The Picton Pirates (18-18-6) are decidedly backing into the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s postseason.

After posting a respectable 3-2-2 record in January where they looked poised to challenge for third place in the Tod Division standings, Picton was dreadful in the month of February. The Pirates were winless through their last half a dozen games. With a futile stretch of hockey, Picton dropped their hold on fourth place in the Tod Division and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Picton’s set to face off with Amherstview in the Tod Division quarterfinals with the Jets having home ice advantage. Picton will host Game One on Saturday with the Jets hosting Game Two on Sunday. The rest of the schedule is being hammered out between the two teams.

Defensive Struggle

Among their many woes this month, scoring appears to be Picton’s primary concern heading to the postseason. The Bucs only lit the lamp nine times in February and their inability to create offence was in plain sight in their season finale in Amherstview on Monday.

Down 1-0 after the first, Picton was able to beat the clock late in the second.

Kennan Wiles collected a Ben Smith feed and wired his 21^st of the year with a second left on the clock to make it 1-1 after two.

The teams played a scoreless third and the game went to overtime which was tough news for the Pirates.

Going into the final game of the season, Picton was amongst the PJHL leaders in overtime losses.

When Jack Churchill stuffed a wrap-around backhand past starter Nolan Lane, it tied the Pirates with the Amherstburg Admirals with a half dozen OT losses, a PJHL high water mark.

The good news for Picton is they are officially done playing 3-on-3 hockey. The more difficult piece is they are playing Amherstview, a team they haven’t beaten since November 30, 2025. The Jets posted a 5-2-0 record in their last seven games, including two wins over the Pirates.