Picton’s Aiden Treverton had four helpers in his club’s 6-0 win over Campbellford on Saturday. (Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)
A shutout effort by Picton starter Ethan Schwarz Saturday in Campbellford was more than enough to give incoming Pirates bench boss Ian Brooks his first Provincial Junior Hockey win and stop a four game slide.
Mr. Schwarz made 25 stops and Picton’s offence sprung to life as the locals fired six pucks past Braden Henderson who faced 46 shots in total. With the win, Picton moved their record to 15-21-2.
The Pirates are locked into fifth place in the Tod Division. Picton opens the 2024 Schmalz Cup playoffs on the road against the fourth seed in early March.
Former Rebels captain Aiden Treverton set up five of Picton’s six goals including both first period tallies. Rookie Reese Kleinsteuber would bag his fifth of the season at the 6:34 mark to open the scoring. Just 35 seconds, later, Gerrit Kempers would get his second helper of the contest, feeding Zach Brooks for the Frankford native’s 10th of the campaign.
Cole Stevenson would get his 12th of the year at 2:12 on the power play while John Hearns had his first as a Pirate at the 14:48 mark of the second.
In the third, Mr. Kleinsteuber and Mr. Brooks doubled down to make it a 6-0 final.
On Thursday, the Pirates hosted the Frankford Huskies for Matt Stever night, honouring the late Picton native and raising money for the fund that bears his name. The Matt Stever Fund, administered by the Rotary Club of Picton, is a program that assists families in Prince Edward County who suffer hardship due to family crisis specifically, but not limited to, hardship caused by the severe illness, accident or death of a child. A total of $860 was raised for the fund by way of a draw on Belleville Senators tickets secured by trainer Mark Liggins and a donation of the team’s 50/50 proceeds.
On the ice, the club nearly climbed out of a 3-0 first period hole but fell 6-2 to the first place Pups.
Luc Amat would beat Frankford starter Dean Spry with 12 seconds left in the opening stanza to make it 3-1. County native Riley Grimmon had one of the three Frankford goals in the first.
Just 19 seconds into the second, Parker Mattis would fire a nifty backhand past Spry to make it a one goal game.
But before Picton could think about an equalizer, Ben Smith set up Heiden Leonard at 2:14 and then Gage Butcher scored his second of the game at the 6:49 mark to push the visitors ahead 5-2. Frankford’s Karsten Leonard added a goal in the third.
Picton is at home on Thursday to play Amherstview before travelling to Napanee for a potential first round preview on Friday.
See it in the newspaper
11° Light Rainshower
