The Peterborough Petes will return home with an evened series at one apiece after a 3-1 loss to the North Bay Battalion in game two at the North Bay Memorial Gardens on Sunday afternoon.
The first period was evenly matched defensively as both goalies Michael Simpson and Dom DiVincentiis stood tall for Peterborough and North Bay respectively. Stopping all shots that came their way for a 0-0 tie. Shots were 12-11 in favour of North Bay.
The ice was broken in the second period as the home team struck first. Tnias Mathurin got a shot off from just outside the faceoff circle in the high slot. Simpson made the save but left a rebound for Kyle Jackson to cash in for a 1-0 North Bay lead. Peterborough tied it up just over seven minutes later. DiVincentiis had just robbed Owen Beck’s one-timer shot but the rebound got to Brennan Othmann for a 1-1 tie after two periods.
The third period saw no goals until just under five minutes left in the period. Liam Arnsby was able to quickly snap a shot with traffic in front of Simpson for a late go-ahead goal. Peterborough pulled their goalie but Gavin White was unable to control the puck at the offensive blue line, turned it over and Owen Van Steensel deposited an empty-net goal and the insurance marker for a 3-1 North Bay victory.
The Petes return to the Peterborough Memorial Centre for game three on Tuesday to continue the Eastern Conference Final best-of-seven series against North Bay Battalion. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.