Peterborough Lakers's Comeback Falls Short; Lose to Brooklin L.C. 9-7 in Home Opener

The Lakers' home opener did not go as they wanted as the Brooklin L.C. left town with a 9-7 win at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of David Pickering and the Peterborough Lakers.

The Lakers quickly fell behind in the first period, scoring only once thanks to Holden Cattoni but allowed four goals, putting the home team behind early.

Both teams alternated goals in the second, scoring three apiece but Brooklin maintained its three-goal lead heading into the final frame. Joe Resetarits, Cattoni, and Thomas Hoggarth scored for the Lakers, respectively.

Turner Evans helped kick off the third with a goal for the Lakers to cut the deficit to two. The momentum was quickly cut off but Brooklin’s Tanner Cook who scored less than three minutes later.

Peterborough rung off two straight goals from Cam Milligan and Cattoni’s hat trick score to put them within one with three minutes left. Cook put the dagger in Peterborough and scored in the final four seconds to give Brooklin the 9-7 win.

“Pretty pedestrian effort for 40 minutes and then we tried to chase the game in the third and it was too little, too late. It was a tough loss,” said Cattoni.

The Lakers fall to a 1-2 record. This is the second-straight home opener Peterborough has dropped, losing to the Brampton Excelsiors 14-13 last year.

“It’s always special playing here, it’s unlike anywhere else,” said Cattoni. “Unfortunate that it was the home opener and this was the show that we gave them tonight. We have to be better next week when we’re back here.”

The Lakers will try to rebound on the road to take on the Cobourg Kodiaks at the Cobourg Community Centre this Sunday at 6 p.m.

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Flint Firebirds Sign AAA U16 Peterborough Pete to Standard Player Agreement

The Flint Firebirds have signed AAA U16 Peterborough Pete Ryland Cunningham to a standard player agreement.

Cunningham becomes the third player drafted by the Firebirds in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection to commit to the team, joining first-round pick Cole Zurawski and third-round pick Gage Brandon. Photo courtesy of the Ontario Hockey League.

“Playing in the OHL has always been a dream of mine so I’m super pumped to finally make that dream come true,” said Cunningham.

The 2024 second-round pick was taken 41st overall in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection.

The Coubourg native played for the Peterborough Petes AAA program for the past three years. In the 2023-24 season, he played 35 games for 17 goals and 20 assists. He scored three times in six games at the OHL Cup.

“Ryland is a great combination of speed and skill that plays with a feisty edge,” said Mike Oliverio, FIrebirds head scout. “He is a player we feel plays with a high IQ and a lot of pace. Ryland plays in the hard areas and drives the net with or without the puck. He was relied on heavily for his offense down the stretch and playoff run for his Peterborough team.”

“I have heard nothing but great things about the Firebirds,” said Cunningham. “I can’t wait to meet the rest of the team.”

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120 Golfers Tee-Off at the Fourth-Annual 'Be a Saint" St. Joseph's At Fleming Golf Fundraiser Tournament

The fourth-annual “Be a Saint” St. Joseph's at Fleming fundraiser golf tournament saw a huge increase in golfers with 120 at the Quarry Golf Club on Thursday afternoon.

Sarah Cox, St. Joseph’s at Fleming administrative coordinator puts all her trust in Celebrity golf entertainer and instructor Todd Keirstead’s trick shot. Keirstead was a guest entertainer at the first hole at the Quarry Golf Club. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

This year’s event saw a massive uptick in attendance since the third edition yielded 80 participants.

“It's great to see how our fundraiser is growing,” said Sarah Cox, St. Joseph’s administrative coordinator. “It's a great way to bring awareness to the community, we have lots of new golfers out and it's also great to see that we have so many people coming back year after year to support St. Joseph's at Fleming.”

All proceeds go towards upgrading St. Joseph’s infrastructure which needs work since the long-term care home is over 20 years old. It also funds replacing aging equipment and vital programs and services.

Last year’s event raised around $26,000 which is toward the organization's goal of $3.5 million over the next few years.

@ptbo_canada We were here before once… Time for round 2 between editor David Bui and trickshot golfer Todd Keirstead. The fourth-annula “Be a Saint” golf tournament benefitted St. Joseph’s at Fleming care home! #ptbo #ptbocanada #journalism #journalist #peterborough #news #fyp #dailynewsupdate #dailynews #sports #sport #golf ♬ Ready - Official Sound Studio

“We're a little over two-and-a-half million now,” explained Cox. “We're still working towards that goal, still raising money and even outside of the campaign, once we reach that 3.5 million, we're still going to keep fundraising because there's always going to be needs in the home.

After the tournament, a silent auction was held to raise additional funds for the not-for-profit long-term care home.

