Game Recap: Game 2 Pickering vs Stouffville (Round 2)

After a 3-1 win on the road the Pickering Panthers find themselves in a favourable 1-0 series lead over Stouffville playing their next 2 games at home.

Stouffville Spirit 0 at Pickering Panthers 4 - Status: Final
Sunday, March 22, 2026 - Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex

Stouffville 0 0 0 - 0
Pickering 2 1 1 - 4

1st Period-1, Pickering, Mallory 3 (Indovina, Key), 10:17 (PP). 2, Pickering, Costante 2 (Kavc, Dean), 16:17. Penalties-McKee Sto ((minor) hooking), 3:31; Ethier Pic ((minor) hooking), 6:07; Martineau Sto ((minor) roughing), 9:43; Sitlani Sto ((minor) slashing), 9:43; Kavc Pic ((minor) slashing), 9:43; McKee Sto ((minor) roughing), 17:18; Bruce Pic ((minor) roughing), 17:18.

2nd Period-3, Pickering, Key 2 (Costante, Ciarallo), 14:51 (PP). Penalties-Costante Pic ((minor) cross-checking), 3:59; Martin Sto ((minor) roughing), 7:46; Demiglio Sto ((minor) hooking), 14:00; Dean Pic ((minor) tripping), 15:14.

3rd Period-4, Pickering, Bruce 1 (Robar, Ethier), 2:30. Penalties-Indovina Pic ((minor) tripping), 4:51; Street Sto ((major + gm, (minor + gm) instigator/aggressor) fighting, (minor + gm) instigator/aggressor), 9:00; Costante Pic ((minor) slashing), 14:25; Armstrong Sto ((minor) roughing), 14:43; Ciarallo Pic ((minor) hooking), 14:43.

Shots on Goal-Stouffville 6-8-13-27. Pickering 10-9-8-27.
Power Play Opportunities-Stouffville 0 / 5; Pickering 2 / 5.
Goalies-Stouffville, Sabourin (27 shots-23 saves). Pickering, Sciere (27 shots-27 saves).
A-353
Referees-Mike Ricica, Nick Myers.
Linesmen-Sheldon Calbury, Daniel Eden.

Transcript

Thomas West 0:19

This is a really great game, I think, especially for the Phogos 3 because as you may have noticed after game one we have a little bit of a different format. So the first game was played in Strovial Frick and Fantasy's one night game three to one and round of the four neutral zone, and trying to bring it back in the line of that.

SPEAKER_10 1:05

We've got a match to the game. There's a chance of a breakaway for Vickering over the line shot.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Man, that play looks so familiar from uh St. Mike's.

SPEAKER_10 1:22

Jack Dean, welcome home. Martinal on the draw, Vickering territory wins the face-off. Armstrong far side, changing three, face go. Game one, two-free-one victory for the Pickering Panthers.

Thomas West 2:11

Now we're playing two games here in Pickering, and then we'll play two games in Stoville, and then we'll be back to the normal one-on-one for game six and game seven. If necessary, but it also would line up game seven to be here in Pickering. Obviously, the Panthers are looking at this game today as are the Stoville Spirit. So last game the Panthers got gold from two sources that they had not seen yet in these playoffs. One being Jack Dean, he scored the game-winning goal, and it was against his former team as well in the Stoneville Spirit, which I thought was very interesting. The other one being Tyro Ty Robar, the 2009-borne player, on the side of the Pickering characters. He is an exciting young prospect, but a great player for the Pickering characters right now. In the OGA. So as you may know, there was quite a bit of drama that came out of that game. It actually seemed like more of a path of series or a start of the series between these two teams. There wasn't a whole lot of stuff out for the whistles. We might see a little bit more today though, because we saw Michael Levine get injured on it looked like kind of an innocent play. I kinda gotta go back and watch it again. Unfortunately, he is out of the lineup tonight. Just kind of waiting to see what the word is on him, but he will not play tonight. The very good news for the Pickering Panthers though is Kyle Secko is in the lineup. So if you saw that hit last game, uh it was a hit by Rowan Smith from behind, and it was just a pretty clear five-minute major that was called uh right away by the official in Stoville. They'll keep an eye on Sabron, who's starting here for now.

