On Saturday January 2nd, the Petes hosted the Kingston Frontenacs for Harry Potter night at the PMC. The Petes were looking to make it eight wins in a row after defeating the Owen Sound Attack on Thursday. The Petes made two significant trades earlier in the day, acquiring OHL Champions Avery Hayes and Gavin White from the Hamilton Bulldogs, and Montreal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck from the Mississauga Steelheads. Hayes and White would both debut for the Petes on the night, while Beck was away with Petes Teammate, Brennan Othmann, being celebrated for their World Junior gold medal by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Michael Simpson was back in net for the maroon and white after having Thursday night off.
The first period saw the Petes come out hot, firing on all cylinders to try and get the early lead. Colorado Avalanche prospect, Ivan Zhigalov, would have other plans, shutting the door early with a couple of highlight reel saves. In the other end, Petes goalie Michael Simpson refused to be outdone and turned away multiple scoring chances as well. With the goalies looking sharp in the first 20, it would be scoreless heading into the intermission. Peterborough would have the edge in shots by a total of 9-5.
The second period started out tough for the Petes. Just four minutes in, Christopher Thibodeau tipped home a point shot to give Kingston the 1-0 lead. The Petes would keep pressing, and it paid off at the 13:09 mark of the period when newcomer Avery Hayes buried a rebound for his first goal as a Pete to tie the game at 1-1; Hayes wasn’t done there. Just two minutes later Hayes would blast home a Connor Lockhart pass on the powerplay to give the Petes the lead. Hayes’ second goal of the period put him past Windsor’s Matthew Maggio for sole possession of the OHL scoring lead with 29 goals. Fellow newcomer, Gavin White, picked up his first point as a Pete with an assist on the goal. With the two goals, the Petes took a 2-1 lead into the break, leading in shots 21-13.
The final frame saw Kingston begin the period on a power play. Unfortunately for the Petes they would take advantage of the extra man. Thirty seconds into the period, Braden Haché fired a point shot past a screened Michael Simpson to tie the game at 2-2. The Petes didn’t let this faze them and would keep fighting for the win. With four minutes remaining, Tucker Robertson beat Zhigalov on a beautiful feed from Connor Lockhart to give the Petes the lead. Michael Simpson would stand tall for the last four minutes and keep Kingston off of the score sheet to give the Petes the 3-2 win and extend their win streak to eight games.
Avery Hayes led the way for the Petes with his OHL leading 28th and 29th goals in his Petes debut. Gavin White also had a strong debut, adding two assists. Connor Lockhart picked up two assists of his own, Tucker Robertson scored the winner, and Chase Lefebvre added an assist. Michael Simpson stopped 20/22 for his 15th win of the season.
The Petes next game is Thursday, January 12th against the Sarnia Sting. Owen Beck will make his Petes debut and Brennan Othmann will make his return from the World Juniors. You can get tickets by clicking here.
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