The Oakville Blades visited the Den for the Panthers’ second game of the weekend. The opening period was relatively quiet, with neither team able to generate a goal.
Pickering broke through early in the second, as Marco Costante and Devon Ferroni scored within the first minute on long shots from nearly the same spot just inside the blue line to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Oakville responded later in the period with its lone goal, cutting the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second intermission.
The Panthers pulled away early in the third. Evan Elliott scored twice, recording his sixth and seventh goals of the season, while Charlie Key added his 14th to extend the lead. For the second straight game, Pickering was awarded a penalty shot, and for the second straight game it went unfinished, as Matt Indovina made a strong move but rang his shot off the post.
AP Joey Longo picked up his first two OJHL points by assisting on both of Elliott’s goals. The game became heated in the final minute, resulting in several fighting and game misconduct penalties.
Anthony Sciere was once again solid in goal, stopping 45 shots to earn his 14th win of the season. With the victory, Pickering moved into a tie for third place in the Eastern Conference with the Newmarket Hurricanes and the Haliburton County Huskies, sitting four points back of Trenton with a game in hand on both teams.