SPEAKER_10 3:47

A huge hit behind the net. Rowan Smith blasted one of the Panthers, and he's gonna go off, and that's gonna be uh that's gonna be it for That'll do it for Stovill. That'll do it for Stoville with 217 remaining.

Thomas West 4:02

Rowan Smith is gonna be suspended. Also, just waiting to hear how many games that suspension is, but he is out of the lineup tonight. So, Rowan Smith, defenseman, out for Snowville, Levine, defenseman, out for Pickering. Two important pieces of the back end for each of their two teams. But the Panthers happy they at least have Kyle Sacco in the lineup tonight. He's played really well throughout these playoffs as well, so happy to have him in the lineup. Now, huge game for Pickering, winning the first one on the road. They have not left yet in these playoffs. Pickering Panthers swept away the Wellington Dukes. It was a 4-0 sweep in the first round, didn't have much trouble at all. Now they play a Strobille Spirit team. If you heard us talking about on the podcast the other day, this is gonna be a little bit of a different challenge for the Pickering Panthers, because the Strobel Spirit will be able to play with the Panthers a lot more than the Wellington Dukes. I know that's an understatement because Stoville won three of the four matches between these two teams in the regular season, including some handily won games where they had a shadowed on the other side as well. So, Pickering winning game one. That's a huge confidence boost for them. They can come away with a win here in game two at home. They're in really, really good shape in these playoffs. Alright, joined now by Jack Dean. Jack, you get your first goal of these playoffs. You do it against your former team. How good did that feel last game?

SPEAKER_06 5:30

Yeah, it was a great one to feel. Uh, I mean, been struggling to score a little bit, had a lot of chances, so that one was huge for sure.

Thomas West 5:35

Jack, I know it's a bit of an odd format with this series with game one being on the road and then two games at home, but how big was it for you guys, just as a momentum booster to win that first game on the road?

SPEAKER_06 5:45

Yeah, yesterday was huge. You know, come home and play two. It's always a good feeling to get that first one, so gotta win these two at home.

Thomas West 5:51

Uh, you come away with a sweep in your first series, you win game one. Obviously, something's going well for you. What do you want to keep doing tonight?

SPEAKER_06 5:58

Uh, you know, we just gotta keep for checking hard, keep our D zone clean, and uh it should be a good game. Jack, thanks for those good luck tonight. Thanks, Ed.

Thomas West 6:10

Well, this is a big one tonight between the Pickering Panthers and Stowville Spirit. Thomas West here at the Pickering Recreation Complex. This is game two. Last game, a 3-1 victory for the Pickering Panthers. Jack Dean against his former team ended up getting the game-winning goal. Ivan Elliott tacking on one as well, and Ty Robar picking up a goal. There is some championship caliber players in the house tonight. The Pickering Panthers honoring some of their Buckland Cup alumni from the 2022 Buckland Cup Championship. The Pickering Panthers won Alexander Pappas for Opolis, Andrew Ballantyne, and Matthew Altamar here to drop the puck for the Pickering Panthers.

SPEAKER_09 6:52

And tonight we'd like to honor three special guests who will take part in our ceremony puck. Our guests were members of the 2022 Buckling Cup Championship team.

SPEAKER_08 7:02

Please welcome and please welcome it.

