Cornel Picks Up Five Points as Petes Blow Past Battalion
The Peterborough Petes hosted the North Bay Battalion on Saturday night, looking to bounce back after a last-minute loss to Belleville two days prior. The Petes spoiled North Bay’s franchise-opener a few months ago, winning 2-1, and the mighty maroon and white won big despite being out-shot, earning a 6-2 victory on home ice.
Peterborough started the game off with a bang, as the line of Nick Ritchie, Eric Cornel, and Hunter Garlent looked to provide a quick spark with physical play. The energy paid off, as Cornel buried his thirteenth of the season, assisted by Matt Spencer and Nick Ritchie, making it 1-0 Petes just 1:00 into the game. North Bay controlled most of the next ten minutes of the period, but Andrew D’Agostini and the Petes’ defence stood tall, holding on to the early lead.
Peterborough regained momentum in a hurry, though, as Eric Cornel tipped home his second of the game on a Nelson Armstrong shot. Rookie defenceman Cam Lizotte picked up the other helper on the play. Just 1:08 later, another rookie connection added to the Petes lead as Anthony Stefano netted the sixth goal of his freshman campaign, with Matt McCartneyearning an assist, along with Mitch Webb who notched his first career OHL point.
North Bay continued to put pressure on as the clocked tick off on the first frame, but the Petes maintained their 3-0 lead heading into the first period. D’Agostini made 15 saves in the opening frame, while Jake Smith stopped four out of seven pucks in the Battalion net.
The Battalion came out hot in the second stanza, looking to make a comeback and quiet the 3,024 Memorial Centre fans. Winger Ben Thompson solved D’Agostini for his tenth of the season assisted by Mike Amadio to make it 3-1, but this was the last marker North Bay would score in the period. Just over three minutes later, Nick Ritchie chased Jake Smith from his net with a goal assisted by Hunter Garlent – his first as a Pete – and Eric Cornel.
The score remained 4-1 through the mid-way point of the second, until Clark Seymour scored on the powerplay at 13:01 from Josh MacDonald and Eric Cornel. North Bay kept D’Agostini busy through the final six minutes, but the Petes again beat replacement goalie Brenden O’Neill, as Hunter Garlent scored his first goal while wearing the maroon and white. Cornel and Ritchie added helpers on the goal to make it 6-1 Petes at 18:53 in the second. North Bay took a 27-18 shot lead into the third.
In the final frame, the teams continued to trade chances as the Petes looked to add to their five goal lead. Fans were treated to back-and-forth action past the mid-way mark, but it was North Bay who would tally in the third. Matt MacLeod scored from Brendan Miller and Riley Bruce with 8:49 to play, which would prove to be the final tally as the Petes grinded away the remaining time, walking away with a 6-2 victory.
The top line of Eric Cornel (2g-3a), Nick Ritchie (1g-2a) and Hunter Garlent (1g-1a) were the game’s first, second, and third stars respectively, and Andrew D’Agostini earned Mark’s Work Wearhouse Hardest Working Player Honours, stopping 41 of 43 shots on the night.
The Petes’ next game is on Thursday, January 16th against the Mississauga Steelheads. Pick up your tickets here, and don’t forget to follow the Petes on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates, news, and contests.
