On Thursday, May 11, the Peterborough Petes traveled to London to take on the Western Conference Champion London Knights in game one of the best of seven OHL Championship Series. The Petes booked their ticket to the OHL Finals after beating the number two seed, North Bay Battalion, in seven games to win the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions. The Knights defeated the Sarnia Sting in six games to win the West. It was Peterborough’s first time in the OHL Championship Series since 2006, as they began the hunt for their 10th J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL Champions. The series is a rematch from the 2006 OHL Final, where the Petes went on to sweep the London Knights in four games.
The first period was a battle between the last two teams standing in the league. The packed Budweiser Garden cheered on their Knights loud and proud, hoping to get in the heads of the visiting Petes. The first really wouldn’t see too many chances either direction. Both teams, and goaltenders, looked strong early and would hold each other to a scoreless first. The Petes had the only penalty kill in the period, which they killed successfully late in the first. After a scoreless 20, London would lead Peterborough in shots 11-7.
The second period would see London start to take advantage of the home crowd and put on some more pressure. Even with the Knights pushing, it would be the Petes with the two biggest chances of the game thus far. On a powerplay, Gavin White would beat Knights goalie Zach Bowen on the shot, but would not be able to beat the post and the game stayed scoreless. Just minutes later, with a scramble in front of the net, Chase Stillman fed Owen Beck who fired a shot, but Bowen just got a piece of it, spreading out to make the save. With just over five minutes left in the period, London would break the deadlock on a goal by Easton Cowan. That would be the only goal of the period and the final frame would begin with the Knights holding a 1-0 lead.
The Petes would push and push for an equalizer, but it would be London who would double their lead late in the period on a goal from Jacob Julien. The Knights would add an empty netter and win game one 3-0, taking a 1-0 lead in the OHL Championship Series.
Michael Simpson led the way for the Petes, stopping 29/31 in the loss.
The Petes are back in action on Saturday, May 13 in London for game two of their OHL Final best of seven series against the London Knights. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Fans can catch the game on OHL Live, YourTV, or Freq 90.5.
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