Petes Bit By Eastern Conference Leaders
Tucker Robertson and Sam Alfano produced the goals, but the Peterborough Petes found themselves down in the second period and were unable to rally as they fell to the Hamilton Bulldogs by the score of 6-2 on Tuesday night at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.
Peterborough generated a rare three-on-one opportunity against Hamilton, who typically does not find themselves in such a situation, midway through the first period. Alfano wristed a shot that almost beat Marco Costantini on the push. The Dogs immediately countered with an odd-man rush of their own, but Michael Simpson eliminated former teammate Mason McTavish’s chance with a body save.
McTavish got one through late to score the lone goal of the opening period. His 15th goal of the season was assisted by Nathan Staios.
Peterborough jumped out of the first intermission with energy. Robertson registered his 35th goal of the 2021-22 campaign to tie the game just 15 seconds into the second period. He was assisted by New Jersey Devils prospect Chase Stillman and Philadelphia Flyers prospect J.R. Avon.
Presenting Tucker Robertson's 35th goal of the season!#GoPetesGo | @SUBWAY pic.twitter.com/kDU62MVlDq
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 30, 2022
The next 20 minutes displayed why Hamilton has scored the most goals in the Eastern Conference and third most overall in the OHL. A flurry of tallies dragged the Petes into a 4-1 hole in a span of six minutes and two seconds.
Gavin White regained the lead for the Bulldogs at 1:22 assisted by former Pete McTavish and third-year Bulldog Avery Hayes. Then, at 6:06, Hayes tallied his 35th goal of the season to extend the Dogs’ lead.
Jan Mysak added another point to make the score 4-1 at 7:24. However, the Maroon and White started to pester the Hamilton net with shots. They found themselves short-handed for the first time but blanked the third-best overall power play in the OHL. The Bulldogs kept the pressure up, leading to a goal by rookie defenceman and Peterborough native Lucas Moore. It was Moore’s third goal this year. Lawson Sherk and Patrick Thomas picked up the assists.
Robertson, a second-year Pete who has provided timely scoring all year, started the play that led to Peterborough’s second goal of the night. The Carp, Ont. native outbattled Logan Morrison along the Petes blue line and darted down the ice. He wheeled around a pair of Bulldogs in the far corner to feed Alfano in front of the net. The Cayuga native one-timed the puck top shelf above Costantini’s blocker.
This is why you go to the net with your stick on the ice 🙌🏻#GoPetesGo pic.twitter.com/DB7NUMc5jF
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 30, 2022
The teams entered the third period with shot totals favouring the Petes, 27-23. The Bulldogs switched goaltenders for the final 20 minutes, replacing Costantini with Matteo Drobac.
Hayes increased Hamilton’s lead to 6-2 at 5:17 into the third. George Diaco and Morrison added the primary and secondary assists, respectively.
The Lift Lock lads drew power plays as the game neared its final minutes. They broke through the Bulldog’s penalty killers, but were robbed by Drobac on several high-quality chances, including two in the final two minutes.
Simpson turned aside 27 shots to close the evening. Avery Hayes, Robertson, and McTavish were named the game’s first, second, and third stars, respectively. Peterborough out-shot Hamilton 39-33.
The maroon and white are back in action this Thursday against the Kingston Frontenacs inside the PMC.