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Peterborough Petes to Host Kingston Frontenacs In Home Opener For Second Year In a Row On Sept. 26

The Petes have their home opener date set against the Kingston Frontenacs at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) for Sept. 26 at 7:05 p.m., announced on Thursday.

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.

This is the second consecutive year the Petes will host the Frontenacs to open the season. Last year, the Petes raised their 2023 OHL Championship banner before a sold-out crowd. Peterborough defeated their rival Frontenacs 5-4.

Last season, Kingston took the season series against Peterborough with a record of 5-2-1-0 in eight games, compared to the Petes record of 3-4-1-0. Over the last five seasons at the PMC, the Petes have a record of 12-6-2-1 against the Frontenacs.

The CHL Import Draft takes place on July 3 at 11 a.m. The Petes hold the ninth overall selection in the draft.

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Peterborough Lakers Ask Fans to Bring Non-Perishable Goods For Home Opener This Thursday

As the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers host their home opener against the Brooklin L.C., the team asks fans to bring non-perishable food items to the game to support Kawartha Food Share.

Last year, Kawartha Food Share’s warehouse distributed over 10 million dollars’ worth of food and emergency care needs. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

Bins will be stationed at each entrance of the Peterborough Memorial Centre for donations.

Kawartha Food Share aids more than 12,000 people monthly through 36 member agencies according to a press release. This includes four meal programs, four City food banks, six housing projects, seven county food banks and over 20 food cupboards across the City and County of Peterborough.

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Trent Excalibur Names Jocelyne Lemay As New Head Coach of Women’s Lacrosse

Former world champion Jocelyne Lemay has been selected as the new Head Coach of the Trent Excalibur Women’s Lacrosse program, announced on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Trent University.

Lemay played lacrosse for four years from 2015-2019 at Central Michigan University, graduating with a science degree before completing her Education degree at Trent.

She competed as a student-athlete with the Excalibur for two seasons from 2020 to 202) before joining the program as an assistant coach for the past two years. In 2019, Lemay was part of Team Canada’s World Championship squad that captured the Women’s Field Lacrosse title.

“I am thrilled to have Jocelyne lead our Women’s Lacrosse program going forward,” said Nathan McFadden, Trent director of athletics and recreation. “Her NCAA experience as a student-athlete, coaching philosophy and clear vision for our program aligned seamlessly with our new standard of success and belief in community involvement. As a former world champion with Team Canada’s field lacrosse team, she brings elite-level experience with a championship pedigree. Having played on, and been an assistant coach with our team, she has a strong sense of pride in the Excalibur and shares our values in developing holistic student-athletes.”

Lemay has an OUA gold medal under her belt from her 2021 season as a student-athlete and both a silver and bronze medal from her time as an assistant coach from 2022-2023.

“I'm very excited to step into this new role as the Trent Women's Lacrosse Head Coach,” said Lemay. “My time as a student-athlete is something that I cherish and my goal is to provide the same opportunities and experiences to our current and future players. I'm committed to working with each student-athlete to ensure they are successful on the field, in the classroom and amongst our community.”

Training camp for the 2024-25 season begins in August with the season kicking off in September.

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Petes AA Assistant Captain Named Recipient of H.O.P.E. Bursary 2024 Steve Montador Bursary

Peterborough Petes AA assistant captain Jack Crawford has been named the recipient of Greater Peterborough Health Services Foundation’s (GPHSF) and Helping Others Participate Equally’s (HOPE) 2024 Steve Montador Bursary.

(From left to right) Vince Bierworth (GPHSF), Amanda McInnes (St. Peter’s Secondary), Laura Kennedy (H.O.P.E.) Jack Crawford and Dave Crawford. Photo courtesy of Susan Owen and GPHSF.

The H.O.P.E. Bursary, in honour of Steve Montador, was established to support students transitioning from high school to college/university who suffer the long-term effects of a sports-related concussion and require a reduced academic course load due to injury.

Crawford has been suffering long-term ramifications of a concussion but he has remained a positive influence in his community according to his coach, Scott Hartwick.

“(Jack) was always willing to help when asked and who tried his best with everything he did. He is an extremely dependable and trustworthy individual and was made assistant captain of the team on numerous occasions.”

Crawford is graduating from St. Peters Catholic Secondary School this year and has been accepted to attend the University of Guelph in the fall.

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Joe Resetarits Lifts Peterborough Lakers Past Brampton Excelsiors With Four-Goal Performance

The Peterborough Lakers get their first win of the season led by a four-goal performance from Joe Resetarits to defeat the Brampton Excelsior 12-6 at the Brampton Memorial Arena on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

It was an evenly matched first period as both teams racked up three goals apiece. Taite Cattoni, Dylan Hutchinson and Resetarits scored for the Lakers.

The second frame was all Peterborough. Resetarits scored as fast as the period started for his second goal of the game. Holden Cattoni tacked on another for the Lakers to give a 5-3 lead for Peterborough.

