Petes Tack On Late Goal To Take Game Three With a 3-2 Win Over North Bay Battalion; Peterborough Leads Series 2-1

The Peterborough Petes continue their playoff home undefeated streak with a 3-2 victory over the North Bay Battalion and take game three with a late third-period goal and have a 2-1 series lead at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) on Tuesday night.

The Petes have yet to lose a home playoff game this postseason.. Photo courtesy Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough PEtes.

Both teams were evenly matched during the first half of the period. Petes goaltender Michael Simpson was tested early, making several glove saves in high-scoring areas to keep it scoreless. On the other end, Donovan McCoy and Tucker Robertson had one-timer chances but could not get it by North Bay goaltender Dom DiVincentiis.

Peterborough was able to draw first blood on the powerplay as Gavin White got it to Robertson. He fed it Brennan Othmann was able to power the puck through the five-hole of DiVincentiis as it inched across the goal line for a 1-0 lead, his sixth goal of the playoffs. It remained that way into the second period. Shots were 17-13 in favour of the Petes.

Peterborough had begun the second with a five-minute major as Chase Stillman had a match penalty for slew-footing (served by McCoy) in the final seconds of the first. North Bay mustered four shots on the Petes but Peterborough was able to kill off the penalty and keep it a 1-0 game.

Peterborough had a powerplay from a checking from-behind penalty and had some sustained pressure in the offensive zone. North Bay got aggressive during a clear attempt and a mix-up from in front of Simpson allowed Pasquale Zito to bury a shorthanded goal for a 1-1 tie in the dying seconds of the power play.

The Petes crashed the net with an offensive chance but offsetting penalties were called on both teams resulting in both being down a man. During the four-on-four, The Battalion had an odd-man rush and capitalized as Kyle Jackson fed Matvey Petrov for a one-timer goal and a 2-1 North Bay lead going into the third.

Peterborough started the period aggressively, taking several shots at DiVincentiis, trying to get the tie. Othmann was able to intercept a clearing attempt from North Bay in the Battalion’s defensive zone and dished a pass to Avery Hayes for a one-timer goal to tie it at 2-2.

Peterborough went back on the attack as J.R. Avon knocked a puck out of mid-air to seemingly score despite the net being knocked off. After review, the referees deemed it was no goal, despite the Petes arguing that North Bay had forced the net off.

The Petes kept the pressure on as DiVincentiis initially stopped a shot but the puck trickled behind him and Peterborough pounced on it for a goal. The refs waived it off after a lengthy review since the whistle had already been blown and the game remained tied.

With just over two minutes left in the period, Dubois got it to Samuel Mayer in the offensive zone as he picked a crucial moment to score his first goal of the playoffs. He was able to wrist one from just outside the faceoff circle and beat the goaltender clean for a 3-2 lead.

“I just kept saying to them over and over and over, just keep up the pressure,” said Rob Wilson, Petes head coach. “We felt it was coming You have those feelings as a coach on the bench whether you were going to get one and I had that feeling so I just said stick to the game plan, don’t change a thing, the process is working and I felt a goal was coming.”

North Bay had to pull their goalie and tried to tie it up but Simpson and the Petes stood tall and held on for the win and a 2-1 series lead.

Mayer, Othmann and DiVincentiis were the three stars of the game.

The Petes play game four at the PMC on Wednesday to continue the Eastern Conference Final best-of-seven series against North Bay Battalion. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.

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