The Petes welcomed the Western Conference leading Windsor Spitfires on Thursday night for Talk Today Night at the PMC. The game was in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association and presented by Syngenta Canada and Grain Farmers of Ontario. Starting in 2014, the Talk Today Game Night is designed to bring awareness to mental health and help eliminate the stigma behind it. Petes Mental Health Coach Jack Veitch and his son Bear took part in a pre-game ceremony and puck drop highlighting Talk Today.
The Spitfires have been on a roll since acquiring Seattle Kraken fourth overall pick Shane Wright from the Kingston Frontenacs at the trade deadline. They come into the game 9-0-1-0 in their last 10 and find themselves in first place in the West, with a playoff spot clinched. The Petes have put a tough couple weeks behind them, looking to build off of two straight shutout wins to take down the West leading Spitfires.
The game started off at a very high pace, with some great action going back and forth. Both teams had multiple chances to score early, but would be shut down by the other team’s goalie, or in Avery Hayes’ case, the crossbar. The Petes would have multiple chances to take the lead throughout the period, but Spirtfires goalie, Joey Costanzo, would stand tall in net. Late in the period, the Petes PK unit came up huge, killing off the number one powerplay in the league. Unfortunately for the Petes, it would be on their own powerplay where Windsor struck first. With just over a minute left in the period, Nicholas DeAngelis capitalized on a rebound and scored to give the Spitfires the lead. The goal would break Michael Simpson’s shutout streak, which lasted six periods (two games). The Spitfires would take the 1-0 lead heading into the second.
The second period would see a lot more scoring than the first. It all started on a Petes powerplay eight minutes in when Chase Stillman tipped a Gavin White shot home to tie the game at 1-1. The goal was Stillman’s 18th of the season and 50th of his OHL career. The tie would not last long as just two minutes later, the OHL’s leading scorer, Matt Maggio, found himself on a breakaway and beat Michael Simpson to give Windsor back the lead. They would hold that lead until the last minute of the period. In the final minute, on a powerplay, Brennan Othmann fed J.R. Avon in front of the net, who then made a brilliant move to beat Costanzo and tie the game at 2-2 heading into the final frame.
The third would be all Petes from the drop of the puck. It all started with Connor Lockhart putting away a rebound eight minutes in to give the Petes the lead. In the final five minutes, to ensure Windsor wouldn’t have the chance to come back, Donovan McCoy went end to end and finished it himself to put Peterborough up 4-2. J.R. Avon added an empty netter for his second of the game, and Konnor Smith fired one home from the point to give the Petes the 6-2 win and hand Windsor their first regulation loss in February.
J.R. Avon (2G), Brennan Othmann (3A), and Connor Lockhart (1G,1A, 1st star) all led the way for the Petes. Gavin White added two assists, while Konnor Smith, Donovan McCoy and Chase Stillman all scored. Tucker Robertson, Brian Zanetti, Owen Beck, and Shawn Spearing all picked up an assist. Michael Simpson stayed hot, stopping 41/43 for his 21st and third straight win.
It’s Pride Night at the Tribute Communities Centre as the Petes wrap up the season series with the rival Oshawa Generals Friday night in Oshawa. Puck Drop is scheduled for 7:35 PM. You can catch the game on YourTV Peterborough and Freq 90.5.
You must be logged in to post a comment.