Former Peterborough Pete Suspended Indefinitely From OHL For Undisclosed Reasons; Durham Police Investigating Matter

Former Peterborough Pete Connor Lockhart has been indefinitely suspended by the Oshawa Generals and the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) after the forward is being placed under investigation by the Durham Regional Police Service, announced on Wednesday evening.

Lockhart was originally selected by the Erie Otters in the first round, third overall, in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

Lockhart was placed under investigation as both the Generals and OHL were made aware of the situation on Tuesday. The details of the investigation have not been disclosed to the public at this time.

The OHL released a statement regarding Lockhart’s suspension:

“He has been indefinitely suspended by the team and the League until the matter is resolved. This follows the team and League suspending Lockhart following a League and team Code of Conduct matter. Given that the matter is now under police investigation, the team and League will have no further comment at this time.”

Lockhardt was acquired by the Peterborough Petes on Aug. 8, 2022, from the Erie Otters for Sam Alfano, a 2025 third-round pick (originally from Hamilton) and a 2026 second-round pick.

In 73 games spanning under two seasons with the Petes, he had 30 goals and 56 assists for 86 points during the regular season. He won an OHL Championship with the Petes with seven goals and nine assists in 23 games. He scored twice in the 2023 Memorial Cup and added an assist for three points in five games.

The Petes dealt Lockhart to the Oshawa Generals for a 2025 third-round pick (originally from London) and Oshawa’s 2027 fifth-round pick in 2027 on Nov. 3.

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Fleming Phoenix Roundup: Feb. 7

The Fleming Phoenix came up short in several sports but the cricket team made good impact as finalists at the Centennial Extramural Cricket Tournament last Thursday.

The Fleming Phoenix logo was unveiled for the college on Sept. 8, replacing the Fleming Knight. Photo courtesy of Fleming College.

The team won two of their three matches and beat Cambrian 1 in the semi-final to advance to the finals. Fleming fell to Cambrian 2 in the finals by 19 runs. 

Phoenix’s Helin Minesh Patel had the highest number of runs in the tournament, with 182. He earned 262 points which placed him third overall. Teammate Aryan Panwar placed sixth overall in the ranking of tournament players with 194 points and second in fielding with 100. 

The Phoenix men’s cricket team plays next on Feb. 28 at Georgian College. This is the RECCup regional, and the top two teams from this tournament will move on to the RECCup which will take place on March 7 at Fanshawe College in London.

The men’s basketball team lost another close game as they were defeated 87-80 by the Seneca Sting during their game on Friday.

The Phoenix's high scorers were Orlando Carias with 19 points, Shawn Blackwood with 19 points and Jason Diaz with 14 points.  

They play their final two games of the regular season at home. The Phoenix will welcome the La Cite Coyotes to the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre (PSWC) on Friday. It is a special Youth Night for the Peterborough Youth Basketball Association (PYBA) and fans will receive Phoenix swag and cheerstixs. 

On Saturday, the Phoenix welcome the Algonquin Wolves to the PSWC for their final regular-season game at 3 p.m. 

The Phoenix men’s volleyball team will kick off their playoff run on Sunday. They travel to Kitchener to face the Conestoga Condors. Game time is 1 p.m. 

The two Phoenix mixed doubles curling teams are heading to Sault Ste. Marie to participate in the OCAA championship from Thursday to Saturday.

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Peterborough Petes Hit $1 Million Milestone With Funds Raised Through Pink In The Rink Campaign

It was not the game results the Peterborough Petes wanted but it was a different story for their Pink in the Rink Fundraising campaign as they raised $49,103.26 to reach a $1 million lifetime mark at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.

“Firstly, I’d like to thank the players for being Ambassadors for this year’s Campaign,” said Michael Oke, Petes general manager and vice president of operations. “We started this initiative 15 years ago with Pete's staff such as Aaron Garfat, Cathy Webster and Don Sharp. To be able to raise over one million dollars in just 15 years is an amazing accomplishment. We hope to see this campaign continue to grow at the rate that it has today. Wheels of Hope is a great program, and we’re extremely pleased that the funds from this year will be put to good use.”

