Service Master Restore Minor Peewee AE Petes Battle Hard in Pittsburgh, News, Rep (Peterborough Hockey Association)

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2018-2019 Minor Peewee AE | Dec 11, 2018 | John Pacey | 672 views
Service Master Restore Minor Peewee AE Petes Battle Hard in Pittsburgh
The Service Master Restore Minor Peewee AE Petes have had their struggles on the ice lately and looked to get back some of their mojo as they traveled to Pittsburgh for the weekend to take part in the Pittsburgh Winter Classic. It wasn’t going to be an easy task as the team’s opponents included a mixed bag of teams comprised of higher classified teams and teams from older (major peewee) divisions.

Following a lengthy drive (or short flight for some), the team had an opportunity for a little bonding and excitement as they took in the Penguins game and got to watch Sidney Crosby at his finest as he notched 3 points against the Islanders, include a highlight reel goal to put the game out of reach and propel the Pens to a 6-2 victory.

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All the excitement from watching an NHL game rolled into Friday’s opening game for the Petes where they were set to take on the Allegheny Badgers Minor Peewee A team. The Petes weren’t long shaking off the jet lag and got an added measure of excitement when Hayven Warwick (AP for the tournament) opened the scoring for the team at the halfway point of the opening period. Riley Hagerman would notch a pair of markers to put the team up by 3, and although the Badger’s continued to battle, the Petes would respond every time they scored and goals by Sawyer Spencley and Will Mattie gave the Petes a 5-2 victory. Adam McGinn was stellar in net for the Petes, earning the win. Assists during the game went to Spencley (2), Sam Dickey, Andrew Wasson and Josh Watson.

Saturday morning brought about game two for the Petes, which was going to be a tough challenge as they faced off against the highly ranked Stoney Creek Warriors Minor Peewee A team. While the Petes put up a formidable fight, a couple of early goals by the Warriors set the tone for the game. Following those early goals, the Petes held their own and were still in the match until late in the third when the Warriors put things out of reach with a trio of late goals, downing the Petes 6-1 and sending them back to the hotel for a quick break and a chance to regroup.

Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Woolwich Wildcats Major Peewee AE team was a key game for the Petes, with the winner of the game likely to earn a spot in the finals. The Petes were well aware of the importance of the game and weren’t ready to let the older Wildcats away with an easy game. The Petes opened the scoring in the dying minute of the first period as Jordan Garfat went end to end and beat the goaltender with a shot from the top of the faceoff circle for his first goal of the season.  The Wildcats wouldn’t go away though and at the midpoint of the second period scored a powerplay goal to tie things up and then pulled ahead when they scored 25 seconds later. The Petes weren’t ready to pack their bags yet as Warwick scored his second of the tournament and tied things up in the opening minutes of the third period. The back and forth continued when Woolwich pulled ahead less than 20 seconds later with what would be the eventual game winner.  Down 3-2 the Petes never gave up and continued to push hard for the equalizer, at times pinning the Wildcats in their zone for minutes at a time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be and the Petes just couldn’t find the equalizer that they needed.

Knowing that they had missed an opportunity to play for the championship led to a little disappointment for the players, but when it came time to play their final game on Sunday morning, the kids put all negative thoughts out of their heads and showed up ready to play against the Pittsburgh Predators Major Peewee A team. Determined to represent their country and hand the American team a loss, the Petes came out flying and opened the scoring on a goal by Spencley at the midway point of the first. The Petes found themselves on the power play late in the opening period, but as they pressed to open up the lead, a shot from the defence was blocked by the Predators and taken on a breakaway to tie the game up and give the Predators their first momentum of the game. The Preds would carry this momentum into the second period and gain their first lead of the match with a mid-period goal.  This seemed to be the turning point for the Petes, as they dug deep and scored four unanswered goals off the sticks of Matthew Sokolski (2), James Chandra and Watson. Although the Predators were able to score a late goal, the damage had been done and the Petes walked away with the 5-3 victory.  Assists during the game went to Hagerman (2), Spencley, Will Mattie, Olivia Mercer and Ben Herder. Nathan Crossley was in net for the Petes to pick up the win.

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While the Petes weren’t able to bring home a tournament title, they showed a lot of grit and determination throughout the weekend as they battled a number of tough oponents. We look forward to seeing them in action this weekend as they take on the Quinte West Hawks and Whitby Wildcats in a pair of road games.

The team would like to thank Caley’s Crease for their sponsorship this season.

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