Petes fall to defending champs in exhibition debut at OHL Showcase

The Peterborough Petes lost their first exhibition game of the season 4-1 on Friday night to the defending OHL champion Erie Otters at the HarborCenter OHL Showcase in Buffalo. The game was tied 1-1 after the first period after Nick Isaacson scored on assists from defenceman Cole Fraser and newly signed forward John Parker-Jones with one second left in the period after a centering attempt by Chris Paquette bounced off an Erie defender and onto Isaacson’s stick. Peterborough native Josh Wainman had an empty net goal in the third period for the Otters. Mitchell Mendonca, Cade Robinson and Patrick Fellows also scored for Erie. Hunter Jones had 33 saves on 36 shots in net for the Petes. “As the game progressed I kind of got with it and found my timing,” noted Jones. “I think by the end of the game I was feeling good out there.” “(Tonight’s game) was OK,” added head coach Jody Hull. “Obviously we only had one day of practice and had to arrive here in a short period of time.” “Now it’s just a matter of looking at some video and making some corrections in the short turnaround before (Saturday’s) game.” The game marked the debut for Parker-Jones and several other new Petes players. The Petes are playing two more games at the OHL Showcase in Buffalo, facing the Kitchener Rangers at 4 p.m. Saturday and the defending Memorial Cup champion Windsor Spitfires at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Petes will host one home pre-season game on Sept. 14 at 7:05 p.m. against the Oshawa Generals before their home opener on Sept. 21 at 7:05 p.m. against the Otters.