The St. Catharines Falcons are a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. They play in the Golden Horseshoe division of the

Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is c ...

. The Falcons play their home games inside Seymour Hannah 4-pad in Western Hill

History

The current Falcons franchise originated in 1968. The league entered the Niagara District Junior B Hockey League that same year. The Niagara "B" split with several teams, including St.Catharines, forming the

Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League The Golden Horseshoe Junior Hockey League (GHL) was a junior ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada, sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association from 1974 until 2007. In 2007, the league became a division of the newly formed Greater Ontario Juni ...

in 1974. The Falcons have competed every year in the league since 1968. In 2012, the Falcons attempted to win the

Sutherland Cup The Sutherland Cup is the ice hockey Ontario Junior "B" Provincial Championship trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 1934, and named in honour of former OHA and CAHA president, James T. Sutherland. The Sutherland Cup is now the championshi ...

for the first time in six tries. They defeated the Brantford Eagles ''4-games-to-2'' to clinch their first ever OHA Junior B championship. The 2013-14 Falcons had won the 2013-14 Golden Horseshoe regular season crown with the best record by a Junior B team since the 1980s (45-3-1), but were caught with too many imports against the Caledonia Corvairs and Welland Jr. Canadians. Due to the protest by those two teams to the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

, the Falcons were stripped of the two victories, which slipped them back to second place in the standings (43-5-1) and allowed Caledonia a superior record (45-3-1) and playoff seed. The Falcons won their franchise's second

in the 2021-22 season after a dominating playoff run. The Falcons swept the first two rounds against the Pelham Panthers and Caledonia Corvairs, outscoring their opponents 40-11 with three consecutive shutouts. In the conference finals the Falcons defeated the Hamilton Kilty B's in a competitive series including a double overtime thriller and a defensive 1-0 battle to close out the series on home ice for the Falcons. The Falcons moved on to the re-vamped Sutherland Cup playoffs to face the

Cambridge Redhawks The Cambridge Redhawks are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. They compete in the Midwestern division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). From 1986 to 2018, the franchise played in nearby Guelp ...

(Midwest Conference) and the

Chatham Maroons The Chatham Maroons are a junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Chatham, Ontario, Chatham, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL). The Maroons were the 1970 Western Ontari ...

(Western Conference) in a home-and-home round robin tournament. After defeating Chatham 3-2 (OT) and 5-1 in the first two games, the Falcons lost their third and only game on home ice in the playoffs 4-3 in overtime but bounced back to beat the Redhawks 3-2 to finish the round robin with a 3-0-1 record, good enough for first place. In the Sutherland Cup Final, the Falcons defeated Chatham 6-2 on home ice at the Jack Gatecliff Memorial Arena, which would be the final game played in the historic arena's history. With a chance to win their second Sutherland Cup in franchise history, the Falcons defeated the Maroons 8-2 in front of a sold out crowd of 2300 in the Chatham Memorial Arena and successfully captured the Sutherland Cup.

Notable games

On March 26, 2006, in Game 6 of the semi-finals against the

Thorold Blackhawks The Port Colborne Sailors (formerly the Thorold Blackhawks) are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Port Colborne, Ontario. They played in the Golden Horseshoe division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History The Thorold Ja ...

, the St. Catharines Falcons played a four-overtime game. If the Falcons had won they would have played game 7 on the same day game 6 ended. On May 4, 2012, the St. Catharines Falcons defeated the Brantford Golden Eagles to capture the franchises 1st Sutherland Cup Championship On March 23, 2016, the St. Catharines Falcons played the longest game in GOJHL and GOJHL Playoff history against the Ancaster Avalanche. The game included four overtimes and lasted 131 minutes and five seconds. The Avalanche defeated the Falcons 3-2 On May 29, 2022, the St. Catharines Falcons defeated the Chatham Maroons to capture the franchises 2nd Sutherland Cup Championship

Season-by-season results

Won League Finals 2-0 (

Maroons Maroons are descendants of Africans in the Americas and islands of the Indian Ocean who escaped from slavery, through flight or manumission, and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with Indigenous peoples, eventually evolving into ...

