The Peterborough Timbermen had two games postponed this season due to snowy weather and lost them both, the latest coming on Sunday 13-6 at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre versus the first-place Toronto Monarchs.
The Timbermen held the Monarchs to a single goal in the third quarter and just two in the fourth while scoring four themselves, but the damage had been done earlier in the game as the Monarchs blanked the Timbermen 6-0 in the second quarter.
“Toronto looked like a team ready for the playoffs and we appeared uninterested and had no sense of urgency at both ends of the floor,” head coach Joe Sullivan said. “Once again we had a lack of commitment from key players that took its toll on us.”
Both teams played shorthanded on a busy St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
The Timbermen looked shaky in the first quarter but kept up with the Monarchs, trailing only 4-2. It was the complete breakdown in the second that cost them and allowed Toronto to take a 10-2 lead at halftime.
“Both Brett Perras and Ryan Masters did well to keep the score what it was,” Sullivan said. Perras relieved Masters after nine goals.
Sullivan said that the tenacious play of defenseman Kaleb Bingley was a bright spot. From Perth, Bingley has proven one of the Timbermen’s most committed players and also one of the fastest.
“If we played together for 60 minutes we could have won today,” Bingley said, “but we didn’t come together as a team until the second half. Joe had some big words for the D and I think that sunk in a little for us. We started focusing on our jobs and let the O do their thing.”
Former captain Tim Bergin suited up for his second game of the season and contributed a goal and two assists. The defense also received Colton Armstrong back from injury.
The Timbermen close out the regular season next Saturday, March 24 at 7 p.m. against the Paris RiverWolves at Children’s Arena in Oshawa. Quarter-final playoff action will begin the next weekend.
Scoring for the Timbermen:
Mark Vradenburg (2-2)
Tim Bergin (1-2)
Matt MacLeod (1-2)
Blake Kenny (1-1)
Dan Michel (1-1)
Colton Armstrong (0-2)
Nick Karam (0-1)
Fred Hartley (0-1)
