Vaughan advances to second straight OHL Cup Final with 3-0 win over Peterborough
The Vaughan Kings will play for the OHL Cup on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, blanking the OMHA Finalist Peterborough Petes to hand them their first loss of the showcase.
In one of the most physical games of the tournament thus far, the Kings outmatched the Petes, outshooting them 26-13 including an impressive first period showing that saw the shot clock read 13-3 for the Kings.
The game would start by Vaughan being in on the forecheck and putting Peterborough on the defensive, which allowed the Kings to gain various scoring opportunities.
Cole Emerton (4) would open the scoring for Vaughan as Clarence Allain fired a puck on net and Emerton cleaned up the rebound to give the Kings a 1-0 lead late in the first period. The Kings’ next goal would come off the stick of Caleb Malhotra (2) after Ben Bowen threaded a pass to Malhotra and he was able to find the back of the net after it just snuck across the goal line.
“We weren’t going in the first but once we started to find our rhythm and our mojo, I was able to find a bit of a pocket in the middle of the ice and capitalize on it after it almost didn’t go in,” said Malhotra after scoring his second goal of the tournament.
Having a 2-0 lead after the first two periods of play, Vaughan knew they were in the driver’s seat and were in full control heading into the final frame.
The Kings showed their mettle after increasing their forechecking and getting pucks into the offensive zone and always keeping the Petes defence and goaltender on edge.
A real turning point in the game came when Peterborough was awarded a 5-on-3 power play with under 10 minutes to play.
While on the two-man advantage, the Kings showed how strong their penalty kill is by allowing just two shots on goal during the almost three-minute disadvantage.
After killing off a long power play, Vaughan went on the attack with under five minutes remaining in the game and that’s when Alessandro Di Iorio wired home his fourth goal of the tournament.
Justin Young went the distance for Vaughan, turning aside all 13 shots he faced for the shutout.JH
The Peterborough Petes were the team to beat heading into this semifinal and they ran into an opponent that was up to the challenge. Peterborough finished the round robin stage posting a 4-0 record and were offensively led by forward Colin Fitzgerald as he finished the tournament with eight goals and 13 points, (8-5-13).
For Vaughan they will be playing their second consecutive OHL Cup Final after losing 5-0 to the Toronto Jr. Canadiens a year ago. It marks their third all-time appearance in the Championship Final. Vaughan will be looking to etch their name in Ontario U16 AAA hockey history by hoisting the OHL Cup trophy Saturday afternoon, tasked with facing the Oakville Rangers at 2:00pm.
ZEPHYR PLAYER OF THE GAME
Vaughan — Kaleb Malhotra (F) — (1G)
Peterborough — Morgan Hyndman (G) — (23SV)