Make it two losses in a row for the Peterborough Timbermen who fell to the Paris RiverWolves 15-7 on Saturday night at Syl Apps Community Centre.
The Timbermen still share second place with the Toronto Monarchs, who lost to the Whitby Steelhawks on Saturday afternoon. But with the season heading into crunch time, all of the bottom four teams are very capable of catching up to the Timbermen.
“We competed well but our biggest concern is the commitment level which has been the case with this team for three years. We had a chance to win and move into second place on our own but instead we took two big steps backwards,” said head coach Joe Sullivan.
Paris took advantage of their shorthanded opponents in the first, outscoring them 7-1. Sullivan said the Timbermen only had 13 regular players in the lineup and called up two runners from the U22 team to help.
“Paris was as strong a team as I’ve seen this year,” Sullivan said. “They had Scott Johnston (former Toronto Rock) and Brandon Robinson, who was just released from Rochester, in their lineup. They were there and we were ripe to be taken.”
The Timbermen won the second quarter, outscoring the home team 3-1. Each team scored twice in the third but the RiverWolves ran away with the game in the fourth.
Colton Armstrong led the Timbermen with a hat trick and one assist. Mark Vradenburg scored twice, while Blake Kenney added a goal and a helper and Parker Sands added one goal. Nick Damude and Ethan Woods each played half the game.
Drake Smith had five goals and one assist for Paris, who also had contributions from Spencer Pyke (3G/1A), Robinson (3G/1A), Johnston (2G) and Dan Keane (7A). Former Timbermen goalie Nolan Clayton picked up the win.
The Timbermen are back on home floor at Children’s Arena this coming Saturday, March 2nd at 3 p.m. to host the surging Whitby Steelhawks, who have won two games in a row.
