Left on the table

 

JASON PARKS
PICTON GAZETTE-EDITOR

There was no glass-half-full outlook for the Picton Pirates a day after dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to the Tod Division leading Frankford Huskies.

On Tuesday, Pirates bench boss Jamie Lane was asked about picking up a point for a regulation tie at a time in the season when such items can be a valuable commodity But with the Pirates taking a 3-1 lead in the first period, taking a one goal lead inside the final five minutes of play, and not steering the ship home with a clean win- or even an overtime win- the skipper was not pleased. At all.

“I’m not happy with the result. We made five preventable mistakes and we have to lose that from our DNA. As we head down the stretch towards the postseason, we can’t be satisfied with a single point. We need to leave the rink with two points,” Mr. Lane said. “If we are focussed, we win that hockey game.”

And Picton (23-10-3, 49 points) certainly looked full value for the win for a large swath of the contest.

Close but not close enough…

After Ty McCambridge opened the scoring at 2:12, the Pirates responded with three straight goals. Rookie Keagan Carr took a Rheydan McCoy pass, skated to the high slot and ripped a wrist shot past Frankford starter Liam Boyer just 46 seconds after the Huskies opening tally.

Later in the opening stanza, Picton’s top line went to work as Cole Stevenson led a 2-on-1 from mid ice and fired a glover side bullet past Mr. Boyer at 12:41.

Less than a minute later, Picton finished off a brilliant passing play that saw Luc Amat find Cole Lavender in the slot. The Wellington native made a deft cross crease pass at 13:18 and Gerrit Kempers had a tap-in for his 20^th goal of the campaign.

Frankford managed to close the gap in the late going when Carrying Place’s Jakob Gardiner beat Nolan Lane for his 14^th of the year.

After a scoreless second, the Huskies would get the game back to even at the 6:57 mark of the third when Spencer Stanutz picked up a loose puck in the crease and lifted it over the trapping glove of Mr. Lane.

But Picton pulled ahead for a second time in the contest with exactly three minutes left. Captain Zack Brooks made a smart backhand pass up ice to catch his brother Trevor skating in stride. Trevor Brooks would find time and space on a one-on-one rush to draw the puck back and beat Mr Boyer low to the glove side to push Picton ahead 4-3.

Frankford would pull Mr. Boyer for an extra attacker and exactly two minutes after the Trevor Brooks goal, Mr. McCambridge fired home his second of the game off a goalmouth scramble to force overtime.

In the extra session, Frankford’s Evan Erwin would break down the centre of the Picton zone and knife a back hand effort past the Pirates goalie at the 1:21 mark. The win moved Frankford to 52 points, three ahead of the Pirates.

Tight at the top of the Tod

Going into Wednesday, the Pirates trail the Napanee Raiders by one point for second overall in the Tod Division. The Pirates are clear of the Amherstview Jets by three points. Those respective squads play one another this evening in Amherstview.

On Friday, the Pirates picked up a 5-3 win in Port Hope in a game that wasn’t as close as it appeared. The Pirates got goals from Mr. Lavender, Cole Stevenson, and Dorian Rimmer over the opening 24:30 to build a 3-0 lead. Port Hope would chip away and get the game to 3-2 but Mr. Carr collected his own rebound and batted the eventual game winner past Brayden Friedrich at the 15:21 mark of the frame.

Port Hope answered late with a Ben Hansen power play tally but Mr. Kempers salted the game away at 13:20 when he potted a feed from Mr. Lavender in tight to make it a 5-3 final.

The win was a vital course correction for Picton who looked flat at home on Thursday against the visiting Raiders. Napanee put a handful of goals into the Picton net in the first two periods before the Pirates and Nolan Rosebush spoiled Logan Vale’s shutout bid late in the third with a power play goal.

Picton plays a home-and-home set with Lakefield Chiefs, hosting the Tribe on Thursday before travelling to Selwyn Township on Saturday.