Zach Mizzi could not have asked for a better debut with the Fort Erie Meteors.
The Meteors acquired the 19-year-old centre from the St. Catharines Falcons this week and Mizzi paid immediate dividends versus his old team, netting a goal as the Meteors edged the Falcons 3-2 in Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League action Friday night at the Seymour-Hanna Sports Complex.
Mizzi was all smiles when discussing the situation outside a jubilant Fort Erie dressing room.
“It was a little different but it’s nothing I’m not used to,” he said. “It’s another hockey game and that’s the way I took it. Happy to get the dub (win) with the boys and we’re going to keep rolling this weekend.”
Mizzi’s goal came in the second period and gave Fort Erie a 3-1 lead.
“Really good. It was a good feeling for sure,” he said.
Mizzi played 43 games for the Falcons last season and was also a key contributor in the playoffs but did not dress for any games with St. Catharines this season.
“I think we both agreed to part ways,” he said. “Really respectful about the whole situation.
“I’m glad to be a Meteor.”
Falcons general manager/coach Tyler Bielby said there are no hard feelings.
“These boys aren’t numbers to this organization and they’re never going to be numbers to me,” Bielby said. “We build relationships, they matter to us, and whether you’re playing on my team or leaving on my team, I can only hope we can stay in touch in the future.
“I wish him the best. He’s a great kid. He has high character and we were very lucky to have him the time we did.”
Meteors general manager/coach Nik Passero loves Mizzi’s attention to detail down the middle.
“I like our team and I like our group and adding Zach is going to be a key cog for us. He does a lot of good stuff and we’re happy to have him,” Passero said. “I felt we had a need for a good defensive centre with some offensive upside and I think that’s Zach. Obviously it showed today getting one, but it’s more of his defensive game and face-offs and right away he helped us.”
The loss was just the second of the season in regulation for the Falcons — both at the hands of the Meteors who struggled versus St. Catharines last season.
“They’re the cream of the crop, obviously. They do a great job,” Passero said of the Falcons. “Last year it took us three months to beat them. You don’t want that to linger, especially now we’ve beaten them at home and on the road.”
Passero was proud of his club’s effort in their own zone.
“We’re very strong defensively and that’s going to help us win in the long run,” he said. “(It takes) buy in from everyone from top to bottom. It really has nothing to do with the structure. It’s all about them blocking shots and winning face-offs and getting clears. It’s all what happens inside the room.”
Bielby lamented his club’s work ethic.
“If I thought we gave our best effort, I would say there is no shame. That wasn’t our best effort. We decided to take a full 20 minutes off in the middle of the game. They doubled us in shots in the second period and that was the difference,” he said.
But Bielby isn’t about to panic after one loss in a six-month regular season.
“We’ll be ok. It’s a 50-game season and adversity is good for any team, but our guys have to understand teams are going to show up to play us every night. There is no time to take shifts off. This is a good league with good hockey players and if you make mistakes in your own zone, it’s going to end up in the back of your net.”
Falcon facts: Trent Vaillancourt, William Moore and Owen King did not dress for the Falcons . . . Former Falcons assistant coach and current St. Catharines Athletics general manager Jeff Chcoski was in the house checking out his former club.
STATS PACK
Meteors 3 Falcons 2
Cat’s Caboose Player of the Game: Meteors centre Zach Mizzi.
St. Catharines Falcons: Tyler Hunt (3); Brenden Anderson (2).
Fort Erie Meteors: MacAllister Ward (4); Cameron Thorpe (1); Zach Mizzi (1).
Game stats: Shots on goal: By St. Catharines on Charlie Burns (23), by Fort Erie on Hayden Jeffery (34); Power plays: St. Catharines 1/5, Fort Erie 0/4; Penalty minutes: St. Catharines 20, Fort Erie 12.
Attendance: 532
Up next: The Falcons are at Pelham Sunday at 2:45 p.m. The Meteors host Caledonia Saturday at 7 p.m. and visit Welland Sunday at 7 p.m.
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