Peterborough Petes Extend Losing Streak On the Road to Ottawa 67's in 6-2 Loss

The Peterborough Petes extend their losing streak to three, losing to the Ottawa 67’s, ironically the last team they defeated, in a 6-2 loss at the TD Place Arena on Sunday.

Tucker Robertson (middle) was the only goal-scorer for the Peterborough Petes against the Ottawa 67’s with two on Sunday. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The Petes allowed the first four scores in the first half of the game, coughing up goals to Vinzenz Rohrer, Luca Pinelli, Henry Mews and Brady Stonehouse respectively.

Tucker Robertson eventually broke the shutout for Peterborough. He beat 67’s goalie Collin MacKenzie’s five-hole on the powerplay to make it 4-1 into the third period.

The Petes could not build any momentum as they allowed another two goals from Ottawa’s Matthew Mayich and Cooper Foster. Ottawa had six different goal-scorers contribute to their offense. Robertson was able to score his second of the game in the final two minutes to make it 6-2 but it was all for naught.

Peterborough suffered penalty woes throughout the game as they committed 11 minors, two majors and three game misconducts.

As both teams were given coincidental roughing minor penalties with 12 seconds left in the game, Liam Sztuska and MacKenzie got into a rare goaltender fight that ignited the crowd.

The Petes next game is Big Brothers Big Sisters night on Thursday against the Kitchener Rangers as Peterborough will attempt to snap their three-game losing streak.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Katherine's Flower Shop, PTBO Chamber and Shop Local

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

Katherine’s Flower Shop recently opened in Bridgenorth.

Located at 889 Ward St., owner Kate offers a full-service shop with bouquets readily available for every occasion. Wedding arrangements can be customized or ready-made to suit all your needs. Specially trained, Kate can handle any occasion and you can check out her work in her online gallery at katherineflowershop.ca.

The Chamber of Commerce Holiday Gift Guide has lots of great local gift ideas for you, from gift cards to tech, to food, to cool experiences, check it out at lovelocalholidays.ca.

The Chamber is also partnering with Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development, Community Futures Peterborough, the DBIA and the Innovation Cluster to present the Ugly Sweater Holiday Party tomorrow evening (Dec. 6) at The Social Pub. There will be live music, snacks, games, awesome door prizes and of course, some ugly sweaters. Food, Fun, and Familiar faces from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at The Social Pub 295 George St. N. in Downtown Peterborough. Masks are welcome.

As we head into the month of December, here is a shoutout to the many local businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations who continue to climb out of nearly three years of incredible challenges.

The pandemic has affected us all but we still have the opportunity to make choices, and wherever we can, we should be choosing local. Make sure that your Christmas gift list includes local businesses. Make sure that your entertainment budget includes special events like Market Hall’s In From The Cold, an amazing fundraiser for the YES Shelter this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 9 & 10). Make sure that your holiday spirit includes a donation to a local charity. Peterborough City and County is a strong community, based on strong traditions.

As times change, as we emerge from one of the greatest challenges, we as a society have ever met, let’s make sure we know who we are buying from and who we are giving to…

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Peterborough Woman Writes Grief Memoir on the Death of Teenaged Friend

To help cope with her best friend’s tragic death, Patti Kimball wrote and published her book ‘Siren on Repeat: What My Best Friend’s Death Taught Me About Hope and Grief’ describing the story of grief and loss of Aprile McIntosh at the age of 14.

Aprile and Patti in January 1988. Photo courtesy of Patti Kimball.

In 1988, Kimball’s best friend died suddenly from a congenital heart condition.

“Aprile was the most cheerful, outgoing (person),” says Kimball. “The laughter just never stopped when you were around her.”

She says her fondest memories of McIntosh include dance parties at Club 404 in Peterborough, movie nights and shopping trips.

“We would all gather around and we dance a lot, we laughed, those were just really, really fun moments,” recalls Kimball. “We would go to those places and we would dance our hearts out for at least a good four hours.”

Photo courtesy of Patti Kimball.

On the day of her passing in February of 1988, Kimball recalls staying home sick that day and starting to feel better around 5 p.m. She received a phone call around 6:50 p.m. from McIntosh, asking if she wanted to go to the dance club with her and a couple of other friends.

“I told her I was not going to be able to go out, there was no way that my mom and dad were going to allow me to do that after I had been sick all day.”

