Beck Scores Hat Trick as Petes Fall in Overtime to Generals
The Peterborough Petes were right back in action on Saturday night as they hosted the Oshawa Generals at the PMC during Gibson’s Finest Whiskey Alumni Homecoming Weekend. Coming off a 4-1 win in Ottawa the night before, the Petes looked to defeat their rivals in front of a sold-out hometown crowd.
Before the game, the 1973-74 Petes were honoured for the 50th anniversary of their Bronze Medal-winning campaign in which they travelled to Russia to compete in the first World Junior Championship. 11 members of the team were on hand for the opening ceremonial puck drop.
The Petes took charge early as Owen Beck won the opening draw. Minutes later, Jonathan Melee would find a loose puck from a forced turnover deep in the Generals’ zone. Spotting Beck across the ice, his quick saucer pass found Beck in front, who buried the puck to give the Petes the early 1-0 lead. Later, the Generals would get a steal of their own, but goaltender Liam Sztuska was there to shut the door.
As the period continued, Beck was hungry for more. As he broke into the Generals’ zone on a breakaway feed, he was hooked and awarded a penalty shot. With a short stick handle and a snap of the puck, he beat Oster upstairs for his second of the period. Oshawa would push back late in the period, but thanks to the strong play of Sztuska, the Petes took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
The 2-0 lead was short-lived as just 25 seconds into the period, Matthew Buckley redirected the puck past Sztuska to get the Generals on the board and cut the Petes lead to one. With continued Generals pressure, Sztuska would make a spectacular sliding save to stop Luca Marrelli’s attempt at a wide-open net. Late in the period, Buckley would get his second of the game as the teams entered the second intermission tied 2–2.
A back-and-forth start to the third saw both teams with quality chances early. Unfortunately for Peterborough, Oshawa was the first to capitalize, with Rasmus Kumpulainen scoring on the powerplay to take the 3-2 lead. The Petes pushed back hard, fighting for chances in the offensive zone. In the dying minutes of the period, Connor Lockhart would find Owen Beck in front of the net, who made no mistake burying the game-tying hat trick goal. Neither team could add another as the game went to overtime.
The Petes would get multiple chances in overtime, but ultimately, Matthew Buckley would finish a hat trick of his own to give the Generals the win.
Owen Beck led the way for the Petes with a hat trick, while Jonathan Melee added two assists. Connor Lockhart and Sam Mayer picked up an assist each on the night. Liam Sztuska stopped 37/41 in the loss.
The Petes are back in action on Friday, October 27 when they travel to St. Catharines to take on the Niagara IceDogs. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Meridian Centre. Fans can catch the game on YourTV, Freq 90.5, and OHL Live.
