The Peterborough Petes staged a late-game comeback to overcome an ongoing North Bay Battalion attack on Wednesday night, beating the troops 3-1 in Peterborough.
After a slow start, the Petes scored three unanswered goals with less than ten minutes left in regulation on home ice.
Petes forward Steven Lorentz scored the exhibition game-winner, while goaltender Jason Da Silva stopped 32 of 33 battalion shots en route to being named the first star of the game.
“We played a pretty strong game, but they had a great third period,” said Battalion Assistant Coach John Dean. “It was a fast-paced game and I thought the guys put in a good, solid effort.
“Unfortunately we came up on the wrong end of the score, but I thought both teams played quite strong; they just capitalized on a couple of our mistakes that ended up in the back of the net.”
The Petes had a couple of power play opportunities in the scoreless first period, but couldn’t find a way past Battalion starting goaltender Jake Smith. The returning goaltender was given his first start since splitting time with incoming backup goaltender Evan Cormier in the first two exhibition games earlier in the month.
Halfway through the second period, Peterborough forward Josh Maguire was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down by a hook on a breakaway. Despite the suspense though, Maguire missed the net entirely, leaving the game all even.
Just minutes later, Petes forward Josh MacDonald took a slashing penalty, paving the way for the first goal of the game.
In his first game back since suffering an undisclosed injury, returning Battalion forward Alex Henriksson finally found a way to break the ice with 33 seconds left to play in the frame, giving the troops a one-goal lead heading into the third.
“He brings so much energy and a ton of smarts to the game,” Dean said of Henriksson. “He can really pick up a line or the whole team, so seeing him back on the ice was a big lift for the guys. Listening to him vocalize on the bench is a real positive for this group, so it was really nice to see him in the lineup and contributing right away.”
In an attempt to give his team a shot of life, rookie Petes forward Josh Coyle instigated a fight halfway through the third period, which seemed to do the trick for the Peterborough boys.
Less than five minutes later, Maguire redeemed himself from the missed penalty shot and buried his first goal of the pre-season. And, unfortunately for the troops, the Petes’ momentum didn’t stop there.
With just under a minute left in regulation, forward Steven Lorentz emerged from the corner and beat Smith to give Peterborough the late one-goal lead. To seal the deal, MacDonald added an empty-net insurance marker to send the Battalion home empty-handed.
Despite the loss though, Dean says he and the coaching staff are encouraged by how the troops performed on Wednesday.
“In the practices, we touched on a few key things and asked the guys to pursue them and play with a bit of an identity, so overall I felt there was a lot more structure and a lot more urgency to our game, which is great,” said Dean.
Both teams were missing some significant starters who are at their respective NHL camps. The Battalion were without the services of defencemen Kyle Wood and Marcus McIvor, as well as forwards Mike Amadio, Nick Paul and Zach Bratina.
Dean said the opportunity for younger recruits to see increased ice time was advantageous for both the players and coaching staff.
“It’s great for those players to see significant minutes and see real situations like power play and penalty kill and playing in the last minute,” said Dean. “I think it’s a great opportunity for them to develop and showcase what they have.
“I thought the kids, over the course of exhibition, really improved and showed great strides in their confidence too.”
The Battalion finish pre-season play with a 2-3-1 record, having not won a game since their opening two exhibition matches against the Sudbury Wolves.
With less than 10 days before their regular season at home against the Barrie Colts, Dean says the team still has a lot of work ahead of them to get ready.
“Over the next nine days we’ll really be strong on systems and more disciplined in our approach when we get the full team back,” Dean concluded.
Game time for the home opener on Sept. 26 is 7 p.m. at Memorial Gardens.