)
Sutherland Cup Champions ''(2nd)'' , - align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeff" , 2022-23 , , 50 , , 38 , , 6 , , 6 , , 0 , , 194 , , 111 , , 82 , , 1st of 8-GH
1st of 25 GOJHL , , Won Conf. Quarter-finals, 4-0 ( Panthers)
Lost Conf. Semifinals 3-4 ( Corvairs) , - align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeff" , 2023-24 , , 50 , , 36 , , 12 , , 1 , , 1 , , 194 , , 128 , , 74 , , 3rd of 7-GH
5th of 23 GOJHL , , Won Conf. Quarter-finals, 4-1 ( Panthers)
Lost Conf Semifinals, 2-4 (

Meteors A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

) , - align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeff" , 2024-25 , , 50 , , 35 , , 13 , , 1 , , 1 , , 202 , , 137 , , 72 , , 1st of 11 East Conf
3rd of 23 GOJHL , , Won Conf. Quarter-finals, 4-1 ( Kilty B's)
Won Conf Semifinals, 4-0 (

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

)
Won Conf Final 4-2 (

)
Lost Sutherland Cup 2-4 (

)

Sutherland Cup The Sutherland Cup is the ice hockey Ontario Junior "B" Provincial Championship trophy. The trophy was first awarded in 1934, and named in honour of former OHA and CAHA president, James T. Sutherland. The Sutherland Cup is now the championshi ...
appearances

:''1979'':

Streetsville Derbys The Streetsville Derbys are a Junior "C" ice hockey team from Streetsville, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Provincial Junior Hockey League assigned to the South Conference and in the Bloomfield Division. The Derbys joined the PJHL as an ...

defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-none'' :''1990'':

Stratford Cullitons The Stratford Warriors are a junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Stratford, Ontario, Stratford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was originally named the Warrio ...

defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-none'' :''1994'':

Waterloo Siskins The Waterloo Siskins are a junior ice hockey team based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Western conference of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Founded in 1934, the Siskins are one of the longest running Junior tea ...

defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-2'' :''1997'':

Elmira Sugar Kings The Elmira Sugar Kings are a junior hockey, junior ice hockey team based in Elmira, Ontario, Elmira, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History The Elmira Juniors played at the Juni ...

defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-3'' :''2000'':

Cambridge Winterhawks The Cambridge Winter Hawks were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. They played in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Created in 1982, the team was made to replace the ...

defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-none'' :''2012'': St. Catharines Falcons defeated Brantford Eagles ''4-games-to-2'' :''2014'': Caledonia Corvairs defeated St. Catharines Falcons ''4-games-to-3'' :''2022'': St. Catharines Falcons defeated

''2-games-to-none''

Notable alumni

Steve Bancroft Steve Bancroft (born October 6, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Selected 21st overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he played in 6 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. Ban ...

Brian Bellows Brian Edward Bellows (born September 1, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played nearly 1,200 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Mighty D ...

Ryan Christie Ryan Christie (born 22 February 1995) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Premier League club Bournemouth and the Scotland national team. Christie began his career with Inverness Caledonian Thistle b ...

* Jeff Greenlaw *

Paul Laus Paul Laus (born September 26, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the Florida Panthers. Laus was the last original member of the Panthers. Career Born in Beamsville, Ontario ...

Daultan Leveille Daultan Michael Leveille (born August 10, 1990) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the first player in NHL ...

* Rob Robinson *

Andy Rymsha Andrew Anthony Rymsha (born December 10, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played six games with the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice ...

* Steve Rymsha * Riley Sheahan * Vic Teal * Jacques Michaud * Arber Xhekaj

References

External links

Falcons WebpageGOJHL Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Catharines Falcons (1968-) Golden Horseshoe Junior B Hockey League teams Sport in St. Catharines 1968 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey clubs established in 1968 Ice hockey teams in Ontario