Thomas West 7:33

Just about set for puck drop between the Pickering Panthers and Stoville Spirit. We should say there's a little bit more lineup news than we alluded to earlier. Devin Farroni also out of the lineup tonight for the Pickering Panthers, which, with Michael Levine out and Kyle Secko, who is in the lineup but took that huge hit last night, maybe a bit banged up. Pickering Panthers defense needed some help, and they've called on Cam Herbert, the six foot-five player. He'll be the tallest player out there on the ice tonight out of Oshawa, Ontario, who was playing for the Ajax Pickering Raiders. He's signed his AP card with the Pickering Panthers. Now playing his first playoff game in the OJHL here tonight. Marco Castante starts out slowly. Now passes it off to Charlie Key across the Pickering Panther logo, and it's dumped in off the skate of Sitlani. And then a shot for the point by Castante. Blocked. Big play there by Demilio to get in front of it. Castante sends it rink wide into the middle. Chirello and he misfired. And Stoville will bring it out to center ice. D'EMilio looking for some offense on the PK. Long shot stopped by Sherry. He'll glove it and hold on. 47 seconds to go in the power play for Pickering. Back to the point. Shot by Austin, tipped in front. It trickles towards the goal. Penalty coming up. It's gonna go against the Pickering Panthers. Anthony Sherry had to make a heck of a say on the man in front of the net. Doville comes away with it. Nathan Wendell will bring this one across the red line. He's looking for more. Windle driving to the goal, and it's stopped by Anthony Sherry. He was being leaned on there by Irvin Lang, and it was just enough to break up the shot. Kavok now holds up at the blue line, then a big hit up high by Jacob Martineau. This is probably a head contact penalty, and it's gonna go against the Stoville spirit. McKee. Charlie Key. Flipped rings wide shot on goal. Rebounds card. The Pickering Panthers strike first in game two. And it's Jake Mallory who gets the goal. And that's the area of the ice that he loves to score those power play goals right in front of the net on the rebound. And Jake Mallory has given the Pickering Panthers a 1-0 lead. His third goal, the playoffs. Henry Austin puts it right back in. Sherry out of his net to stop that one. Secko. Bringing the puck forward. Reckles lost the stick in the corner. And now he gets back in the play. Kavok takes a hit from Street in front of his own bench. Elliott, Jack Dean, tries the puck free, gets it out to Kavok. He drops it back to the point. Marco Costante. He can let it fly and he scores. Marco Castante by the Stooville bench with a big celebration at 2-0 Panther lead. Now when Marco Castante walks between the circles like that, you know he's gonna shoot the puck, and he seldom misses. Castante's got five points for the Pickering Panthers in the playoffs and his second goal. And that'll do it for the first period of play. Certainly a positive one on the side of the Pickering Panthers, and maybe things starting to tighten up a little bit on the side of the Stoville Spirit, trailing 1-0 in the series. 2-0 Pickering Panthers. We'll take a quick break and be right back in about 14 minutes' time. Alright, joined now by Marco Costante. Marco, that's a great place for you to shoot the puck right between the hash marks. How much do you like to let it fly from that area?

SPEAKER_05 11:31

Oh, I I love it. You know, we're getting that opportunity off the blue line and walking in, it's doesn't happen very often as a defenseman, and um, when you get that opportunity, I like to take advantage of it, so it felt really good.

Thomas West 11:41

You guys take a 1-0 series lead on the road. You are the lower seed in this series. What did you guys kind of expect coming into this game tonight?

SPEAKER_05 11:49

Um, you know, I expected them coming out hard and um a lot of hitting coming from last game, but uh we know what uh we know what we're capable of and uh how we can take these guys on as a lower seed, and no one gives us enough respect, and I think we're a really good team, and I believe in uh I believe in our group.

Thomas West 12:06

Uh it's no secret that you guys are a little bit shorthanded on defense tonight, which means big demands from you and all the regulars in the lineup. Can you just kind of tell me what it's like on that defensive end of the bench right now?

SPEAKER_05 12:16

Yeah, like I said uh earlier and back in the other series, um, it's next next man up mentality, and I believe in everybody in our group, and uh we can get the job done. So we've got to keep rolling from here and uh keep the energy up. Alright, Marco, thanks for this good luck again. Thank you very much.

