Peterborough Petes Win Bobby Orr Trophy As Eastern Conference Champions, Defeating North Bay 3-2 in Game Seven; Will Face London Knights in OHL Championship
/The Peterborough Petes are returning home with the Bobby Orr Trophy as Eastern Conference Champions after a 3-2 victory over the Battalion in Game Seven at the North Bay Memorial Gardens on Monday night.
The Peterborough Petes won back-to-back games on consecutive nights to win the series against the North Bay Battalion. Photo courtesy of David Pickering and the Peterborough Petes.
Both teams finished Game Six in Peterborough on Sunday and are on the second leg of back-to-back games.
North Bay opened the scoring 10:56 into the period as the Battalion recovered the puck in their own zone and started their rush. Josh Bloom made a cross-ice pass to Justin Ertel who took a shot. It was blocked by Gavin White and went back to the stick of Bloom who had a wide open net and scored for a 1-0 lead. That remained the score after the first with Peterborough leading in shots, 14-8.
Peterborough got in rhythm early in the second as Montréal Canadiens prospect Owen Beck started the attack from his own end. He took advantage of a Battalion player who slipped, gained the offensive zone and rifled it past North Bay goaltender Dom DiVincentiis top shelf for a 1-1 tie. Brennan Othmann continued to stay hot during the playoffs as he sniped a shot from a sharp angle to give the Petes a 2-1 lead. That was Othmann’s seventh goal of the playoffs and the eighth point of the series. He has failed to register a point in two of 17 playoff games this postseason for Peterborough. North Bay would tie the game with 7:11 left in the period as Ty Nelson made a point shot and got tipped by Battalion captain Liam Arnsby as both teams headed into the third.
The Petes made their stamp early in the third period as just under six minutes in, Selwyn’s J.R. Avon had a partial breakaway and chipped it over DiVincentiis to give Peterborough a 3-2 lead. The Petes clamped down defensively despite coughing up a penalty as the limited North Bay to five shots in the period. The Battalion pulled their goalie with under two minutes to go in desperation to tie the game. Several Petes blocked many shots to prevent a score and Peterborough held on for a 3-2 win.
Captain Shawn Spearing had taken two blocked shots to the face during the contest and was taken to a local hospital to treat his injuries. During the presentation of the Bobby Orr Trophy for the Eastern Conference Champions, the team held up Spearing’s jersey, honouring their captain’s sacrifice and effort for the win.
Avon, Brian Zanetti and Arnsby were awarded the three stars of the game.
The win gives Peterborough a spot for the franchise’s 14th OHL Championship series and will face the Wayne Gretzky Trophy-champion London Knights for the J. Ross Robertson Cup in a 2006 rematch.
This is Peterborough’s second Bobby Orr trophy since it was introduced in 1999. The Petes made 12 appearances in the OHL Final before the trophy was introduced. The team is looking to capture its 10th J. Ross Robertson Cup.
The full schedule for the OHL Final against the London Knights is as follows:
Game One – Thursday, May 11 at London, 7 p.m.
Game Two – Saturday, May 13 at London, 7 p.m.
Game Three – Monday, May 15 at Peterborough, 7 p.m
Game Four – Wednesday, May 17 at Peterborough, TBD
Game Five – Friday, May 19 at London, TBD*
Game Six – Sunday, May 21 at Peterborough, Time TBD*
Game Seven – Monday, May 22 at London, TBD*
