As a child, Pettinger's family moved to Regina, Saskatchewan. Pettinger started junior hockey in the Southern Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the Regina Pats, competing in three Memorial Cup finals. In 1922, Pettinger joined the Regina Victorias of the Southern Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, playing there for five seasons. With the Victorias, Pettinger competed in two Allan Cup finals before joining the Manitoba-Thunder Bay Hockey League's Fort William Forts in 1926. After one season in Fort William, Pettinger signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers. Pettinger never joined the Rangers, as his rights were traded a month later to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then two months later traded to Boston, all while playing in Fort William.
