Petes end season with another loss
The Peterborough Petes’ disappointing 2017-18 season ended in a fashion too many nights did this season, with a loss.
Playing a Hamilton Bulldogs’ team that sat six of their top players to rest for playoffs, beat the Petes 5-3 before 3,201 fans at the Memorial Centre on Saturday night.The Petes, who missed the playoffs, finish with a 23-39-3-3 record ranking ninth in the OHL’s Eastern Conference and 18th overall. It will give them the third overall pick in the OHL draft, their highest pick since 2004.
Petes’ captain and Peterborough native Logan DeNoble ended his OHL career by scoring the club’s last goal of the year. It was a three-way passing play where Adam Timleck passed up an opportunity to shoot on an open net in order to feed DeNoble who netted his 31st goal of the year. He was named first star and got a rousing ovation from the fans as he left the ice for the final time.
“It was one of those times where you look around and take everything in,” said DeNoble. ‘it was pretty emotional out there at the end. I had all my best friends here, aunts and uncles, mom and dad, brothers. All their support throughout all the years has been outstanding. To share that moment with them means a lot.”
DeNoble wasn’t expecting Timleck’s pass with 3:29 left in the game.
“Timleck had an empty net and he gave it to me. That moment I will never forget. I gave him a big hug. It was pretty emotional to score that one. I owe Timleck that one,” he said.
Hamilton’s Brandon Saigeon hugged DeNoble at the end of the game. DeNoble said he doesn’t know Saigeon except for facing off against him the past four years.
“Just playing against him over the years we’ve had some talks on the ice. That was a nice gesture,” said DeNoble.
DeNoble wasn’t the most vocal captain, Petes’ interim coach Andrew Verner said he led by example and will be missed.
“He wasn’t given anything,” said Verner. “He worked his way up from the fourth line. I watched him sitting in front of me in the Oshawa series when he first got called up to first line duty. Good on him.”
The Petes were disappointed they couldn’t give fans a parting victory.
“It was a disappointing game to end a disappointing season,” said Verner. “You could see how far ahead Hamilton is when they’re sitting out two defencemen and four forwards, all players right now we don’t have. They came up with a lighter roster and still won.”
Hamilton’s Marian Studenic did most of the damage with three goals and an assist.
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev backhanded a rebound over fallen goalie Nick Donofrio 4:04 into the game.
Studenic scored a pair for a 2-1 lead 12:17 into the game. He picked the top corner on Dylan Wells on the first one when a blocked shot came to him. Studenic picked up his own rebound on the second goal and scored on a wraparound.
The Petes tied it at 18:00 when rookie Nick Robertson converted Austin Osmanski’s pass. Roberson finished the season with 33 points but 15, 10 goals and five assists, came in the final 19 games.
Studenic capped a hat trick on the league leading 19th shorthanded goal allowed by the Petes this season. Studenic stripped the puck from Gleb Babintsev and snapped a shot over Wells’s glove on a breakaway. Hamilton went up 4-2 with Studenic picking up an assist when Ben Gleeson fired a cannon from the point. Isaac Nurse made it 5-2 early in the third.