This year’s Campaign supported the Canadian Cancer Society’s Wheels of Hope program. The Petes players who served as Ambassadors for the event raised funds. The 2024 Game Jersey Auction, a silent auction, a bucket pass, Pink in the Rink t-shirt sale, and chuck-a-puck also raised funds. In total, the Petes have raised $1,003,239.20 in 15 years of Pink in the Rink.

Despite the success off the ice, the team would ultimately fall to the IceDogs 5-4 in overtime. The Petes also dropped a Sunday on the road to the Kingston Frontenacs, 4-2.

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Unknown Events Occuring During Spring at Peterborough Memorial Centre No Longer Proceeding; City Says They Will Arena Users of Facility Availability

The City of Peterborough has made the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) available for events again from May 20 to June 10 after an undisclosed event running during that timeframe is not happening anymore according to a public statement made on Friday afternoon.

Photo by Keegan Beekers.

The City’s website said that the event that was expected to be held at the PMC during that period is ‘no longer proceeding.’

The City of Peterborough is reaching out to arena users to inform them of the facility availability which includes organizers of the Lakers Classic lacrosse tournament according to a press release.

The Lakers were previously told to look for an alternate spot to do their home opener for May 20.

The team’s social media account have responded to the City’s statement, saying that it is‘A good day for lacrosse in Peterborough’ from a Facebook post.

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Fleming Phoenix Roundup: Feb. 1

The Fleming Phoenix basketball and volleyball teams are nearing the end of their regular seasons with mixed results from the squads this week.

The Fleming Phoenix logo was unveiled for the college on Sept. 8, replacing the Fleming Knight. Photo courtesy of Fleming College.

The Phoenix men’s basketball team were in a nailbiter but lost in overtime 103-101 to the Loyalist Lancers on Tuesday. This game was rescheduled due to poor weather last week.

The Phoenix had a lead going into the fourth quarter but could not hold it.

Shawn Blackwood had 30 points, Jesean Wilson scored 29 points and Orlando Carias netted 15 as the team’s top scorers. Lystra White had 16 rebounds on the night.

The Phoenix travel to our province’s capital to take on Seneca Sting on Friday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

The Phoenix men and women’s teams had mixed results against the visiting Durham Lords at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre for their final regular season games on Wednesday.

The women were swept 3-0 to the Lords with 25-15, 25-11 and 25-19 as the sets. Zofia Boruta had 11 aces, one block and five digs. Teammate Kristen Hacker was behind her with eight digs and six kills. 

The Phoenix men swept the Lords 3-0 with sets 25-20, 25-18 and 25-20. Justin Van Luit had 15 points, four blocks, nine kills and two aces. Sam Deschenes had 14 points with 11 kills, one block, two aces and one dig. 

Phoenix’s Kyle Sarcol ranks first in the OCAA in digs with 169 digs this season, and first in digs per set with 3.02. Justin Van Luit ranks second in the OCAA in total blocks with 47 and fifth in blocks per set with .73. 

Once all teams have completed their regular-season games, the Phoenix men’s team will advance to the playoff round.   

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Peterborough Petes Show Resilience But Suffer From a Third Period Surge In 6-3 Loss to Rival Oshawa Generals

The Petes saw their chances slip away from a third-period surge from the rival Oshawa Generals as they lost a 6-3 battle at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen Photography and the Peterborough Petes.

Petes Alumnus and Stanley Cup Champion Chris Pronger performed the ceremonial puck drop. The former NHLer was in town promoting his whiskey brand, ‘The JRNY Whiskey’ at a nearby LCBO in a bottle-signing event.

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen Photography and the Peterborough Petes.

The Generals wasted no time getting on the board. Just 2:22 into the game, Matthew Buckley intercepted a pass, deked through Liam Stzuska and scored for a 1-0 lead.

