While the Kingston Frontenacs walk away with a 5-4 victory, the real winners are Peterborough and the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) as over $16,000 was raised on World Kidney Day at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.
The game recognized Petes’ associate coach, Andrew Verner, who was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis in 1999 and received a kidney transplant exactly two years ago to the day.
The night was created to raise awareness about organ donor registration and to raise funds for equipment used in the lifesaving delivery of dialysis treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Through the PRHC Foundation, a donation page has been set up in Verner’s name and can be found online. A silent auction also ran during the game, featuring NHL-signed memorabilia. An activation was set up in the concourse during the game encouraging fans to sign up to be organ donors.
The Petes started on the right foot with Brennan Othmann tipping an Avery Hayes shot for a 1-0 lead, five minutes into the game. Peterborough cough up two straight goals after a turnover and a powerplay. Quinton Pagé responded quickly for the Petes as he was alone in front of the net and beat Ivan Zhigalov to tie the game at 2-2. Tucker Robertson restored the lead for the Petes as he ripped a puck home with just over a minute left in the first.
The second period saw Owen Beck force a turnover at the blue line, deked out Zhigalov on the breakaway and scored his 21st of the season. The score became 4-2 heading into the third.
The final frame saw Kingston claw back into the game and tie it with goals from Gabriel Frasca and Paul Hughes for a 4-4 tie. The score remained that way after regulation and the game went into overtime.
In the extra frame, Kingston forced a turnover which led to a breakaway for Christopher Thibodeau but instead of taking a shot, he passed it to Alec Belanger who one-timed it home for the 5-4 win and his second of the night.
The Petes have a chance at revenge as they play Kingston against as part of a home-and-home series to wrap up their season series with the Frontenacs on Friday.