The Peterborough Petes came to play, blanking the Niagara North Stars 4-0 to clinch their first OHL Cup berth since 2014 as Will Cranley turned in a 22-save shutout.
Cranley, who had three shutouts during the regular season, joined goaltending partner William Craig in guiding the Petes to a 23-8-5 record this season as they surrendered just 82 goals in 36 games.
“We’re fortunate to have two of the best goaltenders in the OMHA,” said Petes blueliner Tyler Deline following the win. “Both of those guys have been great for us this season and it was nice to be able to score the goals we needed to get the win today.”
Peterborough’s defence turned out to be a pretty reliable source of offence in this one as Brett Robertson (1) buried one of his seven shots on goal 8:48 into action with assists from Noah Sedore and Luc Reeve.
The swift-skating Deline (1) built on the lead with 4:35 left in the second period with a great display of puck-handling before he put a shot past Matteo Lalama in the Niagara North crease.
Nolan Burke (1) put the Petes up by three just over three minutes later as Reeve and Sedore both picked up their second assists of the afternoon.
Ben Lukinuk (1) hit the open net shorthanded to put things away late as the Petes put a hard-fought 3-2 OMHA Championship Play-In loss to Quinte in their rearview mirror.
“Yeah that was a tough one to swallow for us, but we’re on to bigger things now,” Deline added. “It was a nice win but we can’t think about it too much because we have another game tomorrow to get ready for.”
The Petes outshot the Stars 35-22 as Lalama earned Player of the Game honours for Niagara North with 31 saves in the loss.
Niagara North sees its OHL Cup quest come to an end, closing the book on a season that saw them play to a 27-5-4 regular season record for second place in the SCTA.
The Petes advance to compete in the Lindros Division alongside the London Jr. Knights, Oakville Rangers, Vaughan Kings and Team NOHA.
PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Peterborough – Luc Reeve (2A, +1, 3 SOG, 1/2 FO)
Niagara North – Matteo Lalama (31 SV)
GAME CENTRE
Highlight reel goal by Peterborough’s Tyler Deline.