Oshawa struck just less than 2:30 later. Calum Ritchie laid a soft pass out in front for Stuart Rolofs, who one-timed it in at point-blank range to make it 2-0.

The Petes finally responded as their second draft pick in the fourth round, Joseph Cadorin scored his first OHL goal off a rebound from an odd-man rush to cut the deficit in half after one period.

The Generals continued to keep the pressure on the Petes as Rolofs wired a shot from the point and got through everybody including Stuzska to restore the Generals’s two-goal lead, 3-1.

Peterborough would not stay down as Nico Addy, from within the faceoff circle, threw one at the net and beat Generals goaltender Noah Bender for a score to make it 3-2 going into the third.

The Petes had a two-man advantage early in the third period and made it count as Chase Lefebvre drops one off for Caden Taylor and scored on the one-timer for a tie game early in the third.

The Generals however started their three-goal surge to put the game away as Buckley scored a late powerplay goal, Ritchie scored an empty netter and Luke Torrence got a tip-in goal in garbage time.

The Petes host their Pink in the Rink game against the Niagara IceDogs this Saturday with puck drop at 7:05 p.m.

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Photos: Peterborough Petes Alumnus Chris Pronger Holds Whiskey Bottle Signing At Local LCBO

It was a spirited homecoming for Peterborough Petes Alumnus and Stanley Cup champion Chris Pronger as he held a bottle signing of his whiskey brand ‘JRNY’ at the LCBO on Lansdowne Street and Goodfellow Road on Thursday afternoon.

All photos by David Tuan Bui.

Roughly 20 people were lined up outside the LCBO prior to his bottle signing and several more joined in throughout the two-hour timeframe to get autographs including on their respective hockey apparel and photographs.

The whiskey was created alongside his brother and former NHLer Sean Pronger who was also present during the bottle signing.

Chris played for two seasons with the Petes from 1991 to 1993. The Hart Memorial Trophy-winning defenceman scored 32 goals and 107 assists in two seasons with the Petes.

Chris is performing the ceremonial puck drop for the Peterborough Petes game as they host the rival Oshawa Generals on the same night.

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Hometown PTBO: Curler Toula Pappas On Qualifying For the 2024 Canadian Under-18 Championships In Ottawa

This week on Hometown PTBO, Pete Dalliday talks with curler Toula Pappas about winning the provincial championships with Team Vivier to qualify for the 2024 Canadian Under-18 Championships in Ottawa from Feb. 4 to 10.

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Peterborough Petes 15th Annual Pink In the Rink Game To Support Wheels of Hope Running This Saturday

In support of Wheels of Hope, the Peterborough Petes' 15th annual Pink in the Rink game is set for Saturday when the Petes host the Niagara IceDogs at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The team is wearing special theme jerseys designed by Kyle McDonald of Pioneer Inc. that highlight the names of nearly 200 people battling cancer and feature a special Canadian Cancer Society shoulder crest.

The funds support the Wheels of Hope transportation program provided by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). It connects people to cancer treatments with volunteer drivers and travel cost reimbursements.

All Petes players and coaches will act as ambassadors for the campaign. Family, friends and fans can donate on behalf of a particular player or coach by going online and choosing their name from the dropdown menu on the CCS fundraising website.

Fans can also support the campaign through an in-person silent auction in the North Lobby on game night, a special chuck-a-puck at the second intermission or by purchasing an Official 15th Annual Pink in the Rink t-shirt and/or Anniversary Pin.

Bobcaygeon Brewing Co. has produced a limited edition run of Petes Lager featuring a Pink Can. Each can sold sees 25 cents donated to the Pink in the Rink campaign.

After raising $954,136 over the past 14 years, the Petes announced that this year’s fundraising goal is $50,000. If achieved, the Petes and the Peterborough community will hit $1,000,000 raised in the fight against cancer in Pink in the Rink’s history. 

Official game jerseys are available at the Pink in the Rink live post-game auction. Fans are asked to move to the Gibson’s Finest Club Section immediately following the game to participate in the auction. A game ticket is required to take part in the game-worn jersey auction. 

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