On any given night in the OJHL, any team can beat any other, and that was the case as the underdog Cobourg Cougars handed the Panthers a 4-3 loss. Cobourg jumped on Pickering right from the opening faceoff and controlled play in the Panthers’ end for much of the first ten minutes. That pressure paid off with two goals midway through the period, scored just two minutes apart, one coming on the power play.
Pickering responded late in the first when Matt Indovina (26th) converted a pass from Angelo Protopapas to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the intermission.
Early in the second period, Protopapas (11th) scored to tie the game at two, but the Cougars continued to attack and added two more power-play goals later in the frame to regain control with a 4-2 lead.
The Panthers pushed hard in the third, earning four power-play opportunities, including a six-minute stretch of five-on-four hockey. Charlie Key capitalized on one of those chances to pull Pickering within one, but that was as close as the Panthers would come despite outshooting Cobourg 19-5 in the final period.
Three of Cobourg’s four goals came on the power play. Daniel Giusti kept Pickering in the game with a strong performance in goal, making 28 saves, including stops on two breakaways.
