On Friday, April 28, the Peterborough Petes traveled to North Bay for game one of the Eastern Conference Final, best of seven series against the North Bay Battalion. It was the Petes first appearance in the East Final since 2016-17, and second appearance since their 2006 J. Ross Robertson Cup Championship. The Petes came into the series with a record of 8-2-0-0 in the playoffs, taking out the fifth seed, Sudbury Wolves, in round one, and the number one seed, Ottawa 67’s, in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final. The Battalion are making their second straight trip to the East Finals, after taking out the seventh seed, Mississauga Steelheads, in round one, and the three seed, Barrie Colts, in round two.
It was a dream start for the Petes, who came into the game hungry after knocking out the league’s regular season champion on Monday. Just over a minute into the game, Jonathan Melee continued his playoff hot streak, one-timing a shot through Dom DiVincentiis’ five hole to give the Petes an early 1-0 lead. The Maroon and White didn’t stop there. Just three minutes later, Owen Beck turned and fired a loose puck top shelf to make it 2-0 Petes. The Petes defence would shut down North Bay’s attack throughout the period, not letting them through anywhere. With under two minutes left, Connor Lokhart scored his fourth goal in two games to make it 3-0 Petes heading into the break.
North Bay would begin to turn it on in the second period, feeding off of their hometown crowd. No matter how many big chances they got, Michael Simpson made save after save to hold onto the 3-0 lead. The Battalion would finally break the wall with just over two minutes left to cut the Petes lead to 3-2. That would be the only offence in the period, and the Petes took their 3-1 lead into the final 20.
The Battalion would pull within one just over a minute into the third period, setting up an insane finish. All period North Bay pushed and pushed trying to get an equalizer, but Michael Simpson refused to be beaten. Save after save, Simpson stood on his head to keep the Battalion off of the board for the rest of the period, including a huge save of the night effort with North Bay’s net empty to seal the win. Behind Simpson’s stellar play, Peterborough would take game one away from home by a score of 3-2.
Michael Simpson led the way for the Petes, stopping 37/39 for his ninth win of the playoffs. Connor Lockhart and Owen Beck both scored and added an assist, while Donovan McCoy had two assists. Jonathan Melee had a goal, and Brennan Othmann and Chase Stillman both picked up an assist.
The Petes are back in action on Sunday, April 30, in North Bay for game two of their Eastern Conference Final against the Battalion. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Fans can catch the game on OHL Live, YourTV Peterborough, Freq 90.5, or the official Petes Watch Party at 180 Hunter.
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