The Peterborough Petes showed no signs of rust over the holiday break, extending their winning streak to three games as they dominated the Mississauga Steelheads in a 5-1 win at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) on Thursday.
The Steelheads were without their captain Ethan Del Mastro and starting goalie Alessio Beglieri who are at the World Juniors. While Brennan Othmann (Canada) and Brian Zanetti (Switzerland) of the Petes are out for the same tournament.
J.R. Avon forced a turnover that let Tucker Robertson feed Connor Lockhart for a goal, 5:21 into the game for a 1-0 lead for Petebrorough. Two minutes later, Lockhart set up Avon while shorthanded to give the Petes a 2-0 lead. Mississauga retaliated just under five minutes later on the power play as Jake Uberti put the Steelheads on the board, making it 2-1 into the second.
Peterborough showed poise for the remainder of the game as Chase Stillman fished a puck from a scrum and backhanded it in for a 3-1 Petes lead. Mississauga put Petes goaltender Michael Simpson under siege with 22 shots in the period but stopped them all to maintain a Peterborough lead. With under a minute left in the period, Robertson and Avon capitalized on a two-on-zero breakaway with the latter scoring his second of the game, making it 4-1 into the third.
Jonathan Melee poked home his second of the season for a 5-1 Petes lead. Mississauga tried to save some pride in the final minute of the game on the power play but Michael Simpson made a highlight reel save, robbing Luke Misa of a one-timed shot that seemingly looking like a wide open net. Peterborough walked away with the last game of the calender year at the PMC with a win.
Petes defenceman Sam Mayer played his 100th career OHL game on the night. The Petes next game Friday against the Kitchener Rangers.