Petes Unable to Fend off Bulldogs in Sunday Matinee Game
Justin DeZoete picks up a goal late in the third in front of his hometown.
The first period saw the Petes come out with some pep in their step. Tucker Robertson had an early opportunity, when he drove the left side of Hamilton’s net, but the OHL’s Goaltender of the Month for March prevented the puck from hitting the mesh.
The Petes would be the first team to spend time in the sin bin, when Artem Guryev was penalized at 3:49 for high-sticking. Hamilton took advantage of the extra player on the ice at the halfway point of the power play when Avery Hayes put the puck past Tye Austin. Although Hamilton continued to maintain momentum, the Liftlock Lads nearly saw a breakthrough moment when a pass from Joe Carroll to Kaspars Ziemens and up to Jax Dubois at 9:50 almost put the Petes on the scoreboard.
Former Pete, Mason McTavish extended the Bulldogs lead at 12:08 with his NHL-calibre shot while on Hamilton’s second power play of the evening.
Fans had the chance to watch 4 on 4 hockey when Quinton Pagé and Cole Brown were each sent to penalty box at 16:41. Pagé for slashing and Brown subsequently for roughing. The opening frame would end with 4 on 3 hockey in favour of the Petes, when Arber Xhekaj was penalized for roughing. Unfortunately the Petes were unable to leverage the power player.
The second period saw a quick goal from Xhekaj at 1:51, pushing Hamilton’s up to three goals. The Bulldogs returned to the power play at 5:41 when Jax Dubois was pulled off the ice for checking from behind.
McTavish nearly snagged his second goal of the afternoon but a beautiful pad save from Austin denied the fellow Carp native twenty seconds into the man advantage.
Despite the Petes having a couple of strong scoring opportunities against Marco Costantini, the Bulldogs continued to dominate the scoreboard as Lawson Sherk converted a pass from Gavin White at 10:55 into a goal and George Diaco was able to touch the twine at 14:09.
Peterborough continued to press the Bulldogs at the top the third period however following a big hit from Guryev against Hamilton’s Winterton, Ryan Humphrey snuck into the slot and captured the Bulldogs sixth goal of the afternoon.
Chase Stillman and Arber Xhekaj would both be sent to the penalty box at 8:28 following a board side tussle. This would spark a number of scrums across the ice between the Petes and Bulldogs including a duel between Emmett Sproule and Mason McTavish at 9:36 who, resulting in four on four hockey.
Jan Mysak saw a breakaway late in the third however it posed no challenge to Petes Goaltender Tye Austin.
DeZoete would cap the game with a goal from the slot while the Petes were on the the power play, breaking Costantini’s shutout.
