It was a lot closer than they would have liked, but three weeks from now when the Peterborough Timbermen look at the standings, all they’ll see is another W after defeating the Oshawa Outlaws 18-17 at Millbrook Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Coming off back-to-back losses, it was a needed win. Last week the Timbermen fell 19-7 to Whitby and 17-13 to Six Nations.
“I told the guys to go and relax, enjoy your family time during the bye week, so we can come back and have the numbers we need to compete,” said head coach Joe Sullivan. “We’ve had games where we’ve had 11 or 12 runners and it’s just too hard to compete. Then you see a game where we have 17, 18 runners like Saturday and we competed very well.”
Aaron Woods let the attack with six goals, scoring twice in the first quarter as the Timbermen took a 7-4 lead. Special teams were on fire as they scored twice on the power play before ending the quarter with shorthanded transition goals from Parker Sands and Jeff Geddis.
Mitchell Geoffroy and Cameron Simpson added power play goals in the second as the Timbermen took a 10-7 lead into halftime.
Veteran defenseman Brett Coons started the third quarter off winning the faceoff and streaking to the net to score his first goal of the season. Three more power play goals followed, as did an ejection to Oshawa coach Steve Toll, unhappy with the number of opportunities the Timbermen were given. The ejection followed a long delay featuring some quick math by scorekeepers and referees to sort out a multitude of penalties assessed.
Kyle McFadyen tussled with Mike Vertolli along the boards. Less than minute later, four more players were sent to the box and Sands was ejected from the game for fighting. Oshawa had been making their displeasure with the refs known for most of the game until it reached that boiling point.
“It can amp a game up that doesn’t need to be,” Sullivan said. “That’s something the league is looking to address, to make sure the refs are treated fairly with professionalism. It’s getting there but over time we’re going to see ourselves handled as professionally as can be.”
Oshawa ended the game with 62 penalty minutes while Peterborough had 28. The Timbermen were fully aware that the Outlaws were trying to pressure them into taking penalties but Peterborough’s leaders kept their players calm and collected on the bench.
Oshawa outscored Peterborough 6-4 in the final frame, doing everything they could to fight back. Luke Laskiewicz scored a pair 17 seconds apart but Coons won the next faceoff to Geddis, who ran in for his second goal of the game seven seconds later. And Woods’ three goals including a shot so hard that went right through the net, and the game winner, gave the Timbermen the edge.
“It was a good win especially because they made it close at the end. We just kept answering the bell and battling back,” said Woods. “We were moving the ball really well today. Everyone was getting a touch before putting it in so the other guys made it easy for me.”
Goaltender Landon Kells made a giant save with six seconds to go while the Timbermen were shorthanded.
“There’s that save, but there were also numerous saves throughout the game that kept them 2-3 goals back almost all game,” Sullivan praised. “When they got on a run then he would shut the door for us. Our specialty teams played fantastic, we had three shorthanded and nine on the power play. Kells played extremely well in net.
“Although you would think I’d be frustrated with 17 goals against, the only frustration I have is with our defense allowing them to get the shots they got, not keying on top offensive players like John St. John (6G/4A) and Laskiewicz (3G/3A). As we mature those are the small battles that you have to win to compete at the top end of this league.”
Of note, Skkylar Thomas had 10 assists.
The Timbermen are next in action on Saturday, February 29 at 3 p.m. at Millbrook Arena when the Whitby Steelhawks pay a return visit. The Steelhawks have already won the season series but the Timbermen still have a chance to move up the standings, so it’ll be another tightly contested game.
Scoring for the Timbermen:
Aaron Woods (6-1)
Ty Thompson (2-6)
Cameron Simpson (2-3)
Justin Bragg (2-0)
Jeff Geddis (2-0)
Brett Coons (1-3)
Parker Sands (1-2)
Mitchell Geoffroy (1-2)
Cam Crowe (1-0)
Skkylar Thomas (0-10)
Todd Chapman (0-1)
AROUND THE ALL
- After defeating the Timbermen last Sunday for their first win of the season, the Six Nations Snipers picked up back to back wins over Toronto and Paris this weekend to jump into fifth place.
- John St. John of the Oshawa Outlaws leads the league with 64 points (20G/44A). Peterborough’s Aaron Woods is sixth in points (43) and fourth in goals (27).
