It took an outstanding goaltending performance on the part of Campbellford Rebels puck stopper Brayden Friedrich on Sunday evening to keep the Picton Pirates from collecting all six available points over the Family Day Long weekend.

Nevertheless, the locals sill managed to make ground in the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s Tod Division standings by picking up five of those six potential points and move into third place all alone in the six team circuit.

With the tie, Picton (19-13-3, 42 points) moved one point ahead of the Port Hope Panthers and have two games in hand on the Cats. The Pirates still have designs on reaching second place in the division but will need to sweep Amherstview in the two remaining contests the Bucs have with the Jets and get some help from the Tod field.

Picton does have two games in hand on Amherstview.

If Picton winds up missing out on second place and the first round bye that comes with it, they may point to Sunday night in Campbellford where Friedrich made 47 saves, many of the spectacular kind,  and stopped everything Picton sent his way save one shot in the second period.

After Brock Kelsh opened the scoring for the hosts in the first, Picton found itself down a goal and a man in the second frame. 

Picton defender Jakob Dacosta was able to intercept a Rebels pass attempt and move the puck on to Cole Stevenson.

Stevenson and fellow penalty killer Nick Kirby moved up the ice and Stevenson would feed Kirby with a nice pass. The Consecon native then unloaded a shorthanded bullet past Friedrich at 13:50 to square the game at 1-1.

Picton out shot the Rebels 15-10 in the second and 13-8 in the third but couldn’t find a way to solve the former Quinte Red Devil manning the Campbellford cage.

In the Picton net, fellow Red Devil alum Brady Spry kept up his end and thwarted the Rebels volleys sent his way.

With regulation solving nothing, the teams went to a sudden death overtime period where Picton was tasked with killing off a minor penalty in the early part of the seven minute stanza.

The Rebels couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage and, once back at even terms, Picton’s eight shots were stopped by Friedrich leaving the game at 1-1.

On Saturday night in Frankford, the Pirates were able to pull away from the host Huskies late in a 6-3 victory.

After Picton dominated the opening 10 minutes, it was the hosts breaking the ice at 15:06 as Logan White banked a power play goal past Pirates starter Ethan Beattie.

But the Pirates responded in short order. Dacosta would send fellow blue liner Cole Lavender on a rush and the Wellington native went bar down on a slap shot past Frankford’s Ethan Koren at 16:54.

Picton pushed their way in front just seconds later when Jack Dow tapped home his 24th off a Hosea Aculiak pass at 17:22.

Gerrit Kempers would add one of his three helpers in the game on the play.

In the second, the teams would once again score and reply in quick succession.

Dylan Foster would tie the game off a scramble in front of Beattie at 2:16 but the Pirates would march up the ice off the ensuing face-off and it was Kirby spotting Aculiak at the side of the net wide open for the Inukjuak, QC native’s third of the year.

Frankford would tie it up off a power play goal at 8:51 as Curtis Dicks’ point shot caught the corner  of the net to make it a 3-3 game.

But the Pirates went ahead to stay in the late going of the second as Cole Stevenson spotted Kirby in the slot and the fourth year Pirate made not mistake at 19:18.

The game stayed at 4-3 Picton through the majority of the final frame and the Pirates nearly had a power play dagger in the late going only to see Koren go post to post to rob Landon McLellan with a big glove save.

But any plans Frankford had on a last minute push were derailed after Kirby banged in his second of the game during at delayed penalty at the 18:31 mark that made it 5-3.

With time winding down and the Frankford net vacated for an extra attacker, Lavender’s long slap shot from his own end found the heart of the Huskies net with 8 seconds left to make it a 6-3 final.

Beattie was outstanding in the Picton net, making 37 saves.

On Thursday, Picton hosted Campbellford and skated to a 5-1 victory.

Picton’s Ian Harrison would score in the opening minute and Zack Brooks would fire home a goal past Rebels starter Owen Sheppard at 6:25.

It was the 10th goal of the campaign for both skaters.

Kempers converted on a Kirby pass at 2:24 of the second period, firing the puck along the ice and underneath Sheppard to make it 3-0 Picton.

Campbellford would get on the score sheet at the 8:23 mark when Kelsh beat Spry off a scramble to make it 3-1 but the Pirates would have a response later in the period.

Rheydan McCoy would spot Dow on the door step and the Wallbridge native had a tap in betwixt the wickets of Sheppard at 17:08.

Picton had a nice bit of passing just under a minute later as Zack Slaven cut across the blue line and fed the puck to Tyler Brady who quickly spotted Kempers moving to the slot area.

Delivering the puck on a platter, Kempers had little else to do but tap home his seventh of the season to make it 5-1.

In perhaps a bit of foreshadowing, Friedrich relieved Sheppard and stopped all 17 pucks sent his way over the last part of the second and the third period although the Bucs were mostly on cruise control through the last period.

Spry made 20 saves for his 13th win of the season.

Picton is in action on Tuesday at Frankford for a game that’s expected to be broadcast by Your Tv (Cogeco). Puck drop for the contest is 8:20.

On Thursday, Picton hooks up with the Rebels for the final time this season.

The Pirates then close out the month of February with a visit to Port Hope on Feb. 25 and then host the Amherstview Jets on Tues., Feb. 28 in Picton for a 7:30 p.m. start.

-Staff