Peterborough Petes Comeback Force Overtime But Fall Short To Sudbury Wolves, 4-3

The Peterborough Petes overcome a 3-0 deficit to force overtime but lose out to the Sudbury Wolves 4-3 at the Sudbury Community Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The Wolves got a quick start as Kieron Walton gave Sudbury a 1-0 lead after a power play goal. Four minutes later, Landon McCallum (brother of Petes player Braydon) extended the lead to 2-0. Sudbury capitalized on the power play again as Alex Pharand scored to give the Wolves a 3-0 lead into the second period.

The Petes got an opportunity as Sudbury’s Kocha Delic got a five-minute major penalty for slew footing. Petes’s Sahil Panwar tipped a Sam Mayer shot and put Peterborough on the board with a power play goal. A minute and a half later, J.R. Avon would score his third goal in two games to make it 2-1 into the third.

Peterborough’s Sam Mayer tied the game in the third with a rebound shot to make it 3-3. Jack Van Volsen would pick up his first OHL assist on the play. The game remained tied at regulation so the Petes would head to overtime for the second time in two games.

Three minutes into overtime, right after Tucker Robertson hit the post, Nathan Villeneuve would sneak one past Michael Simpson to give the Wolves the win.

The Petes are back at home on Thursday against the Kingston Frontenacs on Disney night.

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Peterborough's Kerry Huffman Named Pittsburgh Penguins Director of Professional Scouting

Peterborough’s Kerry Huffman has been promoted to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins director of professional scouting announced on Tuesday.

Huffman was teammates with Penguins general manager Ron Hextall in Philadelphia from 1987-92 and 199 and with Quebec in 1992-93. Photo courtesy of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Huffman duty is to oversee Pittsburgh's four-person pro scouting staff and coordinate the team's pro scouting efforts in the NHL and AHL.

The 54-year-old joined the team last season as a professional scout. He served as an assistant coach for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate) from 2016-21 prior to the Penguins. The Phantoms had a 170-86-22-12 record in those five seasons that include an Atlantic Division title in 2017-18.

Huffman has played 401 NHL games over a decade as a defenseman from 1987-96. He’s recorded 145 points (37 goals and 108 assists) with Philadelphia, Quebec and Ottawa.

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Peterborough Petes Fall Again to the North Bay Battalion, 3-1

The Peterborough Petes could not avenge their one-and-only loss to the North Bay Battalion as they fell 3-1 on the road at the North Bay Memorial Gardens on Thursday night.

File Photo.

This game is Peterborough’s second loss of the season, both coming from North Bay at home and on the road.

Almost halfway through the first period, Peterborough was on the penalty kill but became fortunate as Justin DeZoete buried a shorthanded goal — his second of the season — off a breakaway rebound shot from J. R. Avon. Petes goalie Michael Simpson was under siege in the first period but was able to stop all 15 shots in the first, shutting out his opponents in four straight periods

Despite several early chances from the Petes in the second period, North Bay’s Kyle Jackson evened the score to make it. Five minutes later, Kyle McDonald gave North Bay their first lead of the game going into the third period.

Simpson was under fire again as North Bay peppered him in a period where the Batallion had 13 shots including two breakaways and a penalty shot but stopped everything that came at him. Brampton added the insurance marker with an empty-net goal in the final minute of the game to seal the victory.

The Petes continue their road trip on Friday against the Soo Greyhounds.

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Former Peterborough Petes Assistant Coach Hired As Arizona Coyotes Development Coach

Former Peterborough Petes assistant coach Kurtis Foster has been hired as an Arizona Coyotes development coach.

Foster has been the defensive partner for Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedmen in the 2009-10 season. Photo courtesy of the OHL.

Foster is working under Lee Stempniak, director of player development on a day-to-day basis according to the Coyotes’ press release.

“Arizona has many high-level prospects that will be rewarding to work with,” said Foster.

The 40-year-old was an assistant coach with the Peterborough Petes from 2016-17 but had stints with the Kingston Frontenacs from 2017-20. He was their head coach from 2018-20, coaching high-end prospects such as Jason Robertson and Shane Wright.

“I feel through my playing and now my coaching career, I should be able to relate and communicate to these players on many levels and ultimately help them develop into NHL players,” reflected Foster.

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Team 55's Friday Night Lights Raises Over $28,000 In Its 10th and Final Year

The 10th and final year of Team 55 Let’s Tackle Suicide Awareness Friday Night Lights concluded, raising $28,000 for the campaign.

Dave Pogue at the ninth annual Team 55 “Friday Night Lights” event last year. Only one family member per player was allowed to watch the game during that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The number was confirmed by founder Dave Pogue and was recorded as the second-highest total ever raised.

The “Friday Night Lights” football game was at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School’s athletic field and has raised over $600,000 since it began in 2013.

Proceeds support Canadian Mental Health Association initiatives that helped launch the Assertive Outreach for Suicide Prevention program.

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Port Hope's Cal Quantrill Got Cleveland Guardians Pitching Start In a 4-1 Losing Effort To New York Yankees

Cleveland Guardians’s and Port Hope native Cal Quantrill got the starting pitcher duties for game one of the American League Divisional Series but fell short in a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

Screenshot.

Quantrill had not lost a start since July 5 to the Detroit Tigers and won his last 11 decisions during that span.

He had a good start, striking out home run leader Aaron Judge as the leadoff batter. He eventually gave up a solo home run to Yankees’s Harrison Bader in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at one.

He let another run come in on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Quantrill was eventually relieved during the bottom of the sixth by Trevor Stephan after his last pitch was a two-run home run from Anthony Lizzo that drove home Judge.

