Fort Erie Meteors win 13 of 14 games after losing league’s top scorer

The Fort Erie Meteors junior hockey team opened this season with 12 straight wins, its best start since joining the Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL) in 2008.

Despite losing Sam Tonelli, the GOHL’s top scorer last year, the Meteors have won 13 of their first 14 games this season, the best win percentage in the GOHL’s Eastern Conference.

The Meteors have outscored their opponents 68-41 this season and are averaging nearly five goals a game, up from about four a game last season with Tonelli.

“We obviously lost some star power up front, which you really can’t replace at this level, but when it comes to an entire group, we definitely have a more offensive group,” said assistant coach Anthony Passero.

Passero told Fort Erie Radio the team needs to tighten its defence to win the Sutherland Cup, Ontario’s junior B hockey championship, which the Meteors have never won in their 69-year history.

“The only thing that’s going to win us a championship is being able to defend along with being offensive,” he said.

Zack Forwell, a 17-year-old rookie from Elmira, scored six goals in his first nine games, including the winner in a 4-3 victory over the St. Catharines Falcons on October 10.

“He’s really steered the ship, and he’s allowed even some of our vets to take their time to get their footing,” said Passero.

In June, Ontario Hockey League teams took turns choosing 52 players under 18, and the Erie Otters picked Forwell second. A partnership between the Otters and the Meteors gives Fort Erie players a path to the OHL.

Tanner Gibson, a 16-year-old rookie goalie, kept Fort Erie’s winning streak alive by stopping every shot in back-to-back wins over Hamilton and Waterloo.

Opponents scored nearly three goals a game against Fort Erie this season, up from about two a game last season, which could cost Fort Erie the championship.

“This year we’re not as tight defensively, and that’s something we’re going to strive and work for,” said Passero.

Cambridge handed Fort Erie its only loss on October 30, winning 5-1 after firing 37 shots at the Fort Erie net to the Meteors’ 18.

Fort Erie ranks third in the Eastern Conference, three points behind first-place Caledonia but with fewer games played.

The Meteors will have a chance to cut into Caledonia’s three-point lead on November 14 at the Fort Erie Leisureplex.

On October 10, the Meteors retired the No. 28 jersey of Rylan Masterson, the captain who led Fort Erie to its first conference title in 45 years, in a ceremony Passero said showed how much Masterson matters to the town.

“It really gave our new guys a sense of what Fort Erie is all about and how important our guys are to the community,” he said.

The Meteors face the Stratford Warriors on Friday, then host the Ayr Centennials at the Leisureplex at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Fort Erie Radio is broadcasting every Meteors home game this season.

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