SmartStop Post-Game Recap – Steelheads Cruise Past the Petes
MISSISSAUGA, ON – The Mississauga Steelheads took an early lead against Peterborough Petes and refused to surrender it, coming away with a 4-1 victory on Friday night at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre.
The Trout sent their faithful fans home happy, closing out 2023 at home with a convincing victory. Strong showings from the whole lineup helped the Steelheads handle the Petes tonight.
Ryerson Leenders was the story of the game, stopping 38 of 39 shots faced and robbing the Petes of multiple scoring opportunities. Porter Martone picked up the game winner, netting his team leading 26th and 27th goals of the season. Finn Harding had a strong showing, recording an assist and ending the night as a +2.
Martone tipped in a seeing-eye point shot from Chas Sharpe to open the scoring, as the defenseman tallied his second power play assist in as many nights. The Steelheads carried that lead into the first intermission.
The scoreless second period was highlighted by a few close chances at each end. Leenders made the save of the night stopping a Petes 2-on-1 opportunity and keeping Mississauga in the lead.
Early in the third, the Steelheads broke into the offensive zone with a three on one advantage, and who else but Martone found the back of the net. His hot streak and season continue, doubling their lead.
Brayden McCallum finished off a pretty tic-tac-toe play from the front of the net to cut the lead back down to one, ending the shutout bid with 6:22 to go.
After a Petes’ chance went off Leenders and the crossbar, Mason Zebeski found space along the wall at the other end and made no mistake. His wrist shot from the boards beat Liam Sztuska, restoring the Trout’s two goal advantage.
The home team responded well to the late Peterborough goal, picking up the pace and denying any opportunity to tie the game and steal the Trout’s momentum.
With under three minutes to go and the away net empty, Mississauga cleared the zone and Gabriel Chiarot found William Eggleton in front of the net for the nail in the coffin.
An overall great outing for the Steelheads wraps up their 2023 at home, who look to make it two in a row on New Year’s Eve.
Total Shots – 39 PTO / 28 MISS
Three Stars:
- Ryerson Leenders (38 SA, 1GA)
- Porter Martone (2G)
- Finn Harding (1A)
The Steelheads play their final game of 2023 Sunday night on the road in a rematch against the Peterborough Petes. Watch all away games by purchasing CHL TV, accessible on the CHL mobile app, in addition to Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire, and online at watch.chl.ca.