An afternoon makeup game in Markham, rescheduled from an earlier weather postponement, carried added importance for Pickering as it represented their game in hand over both Newmarket and Haliburton. The Panthers made the most of the opportunity, defeating the Royals 4-1 and completing a season sweep of all four meetings.
Jack Dean got the Cats off to a quick start, scoring his 11th of the season just 59 seconds into the game. Markham responded with a power-play goal to even the score, but Evan Elliott restored the lead just over a minute later with what proved to be the game-winning goal, his 12th of the year.
Angelo Protopapas (12th) scored the lone goal of the second period, and Charlie Key (18th) added an empty-netter with two minutes remaining to complete the scoring.
Anthony Sciere turned aside 22 shots to earn his 21st victory of the season.
The Panthers continue to trend in the right direction, having won eight of their last nine games. More importantly, they are rounding into playoff form, playing disciplined, structured hockey and allowing just four total goals over their last four contests.
With the win, Pickering solidified its hold on third place in the East Conference with 72 points. The Panthers sit four points ahead of Newmarket and five ahead of Haliburton, with each club having four regular-season games remaining.
