Petes take 3-0 series lead
Coyle scores winner in overtime; Timms leaves game with injury and won’t play Thursday
ST. CATHARINES – Josh Coyle gave the Peterborough Petes some breathing room Tuesday night.
Coyle’s goal 15:59 into overtime gave the Petes a 4-3 win over the NIagara IceDogs and a 3-0 lead in their opening round playoff series before 4,990 fans at the Meridian Centre.
Coyle backhanded Adam Timleck’s rebound past goalie Stephen Dhillon after Zach Gallant had centred the puck from the corner. It was a big swing giving the Pets a 3-0 lead rather than 2-1 in their OHL Eastern Conference quarter-final. Game 4 is at 7 p.m. Thursday in St. Catharines.
Steve Lorentz’s second goal of the game with 27 seconds left in the second rallied the Petes from a 3-1 deficit. The teams then played scoreless for the next 36 minutes and 26 seconds.
“The circumstances were pretty big,” Coyle said. “Putting them down 3-0 is big for us. Had they got to 2-1 it would have given them life in the series. I was just going by the net and was fortunate the puck landed on my stick and I was able to put it in.. I was in the right place at the right time.” It could be a costly win, though. Matt Timms left the game in the opening few minutes when he collided with IceDogs rookie Akil Thomas and crashed head-first into the boards. Timms threw off his gloves and clutched his shoulder as he left the ice and did not return. Timms was the Petes leading scorer this season and third among OHL defencemen.
Petes coach Jody Hull said Timms returned to Peterborough Tuesday night and will be evaluated by team doctors on Wednesday. He will not play Thursday.
“He’s day-to-day now until further evaluation,” Hull said. “I can tell you he won’t be playing Thursday.”
The Petes pressed on and had their quickest start so far in the series. They opened the scoring on a power play when Jonathan Ang blocked a Ryan Mantha clearing attempt and cut into the slot to snap a shot over Dhillon’s glove at 9:19. Dhillon faced 50 shots.
The IceDogs tied it on their own power play as Kirill Maksimov deflected Mantha’s point shot high past Dylan Wells, who made 39 saves in victory, with Lindsay native Johnny Corneil also assisting.
Niagara came out strong to start the second and jumped into a 3-1 lead with a pair of goals 40 seconds apart.
Dndrej Machala stuffed Daniel Singer’s rebound under Wells’s pad. Mantha kept in a Matt Spencer rim at the point and moved in to rip a shot over Wells’s shoulder at 3:47.
Petes rookie Nick Isaacson tried to spur his teammates by taking on overage defenceman Aaron Haydon in a fight. Haydon got a checking from behind penalty on Isaacson in Game 2.
The Petes closed within a goal on another power play at 9:58. Nikita Korostelev drove the net, Tyler Rollo picked up the loose puck behind the net and sent it in front where Lorentz buried it. Wells made a big blocker save when Kyle Langdon got in alone.
Lorentz tied it with 27 seconds left in the second pouncing on a loose puck on a broken play.
Dhillon came up with a big save five minutes into the third off Gallant who was set up in front by Spencer. Wells equalled it with a tough save off Corneil several minutes later.
Dhillon stopped Korostelev on a breakaway in the opening 90 seconds of overtime. Gallant got a puck past him but hit the post.
NOTES: Cole Fraser was not sanctioned for a checking to the head major penalty assessed in Game 2. The Petes were confident his match penalty would be rescinded as video replay showed no contact was made to the Niagara player’s head .... The Petes made no lineup changes from Games 1 and 2. Niagara welcomed Will Lochead back to the lineup after he missed the opening two games. Rookie
Drew Hunter was scratched to make room.