Petes double first-place Ottawa on Sunday
Adam Timleck, Liam Kirk score two each
Peterborough Petes headed home for Christmas In a good mood after upending the OHL’s first place team Sunday afternoon.
Adam Timleck and Liam Kirk had two goals each and newcomer Ryan Merkley three assists in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa 67’s before 2,860 fans at the Memorial Centre.
The Petes sixth straight home win gives them a 19-14-0 record, 13-4 at home, a marked improvement for a team that was 16 games below .500 last season. They sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. The Petes are 2-1 against Ottawa (25-6-3-1).
The Petes are off until Dec. 28 when they visit the Kingston Frontenacs. They host Mississauga Steelheads Dec. 29.
All eyes were on Merkley obtained in a major trade on Friday. He was expected to help the OHL’s 19th ranked power play and he did with two assists on the man-advantage.
“We got off to a great start and were up 3-0 to end the first,” said Merkley. “We fell asleep a bit to let them back in it but we came together well. We beat the top team in the country so it was a positive, for sure. A key role for me and a big area of my game is the power play and to create offensive chances. I guess it worked well today.”
“Not bad when you get three assists in your first game,” said Petes’ head coach Rob Wilson, on his first impressions of Merkley. “I’ve made it no secret how important it was for us to get a power play defenceman.”
The Petes jumped out to a 4-0 lead, allowed Ottawa to climb within one before finishing off a win before the break.
“It was a battle,” said Wilson. “Hunter did a good job in net.
Our penalty kill was good. Our power play got a couple of goals. There were a lot of positives… It was nice to have two out of three wins heading into the break.”
The Petes struck for three goals in the final 6:52 of the opening period. Kirk took advantage of a Nikita Okhotyuk giveaway snapped a shot blocker side on 67’s rookie goalie Will Cranley. The Peterborough native was playing his first OHL game in his
hometown.
Merkley picked up his first point as a Pete on a power play at 18:15. Merkley slid the puck to Nick Robertson who stepped in off the point and ripped a shot under the crossbar.
The Petes added another at 19:49 when Timleck poked a rebound through Cranley’s legs.
“Ottawa has been the team to beat this year,” said Timleck. “We
focused on what has brought them success and shutting that down.”
The Petes kept it rolling to start the second. Brady Hinz started the play with a cross-ice pass Merkley instantly sent to Kirk whose quick release found mesh at 2:42.
Jack Quinn halted the Petes run beating Hunter Jones on a shot through traffic at 5:30. Tye Felhaber’s 38th buried Austen Keating rebound and Quinn drew Ottawa within 4-3 after Merkley lost control of Austin Osmanski’s pass behind the net.
“It’s certainly an adjustment in this rink,” Merkley said.
Timleck was the recipient of a high stick that led to a five-on-three and four-minute power play. He make them pay burying Hinz’s pass with 4:43 left in the second. It was a chippy game that ended with the teams scrumming at the final buzzer.
“There was a bit of a playoff atmosphere all the way from the crowd to the intensity on the ice,” said Timleck. “It’s a lot of fun playing games like that. You’re going to take a little bit of a beating but it’s all part of hockey.”
Cameron Butler gave the Petes breathing room 3:56 into the third overpowering Cranley with a shot off the wing. The Petes killed six minutes in penalties late in the game.
NOTES: Cole Fraser tried to return from the flu Sunday but lasted one period. Scratched were Semyon Der-Arguchintsev (ankle), Matt McNamara (upper body), Zach Gallant (leg) and Jake Partridge (numbers). Ottawa was missing Michael DiPietro and Sasha Chmelevski to world juniors, Graeme Clarke, Kody Clark and Marco Rossi to injury… Three stars were 1. Adam Timleck (P); 2. Liam Kirk (P); 3. Ryan Merkley (P)… Hardest working Pete was John Parker Jones.