While the Excelsior had a chance to get back in theg ame with a power play, the Lakers flipped the momentum as Resetarits scoreed a hat trick shorthanded to continue Peterborough’s run.

Three more Lakers goals from Austin Hasen, Holden and Taylor Jensen got on the board while shutting out the Excelsiors in the second period and Peterborough had a 9-3 lead heading into the final frame.

Lakers goaltender Doug Buchan stood strong and kept Brampton scoreless for 30:42.

Brampton finally found some footing to open the third, getting two straight goals thanks to Pent Eistrat and Holden Patterson but the Lakers matched them goal-for-goal. Resetarits and Mitch Ogilvie scored back-to-back to negate Brampton’s goals. One more goal apiece on each side ended the game with newly-acquired Rob Hellyer getting the last goal for the Lakers and walk off with a 12-6 win.

“It’s fun being on the right side against those guys for once and being on that bench,” said Hellyer. “I’ve played against a lot of the Lakers for a long time so being on the same side is a lot of fun. There’s always some growing pains, the first period was a little bit like that, but at the end of the day it’s lacrosse, so it was fairly seamless.”

The Lakers come back to Peterborough for their home opener against the Brooklin Lacrosse Club on Thursday at 8 p.m.

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Lakers Add Two Defensemen In Free Agency; Team Set to Honour 1984 and 2004 Mann Cup Champions On June 25

The Peterborough Lakers have signed defensemen Joey Cupido and Taylor Jensen to the team in free agency.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Lakers.

The team also honours the 1984 and 2004 Mann Cup Champions on June 25 at home against the Owen Sound North Stars.

Cupido spent time with the Cobourg Kodiaks and Six Nations Chiefs. He spent last MSL season injured and as an assistant coach with the Chiefs during their Mann Cup run before being released.

“Being an older guy and a veteran will help,” said Cupido. “Every year I learn a little bit more of the game and having an opportunity to step behind the bench I got to see things from a different vantage point. That’s certainly going to help my game and hopefully I can pass on some of those things to the younger guys as well.”

This winter, Jensen made his professional debut for Lakers’s head coach Mike Hasen and his Rochester Knighthawks and is in his rookie MSL season.

The New Westminster, B.C. 25-year-old played junior A lacrosse for the Salmonbellies. He is the younger brother of NLL MVP Josh Byrne.

The Lakers are on the road this Thursday in Brampton. Cupido, Jensen and newly acquired Rob Hellyer are expected to be in the lineup.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 2004 team’s national senior lacrosse championship win and the 40th anniversary of the 1984 team's Mann Cup victory.

The organization is commemorating the milestones and is teaming with the Lakers Alumni to host two special events.

The festivities start with the Alumni Golf Tournament on June 21 at Keystone Links. Each participant will receive a commemorative Peterborough Lakers Alumni hat featuring the 1984 and 2004 teams courtesy of Imprinted Apparel.

On June 25, the Lakers will host both teams for a special ceremony, during which they will be honoured for their achievements at the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

“We are thrilled to recognize the achievements of these two legendary teams,” said Dean Porter, Lakers Alumni president. “Their contributions to the sport of lacrosse and the Peterborough community are immeasurable, and we are honoured to celebrate their success.”.

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Former Peterborough Pete Akil Thomas Signs Two-Year Extension With the Los Angeles Kings

Former Peterborough Petes Akil Thomas is staying in the City of Angels as he signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings through the 2025-26 season, announced on Thursday.

Akil Thomas skating with a young fan prior to a game. Photo courtesy of the PEterborough Petes.

The contract is worth an average annual value of $775,000. 

The Petes acquired him in a trade from the Niagara IceDogs in January 2020 for Cameron Butler, two second-round picks (2020, 2022), one third-round pick (2022), and a fourth-round pick (2024).

He played 22 games for the Petes, scoring nine goals and 31 assists, before the Ontario Hockey League was shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15 last year, Thomas was invited back to the Peterborough Memorial Centre for Game Three of the OHL Championship against the London Knights as part of the pre-game ceremonies to pump up the fans.

Thomas is well-known for his game-winning goal for Team Canada in the gold-medal game against Russia at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic.

The Toronto native was drafted by the Kings in 2018 in the second round, 51st overall. Following his OHL career, Thomas spent time with the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, since the 2020-21 season.

On July 8, he signed a one-year deal with the Kings after his entry-level contract had expired.

He played 64 games with the Reign last season, scoring 22 goals and 24 assists.

Thomas debuted with the Kings on April 1 against the Winnipeg Jets after an upper-body injury to centreman Philip Danault.

In his seven games with Los Angeles, he scored three goals and an assist including a game-winner against the San Jose Sharks on April 4.

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