Opening night win a night of firsts for the Petes
Opening night featured a lot of firsts for the Peterborough Petes.
It was the first game and win for head coach Rob Wilson. It was Hunter Jones’ first start as firststring goalie and his first OHL shutout with 38 saves in beating the Kingston Frontenacs 4-0 Thursday night at the PMC.
It was the first game for a number of Petes including highly touted British import Liam Kirk. It was Nick Isaacson’s first game since shoulder surgery and he responded with two goals. Brady Hinz scored the season’s first goal 1:56 into the first period. Chris Paquette also scored.
Prior to the game the Petes paid tribute to fans and alumni who passed away during the off-season including Gary Dalliday. It was an emotional moment for Wilson whose parents never missed a game at the PMC when he played for the Petes in 1988-89.
“I immediately thought about my mom and dad,” Wilson said. “I could picture them sitting up there watching me.” He was pleased with game one. “We worked really hard and the guys battled,” he said.
With Dylan Wells off to the pros responsibility falls to Jones who played 15 OHL games last year.
“I come in every night trying to give my team a chance to win,” Jones said. “You want to stop everything and that’s your goal as a goalie…. The guys were playing well in front of me and it came out to a picture perfect ending.”
Isaacson felt strong in his return from injury.
“That was my first real game since December. That’s a real long time,” Isaacson said. “It feels really good to be back out there and to have a full crowd was really special.”
Kirk picked up his first OHL point setting up Paquette 6:01 into the third period.
“The first game you’re a little bit nervous,” Kirk said. “The boys got off to a good start and we just kept rolling. We had a couple of mishaps and mistakes that could have cost us but we stuck to the process and it worked out.”
The Petes visit the Ottawa 67’s at 2 p.m. Sunday.