Back on Track
Peterborough, ON- The Brampton Steelheads beat the Peterborough Petes, 4-3, in a comeback victory, as Porter Martone got one goal and one assist in his hometown.
As both the Steelheads and Petes entered the matchup coming off of losses, the pressure was on to get back into the winning column. While the Petes came out hot in the opening period, the Steelheads’ patience and motivation for a comeback secured the Brampton victory.
The Petes kicked things off early into the first period as they went out and scored back-to-back goals within the opening five minutes. Jonathan Melee got the icebreaker for the Petes after Quinton Page did a great job of keeping the puck in the Steelhead’s end.
After getting the puck at the blue line, Page drove to the net but quickly got caught up by the Trout’s defence, leading to a pass down low to Melee. With a sharp angle, Melee took the shot, which deflected off traffic out front into the back of the net.
The Petes added another goal to their tally not even two minutes later as Colin Fitzgerald got one past Brayden Gillespie off a breakaway. Blake Gowan started the play by sending a cross-ice pass to Brennan Faulkner at the Steelheads’ blue line. Faulkner, then, broke into the zone with the puck, waiting for Fitzgerald to bypass the defence before passing it up to him for the breakaway and eventual goal.
Down by two, the Trout looked for scoring chances at any opportunity. While some Steelheads came close, including a breakaway attempt from Adam Zidlicky, the Petes netminder, Zach Bowen, made several saves to keep the Petes’ lead.
The first period saw a double series of 4-on-4 action as things got heated between the teams. The Trout’s penalty kill was also put to the test after Jakub Fibigr was called for a check to the head. Despite being a man down, the Steelheads held up a strong penalty kill and kept the score at 2-0.
After several chances, the Steelheads got themselves within one after a 2-on-1 play got one past Bowen. After getting the puck in the neutral zone from Spencer Sova, Kieran Witkowski drove up the left side, with Macgregor Richmond following up the middle. Once inside the Petes’ zone, Witkowski made the pass to Richmond at the last minute for the one-timer.
The first period ended with the Petes’ one-goal lead, which continued into most of the second. However, the Steelhead’s battle back was in full force as they worked to tie the game.
For most of the second period, there was a lot of back-and-forth between teams as Gillespie and Bowen stood tall at their respective ends. Yet, the Trout got their first chance at tying the game on the power play after Braydon McCallum was called for tripping.
Despite the chances on the first power play, the Steelheads did not tie things up until their second power play in the last five minutes of the period. After Rio Kaiser was called for roughing, the Trout immediately took advantage of special teams and set up within the offensive zone.
After taking a shot on Bowen, Sova picked up his rebound in the corner before sending it up to Martone at the point. Martone then passed it across to Fibigr, who fired it from the point and past Bowen to tie the game.
The third period started with a tie and saw another back-and-forth of scores before the Steelheads secured the victory within the last five minutes, finalizing a battle-back win.
The start of the third was not ideal for the Trout as two back-to-back penalties sent the game to 5-on-3, leading to the Petes retaking the lead. After Mason Zebeski was called for roughing and Martone later followed with a high-sticking call, the Petes got set up in the offensive zone.
Caden Taylor got the initial shot from the point on Gillespie, which caused a large rebound out front. Picking up the rebound in the high slot, Melee fired it again on goal, this time getting it past Gillespie to make it 3-2.
The Petes’ lead did not last long, as Martone tied things up in front of his hometown crowd. A failed attempt from the Petes at keeping it in at the Steelhead’s blue line allowed Carson Rehkopf to pick up the puck and bring it through the neutral zone. Rehkopf, then, found Martone at the Petes’ blue line and passed the puck to him. Using his speed, Martone fought past the defence to fire it past Bowen to tie the game once again.
With time winding down, it was anyone’s game, but Lucas Karmiris called the game as he got the game-winning goal. Winning the faceoff back to the point, Parker Von Richter shot the puck out front, which got tangled up in traffic. The puck got picked up by Zebeski, who made a quick pass to Karmiris. After settling down the bouncing puck, Karmiris shot it on goal, beating Bowen on the blocker side.
While no goals were scored for the remainder of the period, the Steelheads created an intense final minutes of play as another set of back-to-back penalties gave the Petes a 5-on-3 opportunity. Despite the two-man advantage, it was no match for the Trout’s penalty kill, leading to the 4-3 Brampton victory.
The Steelheads face off against the Petes again tomorrow at home for their Flashback Friday game. For tickets, click here.