A season-long goal and hockey career highlight was accomplished recently for three Pelham players — two brothers and a cousin — as they and their St. Catharines Falcons teammates took home the Sutherland Cup, emblematic of Ontario Junior B hockey supremacy.
Nate Shirton, Kyle Glenney, and Trent Glenney spoke with the Voice last week about the thrill of victory in the best-of-three final series, in which the Falcons swept the Chatham Maroons.
The Falcons finished the regular season in second place in the Golden Horseshoe Conference with a 36-10-2 record, then went 17-3 in the playoffs, defeating Pelham, Caledonia, and Hamilton to advance to the Sutherland Cup round robin.
The last Sutherland Cup win for the Falcons was in 2012.
It was an especially poignant victory, given that the Falcons home rink, the Jack Gatecliff Arena (affectionately known as “the Jack”) is closing after 84 years of operation. The rink has been home to the Falcons since 1968. Starting in September, the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League team will begin playing home games out of the Seymour-Hannah Sports Centre, on St. Paul Street West in St. Catharines.
Kyle and Nate have put in two seasons with the Falcons, and Trent three, with the trio even playing on the same line for a while. All attended E. L. Crossley during their high school years, and played previously for the Pelham Panthers. The Glenney brothers lived and played in Dunnville prior to the family move to Pelham six years ago.
“When we were younger, I remember coming down and watching the Falcons play,” said Trent. “It was clear they had a championship pedigree, and we wanted to be a part of that.”
All three raved about the Falcons organization.
“It’s solid, from coaching, and management, all the way down the chain,” said Kyle. “First-class. No better program for Junior B in Ontario.”
His brother and cousin agreed.
“The trainers helped us out big-time,” said Trent, who won a team award as the top defensive forward. “They don't always get the recognition, but without them things just wouldn’t run as smoothly.”
Asked about their personal styles on the ice, Nate said “I try to play really physical, while Kyle puts the puck in the net, and Trent just really loves to hit guys.”
“I got pretty lucky at the end of the playoffs, scoring some goals down the stretch,” said Kyle. “We're all a bit different in our play, and the coaches seemed to like what we brought to the team.”
Trent is entering his third year in the sport management program at Brock, where Kyle studies kinesiology. Nate is one year into a carpentry apprenticeship program.
It was Trent’s final year of Junior B, but he has no ambitions of playing the game at a higher level at this juncture. Instead, he will segue into coaching, and will assist his dad, Jason, who coaches the Major Bantam Niagara North team.
All three expect to spend some quality time in the off season on the golf course, the summer home of many hockey players. They will be waiting patiently for their Sutherland Cup championship rings, which the Falcons will deliver later this year.
