The Peterborough Petes slid into the holiday break on a five-game losing streak.
That’s been the narrative over the last month: a team with high expectations that isn’t finding the win column.
After a hot start, that saw the Petes sit atop the eastern conference, they now find themselves in last place in the east division, and in 7th place in the conference.
“It has been up and down. We had moments of brilliance and other moments where we looked like a team that’s not a contender,” said Petes forward Adam Timleck.
READ MORE: Petes attendance up 34%
Injuries have been a problem for the Petes through the first 34 games this season.
Get daily National news
The list of players, who have missed time, is long: Matt Timms, Zach Galant, Timleck, Logan DeNoble, Nick Isaacson, Nick Robertson, Bobby Dow and Declan Chisholm.
“We went six or seven games without our top defenceman and three of our important forwards. That does make a difference,” said Jody Hull, head coach.
READ MORE: Several Petes return from injury
The silver lining on the injury front is the Petes are getting a look at some of their younger players, who have had to step up to fill the holes in the line-up.
“Certainly, a number of younger players have had a chance to play in different situations, which may not have happened with a healthy line-up,” said Mike Oke, Petes general manager.
The Petes are 15-17-1-1 on the season.
There are a number of question marks for the team as the Jan. 10 trade deadline approaches: will the team start winning? Will the Petes be buyers or sellers at the deadline?
Players do not have to report back to Peterborough until Boxing Day.
Their next game is Dec. 28 in Guelph.
The next home game is Dec. 30 against Ottawa.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.