Petes Shutdown Eastern Conference Leaders
Tucker Robertson, Samuel Mayer, and Jax Dubois found the scoresheet in a 3-1 Petes win over the Eastern Conference-leading Hamilton Bulldogs in a rare Tuesday night showdown at the PMC. Michael Simpson turned aside 34 shots to snap Hamilton’s 12-game win streak.
The Petes challenged Matteo Drobac early, registering the first four shots on goal. The Petes also went without giving up a shot against through the first eight minutes of play.
The first half of the opening frame; however, was highlighted by physical play, courtesy of Konnor Smith. His first victim was lined up in open ice, but he was not done there.
At 12:15, he laid another punishing check that unfortunately fell outside the scope of the rulebook and put the Petes down a man for 5 minutes. Smith was also called to respond to the hit by Ryan Humphrey and a fight featuring many heavy punches went down. Smith was assessed a five-minute major for checking to the head and a game misconduct, while Humphrey received a two-minute instigator. 4-on-4 play, followed by a three-minute Petes PK was the end result.
On the PK, Emmett Sproule hunted down a loose puck along the left wall in the Bulldogs’ zone. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a wide-open Tucker Robertson streaking down the right side. The Sproule pass connected, and Robertson went in on a breakaway and beat Drobac with a backhand move. Robertson’s 30th of the year put the Petes ahead 1-0.
This Sproule and Robertson shorthanded connection is just ????????#GoPetesGo | @SUBWAY pic.twitter.com/RdyCsn93dp
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 15, 2022
The offence went right back to work with generating dangerous chances. Nick Lardis made a sneaky effective stick left on a Bulldogs defender as he carried the puck in front of his own net, which caused chaos to ensue in Drobac’s crease. Avon had the first crack at trying to beat a scrambly Drobac, but his toe drag attempt was disrupted. Emmett Sproule collected the loose puck at the top of the crease and put it past the down-and-out goaltender. The play went under an extended review and the call was eventually reversed for goaltender interference.
With just under four minutes remaining in the first, the Petes went down a man due to a delay of game penalty. On the powerplay, a centering pass from the left side was deflected from the slot past the left pad of Simspon. Muck like the Petes second goal, the play was reviewed and the goal was called back, this time for kicking motion.
The Petes carried a 1-0 lead into intermission.
In the second frame, the Bulldogs directed a lot of pucks towards Michael Simpson to raise their shot total from three to 18, but Simpson stood tall for the duration of the period. He even tried his hand a little bit of defence.
Simmer can stop pucks AND break up plays ????#GoPetesGo | @SIMSHOW31pic.twitter.com/Nehv3XViSy
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 16, 2022
With just over seven minutes remaining in the period, Zack Lewis sent a shot wide left. The puck took a convenient bounce off the end boards and slid towards the left hashmark. Petes Dman and 2022 NHL Draft prospect Samuel Mayer skated into the moving puck with speed and absolutely wired a slapshot through an unscreened Drobac to extend the Petes lead to 2-0. Zack Lewis’ primary assist on the Mayer goal was the first assist of the 2021 3rd round picks’ OHL career.
.@Samuel6Mayer gives us a 2-0 lead with this BEAMER????#GoPetesGopic.twitter.com/jgZwHfDX30
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 16, 2022
The Petes were outshot 15-8 in the middle frame, but the Mayer goal was the extent of scoring in the period. The Petes headed into the third with a 2-0 lead.
Three minutes into the third period, Jonathan Melee’s dumped the puck into the Bulldogs’ end, which sprung Drobac from his net to play the puck. The puck took an exaggerated bounce off the square corners to go out of Drobac’s reach, which caused him to second guess the decision. Before he gets back in his crease properly, Jax Dubois pounced on the opportunity, beating Drobac up high for his 9th of the season, giving the Petes a 3-0 lead.
The Birthday boy comes in clutch with the looooooooong pass ????
Happy Birthday, Brian! ???????? pic.twitter.com/fKQhATFqbk
— Peterborough Petes (@PetesOHLhockey) March 16, 2022
With 11 minutes remaining in the game, the Petes found themselves short-handed as a result of a suspected holding call. On the ensuing powerplay, Bulldogs forward was the recipient of a fluke desperation pass that was meant to hold the line. Winterton slightly changed his release angle before taking the shot, and the resulting snapshot found its way through a screened Michael Simpson, ending his shutout pursuit.
The Petes held down the fort from there on to close out a 3-1 victory of the conference-leading Hamilton Bulldogs.
The Petes are back in action on Friday night when they travel to Oshawa to take on the Generals. The game can be seen on Channel 700 on YourTV Peterborough or listened to on Freq 90.5 on your radio.
