Greg Betzold scored
a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the Peterborough Petes to their 5th
straight victory in a 7-0 thumping of the visiting Ottawa 67’s. The 67’s have now been outscored 13-0 in
their last two games in Peterborough.
The 67’s haven’t always been outplayed and have had a
relatively easy time winning against the Petes in the first half of the
season. Through the first four games,
the 67’s posted a 4-0-0-0 record. They
also scored 16 goals in their first two games in Peterborough. But that fortune ran out when the Petes
started to turn things around and move up in the standings. The Petes have won the last 4 games.
Andrew D’Agonstini was
perfect in the game posting his fourth shutout of the season while stopping all
thirty 67’s shots fired his way. He has
been a big reason for the Petes success as of late.
“He's been huge is for us. He's always been our backbone.
He's always been there for us. He covers for us and you need that. He's a great
goalie and we're looking forward to him keep being hot here,” Greg Betzold said
about his goaltender.
It was a sloppy game to start but the Petes were able to convert
on their opportunities. Betzold’s pair
of goals came in the first period. Nick Ritchie also scored to give the Petes
a 3-0 lead after the first 20 minutes.
“They're a good team so I think we just have to capitalize
on our chances. We're getting chances in tight, we gotta to start popping them
in the net and that will help us out,” a hopeful Ryan Van Stralen told TV
Cogeco.
Unfortunately, the 67’s were unable to heed Van Stralen’s
advice and allowed another three Petes goals in the second period. Josh
MacDonald, Hunter Garlent (now
has 15 points through 6 games vs the 67’s) and Nelson Armstrong scored to give the Petes a commanding 6-0 lead.
Philppe Trudeau had a rough night along with his team in
front of him. Like D’Agostini, he made
30 saves but he also let in 7 goals.
Trudeau did have to come up big on Matt
McCartney who had a penalty shot attempt midway through the third
period. A couple minutes later Josh MacDonald netted
his second goal of the game to round out the scoring.
Despite the loss, the 67’s are still tied for 7th place in
the Eastern Conference with the Mississauga Steelheads. They also remain one point ahead of the
Niagara IceDogs. All three teams have
four games remaining for the playoff push.
“I think everyone knows how much these games mean and what
it takes so I think we just have to buckle down right now and work our
tails off,” said Van Stralen.
Mississauga and Niagara are in action tomorrow while the 67’s
travel back to Ottawa where they will wait to host the Kingston Frontenacs on
Tuesday.
Game sheet here.
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