Quick Start Not Enough for Petes in Oshawa
Looking to get back in the win column for the second time on the weekend, the Petes and Oshawa Generals played the eighth installment of the oldest rivalry in junior hockey on Sunday night. Peterborough jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the first period, but they could not find the back of the net again and the Generals mounted a late comeback to win 4-3 in a shootout.
It took fifty minutes to score the first goal on Saturday night, so the Petes were keen to get on the board early in Oshawa. The highly skilled Jonathan Ang was happy to oblige just 1:32 into the game, protecting the puck as he made his way into the slot and eventually fooling Jeremy Brodeur with a slick unassisted behind-the-back shot into the net.
The highlight reel continued in the first as Greg Betzold went between his legs to lift the puck past Brodeur on the powerplay with Dominik Masin and Kyle Jenkins picking up assists. Just moments later, Brodeur saw his last shot of the game when Josh Maguire beat him unassisted from the sidewall, forcing Justin Nichols to enter the game in relief.
Nichols matched Dylan Wells’ excellent work in the final minutes of the first period, and the score was still 3-0 at the end of the first period with the Petes ahead 13-10 in shots.
Oshawa put a lot of pressure on Peterborough in the second period, but the maroon and white defenders did their best to block shots and not let anything on net. The persistent traffic in front of Wells would give the Generals their first goal, though, as Mitch Vande Sompel wristed the puck home on the powerplay from Kenny Huether. Despite more Oshawa powerplay time, the Petes maintained their 3-1 lead heading into the room in preparation for the third, with the visitors up 22-15 in shots.
The Petes held off the Generals for most of the third period, but the rivals got two quick ones in the final minutes to tie the game and swing all of the momentum in their favour. First, VandeSompel ripped his second of the night through a crowd, and shortly after that Sam Harding corralled a loose puck in the slot and picked the top corner, tying the game at 3-3 with about six minutes to play. The period ended without further scoring, and overtime – albeit exciting – was fruitless, forcing a shootout on the 65th game of the regular season.
No-one could score in the first three rounds of the shootout, with a couple of goal posts for good measure, but in the fourth round Jalen Smereck finished the comeback with a quick wrist-shot over Wells’ shoulder, sealing the 4-3 shootout win for the Generals. Oshawa won the shot battle 33-31, with Vande Sompel, Betzold, and Kyle MacLean earning the first, second, and third stars of the game, respectively.
Up next for the Petes is the final regular season home game of the year at 7:05pm on Tuesday in a rematch against the Barrie Colts. Tickets, including $5 student tickets (while supplies last) are available here for the game, and download the free Petes Mobile App for iPhone or Android to earn loyalty rewards points that you can use toward awesome Petes apparel, memorabilia and gift cards.
