Looking For Answers: Pirates defence falters

By Jason Parks
After putting forth some stingy defence in the opening month of the 2026-27 Provincial Junior Hockey League season, the Pirate ship in Picton took on some water last week.

The club lost a pair of fire fights with host Lakefield Tuesday and visiting Frankford on Thursday,

On Saturday, Picton (2-5-2) hosted Napanee for a rare Saturday night affair and, given the way the Bucs were seemingly skating in a tryptophan-induced coma against the hard charging Raiders, Thanksgiving weekend games at home should NOT be on next year’s menu.

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Picton’s Keenan Wiles had a hat trick in a losing effort against the Frankford Huskies Thursday night.

Even more disappointing than the ultimate results for the Pirates last week was that the team squandered a pair of good starts.

In Lakefield, the Kente Cougar connection struck for a pair of power play markers in the first period. Ben Smith and Gerrit Kempers both lit the lamp for Picton while Keenan Wiles added assists on both goals.

Rookie scoring sensation Jaxson Payne picked up his fifth of the year at 5:48 to make it a 3-1 spread for the Pirates. A Lakefield power play goal gave the hosts some life but the Pirates came charging hard to start the second and overage sniper Joey Coates bagged a pair in the opening five minutes to push the locals ahead 5-1.

But Picton could not keep up the pace and the Chiefs came crawling back with a pair of goals later in the second to make it a 5-3 deficit after 40 minutes.

In the third, it was all Lakefield. Charlie Blewitt set up Ethan Yantha and Teagan Hartnett and the game was tied 5-5 by the midway point of the final frame. The Chiefs were up 8-5 in the late going when Kirk Stevenson banged home his first of the year to make it an 8-6 final.

Disastrous Second

In Picton against the league leading Frankford Huskies Thursday, the Pirates again took an early lead. Coates picked up his 11^th of the season to break the ice and Wiles converted his fifth of the season at the mid way point of the frame.

Down 2-0, former Wellington Duke Evan Erwin went to work at the start of the second and fired a natural hat trick in just under three minutes to suck any life out of Huff Estates Arena and give the Pups their first lead in the game.

Deke Ousterhout and Jake Sage added goals in the second and the Pirate ship looked mired in the mud. Stevenson’s second in as many games at the end of the second gave Picton a small amount of life, but the dagger would come at the 13:23 mark when County Kings product Riley Grimmon picked the glove side corner, putting Frankford ahead to stay at 6-3.

Wiles completed his hat trick with just over four minutes remaining but the locals couldn’t beat Frankford starter Charlie Vos.

Erwin picked up his fourth of the game with 10 seconds left, firing the puck into a yawning Pirates cage to make it 7-5.

Ugly

On Saturday, the Raiders were hungry and Pirates were on the menu as the visitors put up a six spot in the first en route to an 11-2 drubbing. Another former Wellington Duke, Mason Goodfellow, led the way with a hat trick.

Smith and Isaiah More had the Pirates goals.

Picton tries to figure out Napanee again on Thursday night. On Saturday, the locals travel to Port Hope to battle the Panthers.