you’ve got to get knocked down a step.”
The 2-0 start with an eleven-goal differential is something he attributes to veteran players.
“Our top guys were our top guys and that’s how you win in this league,” he said.
A scrum for the puck following a centre-ice faceoff Saturday night. Credit: Kris Dubé | Fort Erie RadioHe said practices leading up to Saturday’s game had everyone with plenty of confidence before the opening faceoff.
“It didn’t come to fruition last night, but I know we’ll be ready for Thursday,” said Passero.
Forward Sam Tonelli leads the Meteors in scoring with six points with six points–two goals and four assists–while RJ Schmidt and Kyle Adamo each have five points.
Scoring for the Meteors on Saturday were Colton Radford (unassisted), RJ Schmidt (unassisted), and Tate Donald (assisted by Sam Tonelli and Owen Cressman).
The Centennials outshot the Meteors 32-23 on Saturday.
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About The Author
Kris Dubé
Kris is a veteran journalist who has worked in Niagara for close to 20 years. He is also a lifelong resident of Fort Erie, a place he plans to call home and raise his family for many more years.
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