Rye Hits 10 Wins as Petes Beat 67’s in Dramatic Fashion
On Thursday, March 6, the Peterborough Petes hosted the Ottawa 67’s at the PMC in front of their 18th sell-out of the season for Big Brothers Big Sisters night presented by Monaghan Lumber.
After Brody Partridge opened the scoring in the first period, Brennan Faulkner made it 2-0, scoring 28 seconds into the middle frame. Faulkner’s goal was his second in two games and fourth point in three games. Two minutes later, Chris Barlas got Ottawa on the board, beating Easton Rye to get the 67’s back within one. At the end of two, the Petes would be on top, leading the 67’s 2-1.
Three minutes into the final frame, Jonathan Melee capped off a beautiful shorthanded forecheck, forcing a turnover and beating Jaeden Nelson to make it 3-1. Melee’s goal was his 20th of the season, with the Petes captain hitting that milestone for the first time in his career. After Ottawa put on the pressure late, tying the game at 3-3, Peterborough would find themselves with an offensive zone faceoff with 10 seconds remaining. After Braydon McCallum cleanly won the draw, Aiden Young sent the puck to Genc Ula. Ula snapped a shot through traffic, beating Nelson with five seconds on the clock. Ula’s late game heroics would secure the win for the Petes, as they beat their Eastern Conference rivals by a score of 4-3.
Easton Rye led the way for the Petes, stopping 34/37 for his 10th win of the campaign. Jonathan Melee scored shorthanded, giving him 20 goals on the season for the first time in his career. Brody Partridge, Brennan Faulkner, and Genc Ula also scored, while Quinton Pagé, Martin Matejicek, Francis Parish, Aiden Young, and Braydon McCallum all picked up an assist.
Game Recap:
First Period:
- Peterborough Goal (5:00) – Brody Partridge (5), Assists – Quinton Pagé (12), Martin Matejicek (15)
Second Period:
- Peterborough Goal (:28) – Brennan Faulkner (5), Assist – Francis Parish (9)
- Ottawa Goal (2:30) – Chris Barlas (11), Assist – Frankie Marrelli (16)
Third Period:
- Peterborough Goal (3:31) – Jonathan Melee (20), Unassisted
- Ottawa Goal (10:14) – Chris Barlas (12), Assists – Bradley Horner (7), Frankie Marrelli (17)
- Ottawa Goal (14:06) – Filip Ekberg (14), Assists – Cooper Foster (28), Luca Pinelli (30)
- Peterborough Goal (19:54) – Genc Ula (5), Assists – Aiden Young (18), Braydon McCallum (18)
The Petes are back in action on Saturday, March 8, when they travel to the Nation’s Capital to wrap up the season series with the Ottawa 67’s. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. at TD Place. Fans can catch the game on YourTV Peterborough and Freq 90.5.
