The FCI Windows atom AA Peterborough Petes put aside the maroon and white to don the red and white at this past weekend’s (Dec. 1 to 3) Nations Cup tournament in Lansing, Michigan.
The Petes wore Team Canada jerseys as they and other Canadian teams battled American squads on behalf of their respective nations.
Despite being a AA team competing in a AAA tournament, the Petes did Canada proud and ended the tournament with four wins and one loss, and allowed just six goals over five games. As well, they helped secure Canada the Nations Cup trophy.
The Petes opened up the tournament with a 2-1 win over Belle Tire Detroit.
In the second game later that day, Peterborough would suffer their first loss of the season, dropping a 2-0 decision to Pittsburgh Penguins Elite.
Despite the loss, the Petes responded the following morning with a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Barons.
In the afternoon matchup, Peterborough faced a strong Chicago Fury club that was undefeated in tournament play.
Following a scoreless first period, the Petes found the back of the net early in the second frame. Peterborough would increase their lead to two goals with an early third period marker. Peterborough would skate out with the 2-0 win.
The 12-team tournament follows a different format than most. Teams play for their nation and not themselves. All teams play four games over two days. A victory secures two points for your nation.
Following round robin play, Canada found themselves ahead of the United States in the points race, while the Petes found themselves in a three-way tie for best record among Canadian teams. Peterborough also allowed the fewest goals against among the Canadian teams. However, because the two other teams had scored more goals, the Petes found themselves in the third-place ranking for Canada.
The tournament had teams of a similar seed face off in Sunday’s championship games. As Canada’s third seed, Peterborough faced America’s third-seed team, Belle Tire, in what was a rematch of the Petes’ opening game of the tournament.
This time, Belle Tire were the first to strike, scoring two minutes into the game. The goal seemed to wake the Petes up, and the team controlled play for much of the game. Peterborough tied up the score halfway through the first period, and opened up a commanding 4-1 lead in the second period as they made good on three power plays. The Petes would score once more in the third period to win the game 5-1.
With Peterborough’s win, and other Team Canada victories in the second-place and first-place games, Canada won the Nations Cup for this year.
“We knew day one was going to be tough as we needed to gauge the speed in order to implement what kind of strategy we were going to put in place for the weekend,” said Peterborough head coach Mike Farrugia.
“We really didn’t get comfortable until the third period of the third game and, once we did, we played with a lot of confidence and trust.”
Along with a different tournament format and quicker pace than they are used to, the team also had to adapt to a rougher style of play and different rules that are unique to America.
“Playing in the U.S. is often a challenge as there are some different rules. Not being able to ice the puck short handed was a challenge and the 'no tag up' rule for offsides put a lot of stress on our defensive game,” Farrugia said.
“Overall, minus the slow start, we are extremely pleased that despite the toughest schedule, we were able to have the lowest goals against in the tournament. Everyone bought in.”