
Wild Night at PMC as Lakers Take Down North Stars
The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers were fired up by the soundtrack to their game on Thursday night. It was country night, so the twangy music blared through the Peterborough Memorial Centre as the Lakers (7-6-0) beat the Owen Sound North Stars (1-11-0) 13-5 in what could be called a “spirited match.”
Owen Sound lost an assistant coach and their faceoff guy Mitch Gustavsen to game misconducts early, but things were generally calm through the first 38 minutes. With the Lakers up 12-2 late in the second period, Jake Withers was high sticked in a corner scrum, which prompted him to retaliate with a punch or two. As Withers was escorted to the penalty box, he and goaltender Kaleb Martin, who had been lifted from the game after Peterborough’s eighth goal, exchanged some verbal punches before Martin left the bench to jump Withers.
“We have to treat this game like any other game where we’re building, and we want to play on that edge,” said head coach Mike Hasen. “Wiz took one in the corner, his wires got crossed and one thing led to another. I’m not sure what was said on that side of the floor to make the first goalie go off. It was entertaining. For the fans, that doesn’t happen very often.”
As their scuffle ended, Andrew Kidd approached centre floor and removed his equipment, asking Lakers’ starter Deacan Knott to dance. Each ‘tender got one jab in. The penalties were numerous; all three goaltenders fighting were ejected from the game.
“I’ve never seen two goalies (from the same team) kicked out at once in the same game,” said Dustyn Birkhof. “That was a first for me. I obviously love that part of the game so it was really cool to watch. I just sat back and watched Deacan go to work there. That was awesome, he looked like Muhammed Ali out there doing some boxing.”
It is rare that both of a team’s goalies are lost during the game, but it does happen, most notably at the 2013 Mann Cup when both of the Six Nations Chiefs’ goalies were ejected for illegal equipment. Forward Colin Doyle strapped on the pads and made six saves in the final 10 minutes.
Tyler Halls was that man for Owen Sound. The defender put on Martin’s equipment and played 21:18, allowing only a single goal on 12 shots.
The Lakers understood there was a runner in net with little to no goal experience and factored that into their offensive plan in the third period. They took the high road.
“The respect of the game is there,” explained Hasen. “We want to play hard between the whistles and do the right things on and off the floor. To throw it on Hallsy and fire at his head or take those shots that we were taking in the first two periods, what does that do for us and for the game?”
Halls was heartily congratulated by the Lakers during the post-game handshakes, several of them having played with him in Rochester.
Nick Rose was able to replace Knott in the Lakers’ goal.
The rough stuff didn’t end after the second – Colton Armstrong played tug of war with Jackson Webster’s jersey at one point, and then Birkhof tried to square up with Brayden Hickey. At the same time, Robert Hope and Brendan Boyle got into a mostly verbal confrontation with Cam Pack and Dylan Lee but were given 10-minute misconducts anyway.
Peterborough led 5-0 after the first period, with two goals from Holden Cattoni and singles from Rob Hellyer, Justin Sykes and Mike Robinson, who lit up the arena with a dunk goal, legal for the first time in the MSL. Robinson planted himself behind the net and picked the right moment to wrap his arms around the post to jam the ball past Martin.
Knott held the North Stars scoreless for 35 minutes while the Lakers increased their lead to 12-0. In the second, Birkhof scored twice including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it redirect from Dylan Hutchison. Braedon Saris and DJ Clark each scored twice, and Robinson picked up his second.
“Coaches let us get in the mix and they want us pushing transition and I was just in the right spot at the right time,” Birkhof said. “I have great teammates that put the ball right in my stick. Hutchy great rebound, good look, obviously saw me there on the crease and kudos to him for finding me so quick.”
Hellyer scored an insurance marker in the third.
The Lakers are off until next Thursday when the second-place Oakville Rock make their only visit of the season. It’s Little Lakers Night in support of Five Counties Children’s Centre. Tickets are available through the Five Counties website, through Ticketmaster online or at the box office.
Of Note
- Attendance was 2,185
- Peterborough fired 59 shots on goal while Owen Sound let go of 43
- Jake Withers was 14/15 on faceoffs until his ejection; Dustyn Birkhof was 0/1, Matt Gilray 1/1 and Frank Coyle 2/4,
- Peterborough was 3/6 on the power play, and Owen Sound was 2/7 with a shorthanded marker
- The Lakers move back into third place, jumping over Brooklin with a game in hand
Full Lakers Scoring
Braedon Saris 2-4
Rob Hellyer 2-3
Mike Robinson 2-2
Daniel Clark 2-2
Holden Cattoni 2-2
Dustyn Birkhof 2-1
Justin Sykes 1-1
Thomas Hoggarth 0-2
Dylan Hutchison 0-1
PHOTOS BY DAVID PICKERING @PICKS_PICS






