Thomas West 12:30

I appreciate it. Martin sends it back. Charlie Key taken down and a penalty coming up here. Key just got it wound up through the neutral zone. D'EMilio got the stick in there. D'EMilio is arguing with the official right now, saying that Charlie Key went down a little too easy. Certainly wasn't an egregious penalty, but Charlie Key will stay out there for the power play. In front. Chirello with a shot, stopped by Sabarin. Back to the point. Castante holds that puck in. Charlie Key sends the puck down low. Mallory Key back to Marco Castante, works it across. Indivina doesn't shoot, sends it a rink wide. That was an ambitious pass for Charlie Key, who collects. Shot for the point, wide off the stick of Marco Costante. Indivina in there battling for the puck. Gave Charello there against two Stoville Spirit. Torello comes away with it. Actually, sorry, that's Jake Mallory. Puck comes back to the point now. Marco Costante run over there by Jacob Martineau. Indivina takes the puck back, rip wide pass, Torello fans on it, sends it back in front. Scramble for it. Costante sends it back, Charlie Key, backhand shots. Charlie Key on a wild scramble in front of the net, puts it home. The Panthers come, cool, collected amongst the chaos, and laid 3-0. Boy, time slowed down as Charlie Key got that puck on his backhand, settled it down, and then finally just scraped it across the goal line. And Pickering out to a commanding 3-0 lead in the second. And the buzzer will go, signaling the end of the second period. The Pickering Panthers tack on one more. They lead 3-0. Stick around. We'll be back in about one minute. Sean Myers joins the show. Just give us a sec to get set up. Yeah, so I don't know if you've been watching this entire period, but that Charlie Key goal, where you do you have eyes on that one? Yeah. Okay, so I mean, that's gotta just be like a heart stopping moment, right? Like Castante gets the puck over. Like the composure by Charlie Key to kind of get that puck on the back end and put it home. Like, wouldn't you expect anything less just composure-wise from your captain with the with the empty net there?

SPEAKER_01 15:00

Yeah, no, our 20-year-olds have been have been rock stars for us. They're playing well, and you know, they just bring that pedigree of, you know, they've been here, they've done things like this, and you know, even in a situation like that where our guys are getting dogpiled on in the crease, you know, they're they're calm, cool, and they put the buck in the net, right? So that's all we can ask for, and um, yeah, I know I'm super proud of them for that.

Thomas West 15:20

Oh, welcome back to the Pickering Recreation Complex. Special thanks to Sean Myers for taking the time to chat for 10 minutes or so on the on the broadcast just a few minutes ago. The goal in the second period, Charlie Key, his second of the playoffs from Gabe Terrell. Oh, that was a power play goal. The Pickering Panthers have got a power play goal earlier from Jake Mallory, and a five-on-five goal from Marco Castante and lead the Stoville Spirit 3-0 after two periods of play. Shots on goal, 19-14 in favor of the Pickering Panthers. Although it should be noted, the Stoville Spirit were really coming on towards the later stages of that second period of play. Etier backtracks into his own zone. Puck flipped up the boards. Bruce walks across the line, toe drags his way in, shotgars. Oh, what a goal from Tyler Bruce! And the Panthers lead 4-0. Oh, Tyler Bruce, the toe drag didn't quite work, but then he found a way through and ripped it top shelf. And the Panthers out to a 4-0 lead. 11-05 to go in the third. This one flipped out of the zones, did Lanny, and now we're gonna get a fight Tejon Street. And this is going to get ugly here for both the Pickering Panthers and Tejon Street. That was a fight that did not look like it was accepted by, I think, Jake Mallory. Tejon Street just started going after Mallory. Mallory's loving it. He's he's firing up the crowd. That little look back to the Stoville bench team pointing at his head, saying he was in in their head. Saw Kyle Kavok blowing kisses to the Stoville Spirit Bench earlier. Yeah, Tejon Street is not a guy that you want to get in a fight with. I've seen him fight a couple times in the Ontario Hockey League when he was a member of the Sudbury Wolves, and he's a he's a tough customer there. Seven minutes of penalty time up on the side on Stoville. This is a little bit more how I expected this would go. Tejon Street just kind of started manhandling Jake Mallory, who was unsuspecting after that play. Mallory, I think, is just going to get checked out because he took a whole bunch of punches to the head there. So I think they're just gonna make sure that he's alright. I mean, you you can see the expression on his face. I think he he's feeling just fine after that. But he'll be on the bench. The only reason I say that is that usually he would be the first guy out there on the power play. So this is going to be a nearly game-ending power play here for the Stoville Spirit. Seven minutes of time up on the side. It's probably a roughing and a fighting major on the side of the Stoville Spirit, and the Pickering Panthers will have seven minutes to work with. This has been a passive yet smart power play so far for Pickering. This final three minutes of power play or four minutes of power play time for the Pickering Panthers may look boring to the eye, but that's exactly how the Pickering Panthers would like this game to finish. There were some words being exchanged by Peter Smith and one of his former teammates, and that will do it. A game played to near perfection by the Pickering Panthers, and Anthony Sherry knocks the net down and gets the shutout. A 4-0 victory. Sherry was excellent. The Pickering Panthers as a team rock solid, and they take a 2-0 series lead in this best of seven over Stowville.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

