Petes timely scoring steers victory against the Ottawa 67’s
Tucker Robertson, Quinton Pagé, Emmett Sproule, and Josh Kavanagh powered the Peterborough Petes to a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa 67’s at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night. Michael Simpson picked up the win.
Both teams generated great scoring chances through the game’s first 20 minutes.
Robertson created the hometown team’s best opportunity when he sped down the wall and threaded the puck through a maze of sticks to an open Samuel Mayer positioned at the top the right circle, who then wristed a shot caught by Will Cranley. Ottawa’s Alex Johnston provided the 67’s best scoring chance when he split Peterborough’s defence on a sweet toe drag and rattled the puck off the post above Simpson’s left shoulder.
The teams closed the first period with shots at 13-10 in favor of Peterborough.
The physicality escalated in the second period. The Petes quickly found themselves two men short, but stood tall against the 11th best power play unit in the OHL. There, the maroon and white started to tilt the ice.
Konnor Smith began the scoring play with a nice dump in pass to Robertson, who deked across Cranley’s net and flipped the puck high to score his 16th goal of the season and lift the Petes faithful off their feet.
Robertson snaps his six-game goal drought and picks up his 16th tally of the season with this shorthanded beauty 🤩#GoPetesGo | @SUBWAY pic.twitter.com/YxZFzuAc7J
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) December 17, 2021
Fortune would favour the visitors later in the period. Ottawa defenceman Ranvir Gill-Shane skipped the puck past everyone toward the Peterborough zone where a zooming Brenden Sirizzotti picked it up. His initial shot, released with impressive speed, was stopped with an even more impressive pad save by Simpson, but the velocity of the shot allowed the puck to bounce straight out and ricochet off Mayer’s leg past Simpson into the net. It was Sirizzoti’s seventh of goal of the season.
Not sitting back, the Lift Lock lads skated with energy heading into the final period. Robertson and Mayer delivered crushing body checks that forced the visitors to keep their heads up. The Petes got their second tally late in the frame from a forward appearing in just his third OHL game.
Pagé positioned himself in the slot to redirect Mayer’s shot for his first OHL goal. The rookie’s goal occurred at 17:17 of the second period.
🚨 FIRST OHL GOAL FOR PAGÉ 🚨
#5 skates into the shooting lane and deflects @Samuel6Mayer's shot to give us a 2-1 lead! Dubois picks up the secondary assist!#GoPetesGo | @OHLHockey pic.twitter.com/GNlRMrhnYN
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) December 17, 2021
The Petes came out like a storm in the third. They generated four shots in the first 90 seconds, making Cranley slide post to post and forcing him to make a save off the mask. The maroon and white kept coming in waves and forced turnovers in the neutral zone. Cranley remained strong, but Sproule extended the Petes lead four minutes and 31 seconds into the period.
Sproule intercepted a breakout pass and blazed through the Ottawa defence. He cut across Cranley’s crease to slip the puck around the netminder on the far side. It was Sproule’s 10th goal this season.
Sproule’s highlight reel plays didn’t end there. He pickpocketed a falling Alec Belanger to nearly score again if not for an amazing stop by Cranley. Even though Sproule failed to score, he drew an important slashing penalty.
Nick Lardis set up the Petes power play by motoring into the 67’s zone. He dropped the puck to Mayer, who then passed it Josh Kavanagh. Kavanagh cut in a bit before ripping the puck above Cranley’s shoulders to make the score 4-1.
TARGET LOCATED, TARGET ACQUIRED 🎯 @joshkavanagh14 steps in, displays unreal patience, picks his corner, and snipes in his second of the year! Assists go to @Samuel6Mayer & @NickLardis91!#GoPetesGo | @SUBWAY pic.twitter.com/wfMkc3rOK9
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) December 17, 2021
From that point on, the Petes locked down the 67’s attack. They eliminated high scoring chances and sacrificed their bodies for the win. Peterborough was a perfect six for six on the penalty kill tonight.
Final shots were 33-28 in favour of the Petes