“‘Are you sure that I can’t see you for just five minutes Pat? That’s all I need,’ and I said ‘Yeah I’m sure,’” Kimball continues. “Then she said ‘Pat? You’re the best, never forget it, and I’ll see you soon.’”

By 7:04 p.m., Kimball says, the ambulance had shot down her street. She lived at the top end of the same street as McIntosh, with her house at the bottom end.

“When the ambulance went by, I just got this really unsettling feeling that I couldn’t really figure out,” she describes.

Kimball recalls shaking off those bad feelings and going to bed. When she woke up in the morning she prepared to call McIntosh after breakfast.

“I went over and I start dialling her number, and I hadn’t even finished when I received a knock on my door from another friend, who came and said ‘Patti, it’s Aprile.’ I said ‘I knew it, I knew there was something wrong. What hospital is she in?’ and she just shook her head and told me it’s worse than the hospital, and at that point I knew exactly what happened,” says Kimball.

McIntosh had a congenital heart condition; she had multiple holes through the chambers of her heart, and had been in and out of hospital for many years according to Kimball.

While walking to catch the bus, she collapsed.

Kimball’s self-published novel ‘Siren on Repeat: What My Best Friends Death Taught Me About Hope and Grief’

Along with her group of loyal friends, McIntosh was survived by a sister, brother and two parents.

“All of us friends showed up to all three (visitations), together. It was about loyalty, and if that was any one of us Aprile would’ve done the exact same thing,” said Kimball. “We weren’t not going to be there for her or her family. We were there for all of it. None of us bailed out on her.”

As the years progressed, Kimball went on to graduate from a Social Service Worker program, working as a practical nurse with a focus on community nursing. She is also an Emotional Health Practitioner, a certified Mindset and Emotional Wellness coach trained in the Emotional Wellness Technique.

“When Aprile died it changed me forever. I became more compassionate and more empathetic,” said Kimball. “I gravitated to the helping professions, which is why I went into nursing and I’m a mindset and emotional wellness coach.”

Kimball’s call to help others, as well as processing her own grief, is what led her to write.

“There is not a right or wrong way to grief. I certainly don’t have all the answers but I wanted to be able to share what my experiences were so that someone else who’s reading it may be able to look at where they’re at in their own grief journey and be able to ‘do’ grief on their own terms,” said Kimball. “I wrote many poems processing my grief during that time period, and each time I sat down and I completed one I felt better. Then a few days later I would get this nudge that would tell me I had a lot more to say.”

This was when Kimball says she began writing Siren on Repeat.

“I wanted to honour her memory, and focus on who she was- and not her illness-, the legacy she left behind and the importance of human connection and what friendship really means. The power of those connections can get us to work through the grief and the pain that we’re feeling,” she continues. “The readers will step into my carefree, adolescent days of friendship, experience the shock and trauma of a grieving teenager and follow along my healing journey, to be able to leave the reader with a sense of inspiration.”

The self-published book was released on Oct. 31.

“Through the years I saw so many young people struggling with grief and loss, and I was one of those kids, so I felt a responsibility to support others through grief and loss because I lived it. I knew by sharing my story it may be exactly what someone else needs to hear,” said Kimball.

‘Siren, On Repeat: What My Best Friend’s Death Taught Me About Hope and Grief’ is a memoir that heals through storytelling, offering hope to the reader and author alike by dissecting her grief and honouring the memory of McIntosh.

Those interested in reading Kimball’s novel can click this link.

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Peterborough Petes Defenceman Named OHL Academic Player of the Month

Peterborough Petes defenceman James Guo has been named the OHL East Division Academic Player of the Month for November announced on Friday.

Guo is in his second season with the Peterborough Petes. During his rookie season with the Petes, he had one goal and three assists in 52 games. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The Woodbridge-born defenseman has an 87 per cent average in grade 12 university-level Advanced Functions, Interdisciplinary Studies and Nutrition and Health at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School.

“James is a dedicated athlete and student,” said Petes academic advisor Shannon Fife. “He balances his academics with a busy on and off-ice schedule. James is a leader and presents himself as such in the school.”

