Pickering’s season came to a grinding halt with this loss, giving Trenton a 4-games-to-1 victory in their Round 1 matchup. The Golden Hawks’ top offensive players outmatched the Panthers’ defensive play in this series, and Game 5 was no exception.
Teo Artichuk opened the scoring at 8:52 of the first period, banging in a rebound at the side of the net off assists from Woulds and Roach. In a nearly identical play at 6:47 of the second, Artichuk struck again, this time assisted by Roach and Brown, making it 2-0 Trenton.
The Golden Hawks extended their lead to 3-0 at 14:59 of the second period, as Matthews finished a setup from Artichuk and Roach. Pickering finally broke through at 18:52 on the power play, when Blake Wright scored off a feed from Charlie Key and Kailin Chen, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Hopes of a comeback were dashed when Trenton sealed the win with a power-play goal at 9:30 of the third, as Kuipers found the back of the net, assisted by Artichuk and Brown. The Panthers fought hard until the final whistle and put forth a strong effort throughout the series, but they were ultimately overpowered by Trenton’s offensive depth.
Ian Michelone got the net assignment one final time, making 22 saves on 26 shots in what would turn out to be his last OJHL game.
With the season over, the Panthers will now turn their attention to recruiting new additions to supplement a solid core of younger players eligible to return next season.
