Owen Beck's Four Assists Helps Peterborough Escape With 5-4 Overtime Win Over Brantford Bulldogs

Owen Beck’s four-assist night helped the Peterborough Petes get a 5-4 victory over the Brantford Bulldogs at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Sunday night.

The Petes sit in first place in the East division with 22 points. Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.

Brantford struck first as Petes goaltender Liam Sztuska made a glove save but could not corral the puck and Florian Xhekaj jammed the puck in for a 1-0 lead 2:11 into the period. The Petes were able to counter on the power play as Tommy Purdeller passed it to Sam McHue in the slot and tipped it in for a 1-1 tie.

Brantford’s Nick Lardis went on a tear on his former team as he opened the period with two goals to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. He scored twice, 33 seconds in and ten seconds apart.

Anaheim Ducks prospect Konnor Smith wanted to get on the score sheet as he took a pass from outside the faceoff circle, crept in with a wrister and sniped it past Matteo Drobac to put the Petes within one. The shot was initially called no goal but further review deemed the puck in. Peterborough kept up the pressure as Beck won the faceoff and Samuel Mayer immediately one-timed it past Drobac to tie the game at three. Peterborough was not done yet as they had an odd-man rush with Purdeller and Beck. The latter one-timed it but Drobac made the save however the puck was loose and Chase Lefebvre cashed in on the rebound and gave the Petes their first lead of the night, 4-3.

In the third period, the Petes tried to hold on to their lead but had to go on the penalty kill just over halfway through. Brantford capitalized as Patrick Thomas made a cross-crease pass and Maren Vanacker one-timed it home to tie it up a four apiece and the game required overtime to settle things.

The extra frame saw Cole Brown of Brantford commit a tripping penalty and the Petes had a four-on-three powerplay. They made no mistake as Donovan McCoy made a one-timed shot from the point. The shot was blocked but Mayer was able to pick up the loose change and bury it past Drobac for a 5-4 win.

The Petes play again on the road Thursday against the North Bay Battalion at the North Bay Memorial Gardens. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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