Guo has played 18 games this season with one goal for the Petes. He was selected in the fourth round, 74th overall by Peterborough in the 2021 OHL Priority Selection. He will be eligible for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

The following is a list of all recipients for the honour for the year:

Central Division:
November – Finn Harding (Mississauga Steelheads)
October – Kieron Walton (Sudbury Wolves)

Midwest Division:
November – Braedyn Rogers (Owen Sound Attack)
October – Denver Barkey (London Knights)

West Division:
November – Bronson Ride (Windsor Spitfires)
October – Alex Kostov (Soo Greyhounds)

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Kawartha Downs Launches Their 2023 Event Program; Monster Trucks, Demolition Derby and Tractor Pulls

Kawartha Downs has launched their event program for 2023 featuring events such as the Monster Madness Tour, Kawartha Smackdown, Country Music Festival and more announced at their racetrack on Friday morning.

DRIVERS JOHN LOUWS (LEFT) AND BARB COCHRANE (RIGHT) were TWO FEATURED DRIVERS FOR THE AUG. 6 demolition derby this year. PHOTO BY DAVID TUAN BUI.

Richard Weldon, Kawartha Downs managing director says these events help ensure the venue becomes an entertainment hub for the surrounding community and aid in tourism.

“(Kawartha Downs) It's an unbelievable location,” he said. “It's been underutilized. It was always good for harness racing and for casinos and so forth but we thought, since the people were already here, why don't we get more entertainment for them to spend more time here? It's a facility that should be used more often.”

The following is a list of special events for harness racing that runs from May 20 until Sept. 23.

• May 20 - Grand Opening Celebration

• June 10 - Take Mom to the Races

• June 17 - Father’s Day

• July 15 - Kids Night

• July 29 - Bring a Friend Night

• Aug. 19 - Own a Horse for the Night

• Sept. 16 - Memorial Night

• Sept. 23 - Customer Appreciation Night

Kawartha Downs has released their schedule for their 2023 event program with several acts currently in contract discussions, to be announced at later dates:

• May 20: Opening Day

  • Classic Car Show: Noon to 4 p.m.

  • Concert (TBA): 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Harness Racing: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

• June 3/4: Monster Madness Tour

  • Pit Party: 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.

  • Monster Trucks and Freestyle Motocross: 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.

• June 17: Kawartha Smackdown

  • Pit Party: 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

  • Power Wheels: 1:30 p.m.

  • Demolition Derby: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

  • Concert (TBA): 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

  • Harness Racing: 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

• July 1/2: Country Music Festival

  • Concert (TBA): 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. (July 1)

  • Concert (TBA): 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. (July 2)

• July 22/23: Truck and Tractor Pull

  • Details TBA

• Aug. 4/5/6: Kawartha Fair

  • Tractor Pull (Aug. 4)

  • Demolition Derby (Aug. 5)

  • Concert (TBA) (Aug. 6)

• Aug. 12/13 Retro Concert Weekend

  • Concert (TBA): 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. (Aug. 12)

  • Concert (TBA): 4 p.m. - 10 p.m. (Aug. 13)

• Sept. 2/3: Truck and Tractor Pull

  • Details TBA

The Downs says more events will be announced for 2023.

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Community Care Peterborough Celebrates International Volunteer Day on Dec. 5

Community Care Peterborough (CCP) is celebrating the impact its volunteers have in the lives of community members through International Volunteer Day (IVD) for Monday.

Selwyn Volunteer Driver Bill Sova goes the extra mile, decorating his vehicle for the holidays to bring extra joy to transportation clients. Photo courtesy of Community Care Peterborough.

Volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels, drop off groceries, drive clients to appointments, call and visit with them, provide well-being check-ins and more. Most rides take place locally and to neighbouring communities, but transportation to medical appointments outside of the County of Peterborough can be arranged.

With volunteer support, clients are able to live independently at home and out of hospitals and long-term care facilities.

“I am continually amazed and impressed by all that they do, and I know that volunteer contributions have huge impacts on the lives of so many,” said Darci Maude, CCP’s volunteer development coordinator. “We thank our volunteers for their continued support.”

Each day, the efforts of over 650 volunteers make it possible for over 6,200 seniors and adults with physical challenges to receive a wide variety of programs and services.

CCP’s clients say that transportation services help them remain independent and connected with the community.

“The transportation services provided are critical to my ability to lead a fairly normal life. Also, I’ve gained new friendships and have been given opportunities to expand my social connections. Transportation services have been so crucial for my psychological health, too,” said a client who receives drives through CCP’s Transportation Program.

