Playoff hungry Petes trounce 67's 7-2

Nelson Armstrong picked up four assists in the Peterborough Petes 7-2 drubbing of the visiting Ottawa 67's Sunday afternoon.



Two points back of the final Eastern Conference playoff position, every remaining game is important for the Petes. Despite being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, that doesn't mean the 67's have nothing to play for. In fact, the 67's don't have a lot of pressure to win and would love to play the role of a spoiler.

Things started off good for the 67's. Sean Monahan fed Joseph Blandisi with crisp cross-ice pass. Blandisi made a harmless shot at the net that ended up beating D'Agostini on the glove side. Proving the importance of getting the puck at the net.

The Petes would respond, but not until peppering 17 shots at Jacob Blair in the Ottawa net. Taking full advantage on the powerplay, Peter Ceresnak beat a screened Blair fivehole with a hard shot from the point.

Brett Findlay gave the Petes the go-ahead goal after Blair could not control Nelson Armstrong's shot and a big rebound left Findlay unmanned with a wide open cage.

Just under four minutes later, Eric Cornel won a battle along the boards and found Clarke Seymour parked right in the slot all alone. He made no mistake and flipped it past Blair on the glove side.

It didn't end there for Ottawa. After taking an early 1-0 lead, the 67's allowed four straight unanswered goals. Nick Ritchie squeaked the puck Blair through his fivehole with a nice wrist shot.

A fight between Brendan Bell and Nelson Armstong gave the 67's an opportunity to use their speed. Michal Cajkovsky shot a rocket from the top of the faceoff circle. It hit the post and went in to cut the Petes lead in half late I'm the second period. That fight marks Bell's 9th fighting major in the season. One more fight and he'll be done for the season.

The 67's were unable to keep momentum going in the third period as the Petes scored three unanswered goals from Steven Trojanovic, Stephen Pierog (short-handed) & Clark Seymour (with one second left).

Both goaltenders stood on their head, but it's safe to say that Blair had the much busier night as the Petes outshot the 67's 47 to 25. Both teams are back in action Tuesday night. The 67's host the Brampton Battalion for the final time ever while the Peterborough host the Mississauga Steelheads with a continuous push for the last playoff spot in the East.