That's a really big win for sure. I'm really proud of the boys for you know all the guys stepping up from you know APs to guys who might have been out of the lineup last game. You know, it's uh really resilient group, as I say every time, and uh yeah, we're uh we're rolling right now.

SPEAKER_03 19:39

So something this team was actually used to from the regular season is players having to step up and fill it in because there were so many injuries, and in hindsight, maybe come playoff time. That was a good thing because it's something you're used to.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

100%, you know, when you're uh getting production from you know every single line, every single player, you know, whether it's not on the score sheet, you know, it might be just winning those battles and just doing the right things to get the win. You know, everyone's stepping up, and uh we just gotta keep the ball rolling and uh keep the intensity high.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

When you get jumped, then there's no reason to fight when you're down when you're up four-nothing in a playoff game. So that was kind of you're you were topping your head to say this is smart, this is smart. You just walked away and seven-minute power play did it went.

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Yeah, you know, uh on that play everything everything kind of went according to plan, you know. Uh I got a pretty hard head, so I can take it. Uh so yeah, I think that worked out pretty well, and you know, keep it keep it going.

SPEAKER_03 20:31

Do nothing seriously.

SPEAKER_04 20:42

Yeah, you know, I think uh I think game by game our confidence is growing, and you know, from what it seems like, you know, theirs might be diminishing a little bit, but uh that you know that doesn't change our game whatsoever. And like you said, Holmites next game. Really gotta take advantage of that and uh stick it to them.

Thomas West 20:58

That was the voice of Jake Mallory there after the Panthers' near perfect 4-0 victory. Now, you may have heard in the intermission I chatted with Sean Myers, he had some great thoughts on the Panthers' acquisitions that they picked up at the deadline, how they're performing and gelling with the new team, and even the crowd size, which has been expanding game by game at the Pickering Recreation Conference. Okay, Sean, we'll get into both of these series, but I just think this thing is like a really big GM points for you because you you got Kyle Kavak, right? He was traded for the Wellington 2s. He had a great series against Wellington, scores the opening goal of the series, had three goals, and pretty much won the game for you guys in that final game four. Then you got Jack Dean who comes into this series against the Stoville Spirit, scores the game winning goal last night. Like those two acquisitions and just maybe everyone. Like, you gotta be feeling that's gotta be a good feeling for you when you see stuff like that happen.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Yeah, nothing I like more than watching those guys succeed, you know, coming here, and it's it's even better when they're playing against their old team. So, um, especially the Cavic one, we're super happy for him. He had a great series. Against Wellington, and uh I'm hoping that uh Jack Dean can do the same this series. So he's off to a good start, and um both great guys, so we wish the best for them down the stretch here.