To learn more about CCP’s IVD efforts or to get involved, visit the website.

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Peterborough Petes Collect 1,097 Teddy Bears In 7-4 Loss to Flint Firebirds

The Peterborough Petes may have lost 7-4 to the Flint Firebirds but were able to collect 1,097 teddy bears for their annual ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ for the Salvation Army’s Annual Christmas Appeal at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

The teddy 1,097 teddy bears were tossed after Jack Van Volsen’s goal in the final minute of the first period. The first intermission took place after the toss and resumed the final minute of the first period afterwards. Photo courtesy of the PEterborough Petes.

The Petes had a rough start despite peppering Firebirds’s (and Peterborough native) Will Cranley with 19 shots in the first period. They allowed the first three goals from Amadeus Lombardi, Gavin Hayes and Dmitry Kuzmin (short-handed) to give the visitors a 3-0 lead.

The teddy bears finally got to rain down in the final minute of the period as Jack Van Volsen buried a rebound on there powerplay to send the teddy bears flying and make the game 3-1.

Van Volsen continued where he left off in scoring his second of the game to cut Flint’s lead to 3-2. The Firebirds quickly restored their two-goal lead when Ethan Hay beat Petes goaltender Michael Simpson to make it 4-2.

Just three minutes late Lomardi got his second goal of the game for a 5-2 lead. Sahil Panwar scored just over three minutes later to make it 5-3, cutting the lead down to two. Flint retaliated quickly 13 seconds later to retake the three-goal lead. The play was reviewed to determine if there the puck was kicked in but the play stood. Former Firebird Brennan Othmann was able to score on his former squad to make it 6-4 into the third.

Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the third as the Firebirds scored the only period’s goal as an empty net goal to win 7-4.

The Petes next game is Hockey for All – Neurodiversity/Sensory Awareness night at the PMC on Saturday against the North Bay Battalion.

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City of Peterborough Issues Road Closures In Place For 2022 Santa Claus Parade

The City of Peterborough has road closures set in place during the 47th annual Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade downtown Peterborough for Saturday.

To allow for both staging and the parade procession, the following road closures will be in place starting at 4 p.m.:

• Antrim Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• Edinburgh Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• Dublin Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• London Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• McDonnel Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• Murray Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street

• George Street — Parkhill Road to Brock Street

• Prince Street — George Street to Park Street

• Aylmer Street — Lansdowne Street to Romaine Street

The parade will travel south on George Street beginning at McDonnel Street, passing in front of City Hall at 4:45 p.m. and ending and dispersing at Prince Street. Peterborough Police Services is supervising a rolling road closure and is in place along George Street during the parade.

Event volunteers will be available to remove barricades to allow for local access for residents and emergency vehicles along side streets. All road closures are expected to be over by 7:30 p.m.

On-street parking is not permitted on George Street between Brock Street and Prince Street starting at 3 p.m. Parking staff will be on-site to help relocate cars if necessary. Any remaining cars parked on George Street at 3 p.m. will be towed to a nearby lot.

Parking is available at the King Street Parkade at 202 King St., the Simcoe Street parking garage at 190 Simcoe St. or municipal surface lots at the following locations: 

• Chambers Lot at 184 Hunter St.

• Reid Lot at 350 Reid St.

• Surface lot at 365 Aylmer St.

• Rehill Lot at 210 Wolfe St.

• Del Crary Lot at 100 George St. N.

• Downie Lot at 336 Downie St.

Parking in municipal lots and parking garages is free on weekends. Any voluntary parking fees during December will be donated to Kawartha Food Share.

Residents are reminded to follow all on-street parking regulations that may be in place in the downtown area including calendar parking where applicable. The City urges everyone to not block fire hydrants and driveways.

Peterborough Transit will have detours in place for Route 2 Chemong, Route 4 Weller, Route 6 Sherbrooke, Community Bus 22 – Blue and Community Bus 23 – Red starting at 4 p.m.

• Route 2 - Chemong

  • Southbound from Terminal: Simcoe to Aylmer Street to Romaine Street to Park Street to Lansdowne Street to Lock Street

    Northbound from Lansdowne at Borden: Regular route to Lansdowne Street to Park Street to Romaine Street to Aylmer Street to Simcoe Street

• Route 4 - Weller

  • During the rolling road closure #4 westbound will follow regular route to terminal only.