Cal is the son of former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Quantrill, spending six seasons with them.

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Former Peterborough Pete John Parker-Jones Signs One-Year Contract With Laval Rockets

Former Peterborough Pete John Parker-Jones has signed a one-year two-way contract with the Laval Rockets (Montréal Canadiens American Hockey League affiliate) announced on Monday.

Parker-Jones spent one season in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, prior to joining the Peterborough Petes. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The 22-year-old defenseman spent the last season with the University of Windsor. Parker-Jones recorded two goals and five assists in 15 regular season games in his one season with the team.

Parker-Jones played three seasons with the Petes from 2017-20, scoring 12 goals and 14 assists in 141 games.

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Peterborough Petes Dominate In 5-0 Rout Over the Barrie Colts In First Road Game

The first road game went perfectly for the Peterborough Petes as they routed the Barrie Colts 5-0 at the Sadlon Arena on Saturday.

Former Colts head coach and hockey hall of famer Dale Hawerchuk was honoured prior to the game. He served as the coach for 10 years from 2010-2020.  Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

Tucker Robertson continued his high-level play, scoring on a backhand shot to put Peterborough up 1-0. The Colts had briefly tied the game at but further review deemed the play offside and reversed the call. Jack Van Volsen made it 2-0 after scoring a one-timer in the final 27 seconds of the period. Sahil Panwar assisted on the play for his first point as a Pete. He was acquired in a trade for three draft picks last Monday.

Only two minutes into the second, Petes’ Chase Stillman made it 3-0 for Peterborough. Three minutes later, Robertson made it 4-0, scoring on a breakaway and netting his third goal of the season.

Halfway through the third period, Connor Lockhart scored his second goal of the year to give the Petes a 5-0 win.

Michael Simpson earns his first shutout of the season, stopping all 26 shots, his second career shutout.

The Petes continue their road trip and look to exact revenge on the North Bay Battalion on Thursday. North Bay dealt Peterborough their one-and-only loss at the Peterborough Memorial Centre last Thursday.

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Peterborough Petes Drop First Game of the Season, 3-1 to North Bay Battalion

The Peterborough Petes get their first loss of the season as the North Bay Batallion earned a road win, 3-1 at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The game had a quiet start and remained scoreless after the first period. North Bay outshot the Petes 10-5 heading into the second.

Owen Van Steensel struck first for the Batallaion, sneaking a rebound by Michael Simpson on the powerplay to open the scoring. Petes’ J.R Avon had his chance on a partial breakaway against Winnipeg Jets prospect, Dom DiVincentiis but came up short, keeping Peterborough off the board into the third.

Avon avenged his breakaway chance from a pass off Tucker Robertson to tie the game at 1-1, 15 seconds into the third.

North Bay’s Dalyn Wakely regained the lead from tipped a shot from Paul Christopoulos to make it 2-1 lead halfway through the period. The Petes tried to tie the game but North Bay’s Justin Ertel got an empty-net goal for the insurance goal and the 3-1 win.

Three Stars of the game:

• 1st star – 16 Owen Van Steensel (Battalion) - 1 goal

• 2nd star – 31 Michael Simpson (Petes) - 30 Saves

• 3rd star – 14 Dalyn Wakely (Battalion) - 1 goal

The Petes next game is on the road for the first time, this Saturday against the Barrie Colts. Peterborough has a 2-1 record with their first three games at home.

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Team 55's Friday Night Lights Running Its Final Year After a Decade; Fundraiser to Continue In Subsequent Years

The decade milestone of the “Friday Night Lights” football fundraiser for suicide awareness with Team 55 is running its last year and held at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School this Friday.

Dave Pogue at the ninth annual Team 55 “Friday Night Lights” event last year. Only one family member per player was allowed to watch the game during that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The final theme for this year’s event is a homecoming for Thanksgiving weekend. Anyone who participated in the event in the last nine years is invited to attend with opening ceremonies beginning at 6 p.m. — though fans are encouraged to arrive at 5:30 p.m. — It is also a celebration of the event’s culmination over the years.

Peterborough Petes president Dave Pogue Team 55 is having its last event because the event planning takes exhausting amounts of work and feels he’s accomplished the goal of having a “decade of discussion” regarding suicide.

“It's a lot of work, it's very difficult to put on an event like this and it's stressful because tend to want to one-up ourselves every year,” explained Pogue. “The conversation has been rampant over the last nine years which is exactly what we were after.”

Team 55 will remain active in fundraising despite Friday Night Lights doing its last year.

Pouge founded the Team 55 campaign after losing his son Mitchell to suicide. The charity is named after Mitchell’s jersey number, 55 as he captained the Adam Lions football team.

Over $600,000 has been raised for suicide awareness, aiding Canadian Mental Health Association initiatives that helped launch the Assertive Outreach for Suicide Prevention program. It provides help and resources for attempted suicide victims or those contemplating it.

The double-header football games begin with opening ceremonies beginning at 6:00 p.m. then the following matchups:

• 7:00 p.m. - Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute vs. Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School

• 9:00 p.m. Holy Cross Secondary School vs Crestwood Secondary School

The games will be broadcasted by YourTV Cogeco with the field open at full capacity.

Fundraising efforts are through donations online, their Facebook page “Team55 Tackles Suicide Awareness” or sending a cheque to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) offices at 415 Water St.

An online silent auction will run until Saturday evening. Big-ticket items include Petes private suite package, signed Steve Yzerman jersey, signed acoustic guitar by Carrie Underwood, $500 freezer meal package and more.

A barbecue is available on site that includes burgers, hot dogs, snacks, soft drinks and hot drinks.

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