Thomas West 22:09

So Jack Dean and Peter Smith they come over from the Stoville spirit. You know, I look at just the way the Panthers have played in this series where you've kind of dictated the biggest of play, you certainly have in this game, and I'm just wondering like how do you develop guys and get guys in the lineup like Peter Smith and Jack Dean? Because they come from a team in the Stoville spirit where they didn't get as much playing time. Now they come here to the Pickering Panthers and like they're star players on this team now.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

Yeah, we've been had to get super creative this year and adding players and really building out this lineup, and you know, credit to the scouts and uh coaching staff and everyone that's watched tons of film, been to tons of games, and kind of evaluating where these guys could fit. And um, you know, it's all worked out well so far. The guys are playing great and uh they've really all bought in as a group. I couldn't honestly ask for a better group of guys that are really playing for each other every night.

Thomas West 22:57

Yeah, five and oh in the playoffs, you know, just just from talking to everyone and you know being down there around the locker room, the message is really good, right? Like everyone's kind of on the same page. And you know, I think about how dominant the Panthers were in that first round series. But, you know, I know we've done this a couple times, but like if you look back at the beginning of the year, and if I said you're gonna be the three seed and sweep away your first round opponent in the Wellington Dukes, like would you have believed it that that was something that was a possibility just with the way that first series went?

SPEAKER_01 23:27

No, I don't think uh even going into that series, we didn't think it would be uh that successful for us. I mean, every game was was pretty tight there. It was a good series and honestly a good test for our guys. So um looking back though, no, we're definitely happy with where we're at now, and um, yeah, I'll leave it at that.

Thomas West 23:43

Yeah, it fantastic. You know, uh in a sweep, I always wonder, like, you know, what was kind of the turning point in that series? Like, I I would have said maybe Kyle Kavok, just getting it started right away for you guys, getting on the score sheet. You guys went down a lot though in the game and it kind of showed the resilience. But was there kind of a turning point for you in the in that series against the Wellington Dukes where you know you guys started to feel really comfortable?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

I don't know if there's necessarily a turning point, but anytime you can win a series, uh win a game on the road, I think that's important. So once we won in Wellington, and you know, they got a tough crowd there, they got a lot of local support. So to go into their rink and win was huge, and uh, you know, we just look to carry that momentum into every series. So that would kind of be probably my my spot in that series that stood out.

Thomas West 24:26

So you talk about the support, right? Like Wellington's such a good hockey town, you see so many fans come to the game. I know that's kind of a dream for a scenario here in Pickering. And I look around tonight, I mean, me and Donald were we're walking down, it's packed on our way down to the concession stands. Like, you know, that's gotta be cool for you, just seeing so many people, you know, come out to the rink, especially for these 730 games.

SPEAKER_01 24:48

Yeah, I know it's it's super cool. Honestly, like we're Durham's junior A team, so we're hoping to get as many fans out here as possible. Um you know, we said part of our thing this year was if we were in a spot to you know be buyers of the deadline to go on a playoff run, we would, and with that, you know, we're hoping we get the local support from fans and people that want to come out and watch. So we've been super happy with our crowds so far, and uh, we're hoping to continue that, you know, the next couple home games.

Thomas West 25:11

Yeah, just gotta ask a squell. I know we got Matthew Altimar, Alexander Papi Speroulos, Andrew Ballantyne. Uh you I think you were just a scout on the Pickering Panthers when we ended up winning a championship back in 2022. Now you've become the GM just to kind of see championship caliber players like that and kind of bring some of that atmosphere back to the recreation complex. I know seeing them, that was something that was really exciting. You know, that's gotta be cool just to kind of see those players come back, and it I know it's great to have them in the house tonight as well.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

Yeah, no, that that part of uh Panthers history is so important, right? That run you guys went on, and then winning a Buckling Cup is so important. So we just wanted to uh you know get those guys out here to drop the buck and kind of celebrate them a little bit once again. And um, you know, we're hoping that in a few years we have a couple players like that that are Buckling Cup champions back here to drop the buck. So um, yeah, super happy that they could come out and uh really glad we could have them. All right, Sean, thanks for this. Always great to chat with you. Awesome. Thanks, Alex.