    The eastbound bus will travel to the bus stop at Simcoe at Water streets. Customers will be directed to catch the bus at the Simcoe and Water bus stop.

• Route 6 - Sherbrooke

  • Southbound from Trent (4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.: regular route to Parkhill Road, right on Parkhill to Reid Street, left on Reid Street, left on Simcoe Street.

    Northbound from Terminal (during rolling road closure): Simcoe to Aylmer Street, Aylmer to McDonnel Street, left on McDonnel to Reid Street, right onto Parkhill Road where regular route resumes.

• Community Bus 22 - Blue

  • Southbound on George Street to Parkhill Road, right on Parkhill to Reid Street, left from Reid to McDonnel Street, travels right on Aylmer Street and continues on Aylmer Street to Charlotte Street where regular route resumes.

• Community Bus 23 - Red

  • Until rolling road closure begins: Eastbound on McDonnel Street to Aylmer Street, right on Aylmer to Simcoe Street and continues on regular route.

    During the rolling road closure: Eastbound on McDonnel Street to Aylmer Street, right on Aylmer to Romaine Street to Park Street, where regular route resumes.

A Peterborough Petes game is occurring at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. With the Santa Claus Parade being in that vicinity, anyone attending the game is encouraged to plan for extra travel time. Paid parking at the Memorial Centre opens at 4 p.m. and the arena doors open at 6 p.m.

The City is expecting increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic so extra time and exercising caution while travelling in-and-around downtown is encouraged.

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U13 Hockey Team Raises $1,300 For Needing Families on Giving Tuesday

The U13 Central Ontario AAA Wolves put their generous spirit on display raising nearly $1,350 to purchase gifts on ‘Giving Tuesday’ for needing families for in Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of Chad Birkhof.

“It’s something that we’ve done with other teams we’ve coached,” said Chad Birkhof, Wolves head coach. “For us, it was a bit of a team-building function. Those kids raised that money on their own and they had the opportunity to buy for those families and children. It’s the gift of giving at Christmas.”

All photos courtesy of Chad Birkhof.

The team consisted of players from Peterborough, Omemee, Bobcaygeon and Lindsay. They shopped for gifts at Walmart on Chemong Road with their coaches and determined what would be suitable for the respective families they were helping.

The Wolves had sponsored a family of four and gave gifts to them as well as two other teenagers (one boy and one girl).

“We are so proud of this group of boys and so grateful that the Wolves are able to spread some Christmas cheer and support those who need it the most,” said Courtney Bribeau, Central Ontario Wolves ice scheduler. “Thanks to the coaches and mothers who helped pull all of this together.”

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Electric City Football Club Launches Reserve Teams Partnership With FC Durham

The Electric City Football Club (ECFC) has launched their League 1 Ontario men’s and women’s 2023 reserve teams, in partnership with FC Durham Academy announced on Thursday.

File photo.

Durham and ECFC are eager to further invest in the affiliation formed during ECFC’s inaugural 2022 season and continue cultivating high-quality opportunities for players in the East region according to a press release.

Amongst this past season’s FC Durham Academy talent, were Caylan Lawrence and Rylee Traicoff, both scoring goals for ECFC’s Men’s and Women’s Teams respectively.

FC Durham Academy co-owners Tom Croft and Rich Hirst are bringing a combined 70 years of coaching experience.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with ECFC in 2023,” said Croft. “This will allow FC Durham to enhance our role in the High-Performance Pathway in Ontario, providing consistent challenges and opportunity for our players in our Post-Formation Phase U17 and older.”

Nick Kassermelli and Hirst are head coaches with the ECFC League 1 Men U21 and Women’s Reserve Teams respectively. Hirst will also assume the role of Assistant Coach with the ECFC League 1 Women’s Premier Team.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with FC Durham for the 2023 season. FC Durham is a constant in developing youth players that we have seen move onto post-secondary institutions and to even higher levels year after year,” said Randy Riberio, ECFC head coach. “We were very pleased with the quality of players that we were able to bring into first team training last season and even had some standout performances in quite a few L1 Premier matches on both our Men’s and Women’s teams in 2022. We look forward to fielding ECFC’s first ever Reserve Men’s and Women’s teams in partnership with FC Durham next season.”

ECFC is hosting their Men’s Open Tryouts on Monday at Wet ‘n’ Wild Dome in Brampton. Further details about women’s tryouts will be announced.

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