Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Dayton Kent’s last minute go-ahead goal Wednesday night in Uxbridge was enough to power the Napanee Raiders to victory and a Schmalz Cup quarter-finals series sweep against the Bruins.
Kent’s goal broke a 3-3 tie with 67 seconds left to go in Game 4, with Ryan Casselman picking up the assist.
With their backs against the wall in a win-or-go-home game, the Bruins showed resilience by twice rallying to tie the game.
After a scoreless first period, Napanee’s Reid Humphrey put the visitors on the board with a power-play goal at the 12:05 mark. Austin Labelle and Casselman earned assists. Just over two minutes later Liam Mroueh doubled the lead.
Uxbridge’s Toby Cooper scored late in the period to give his team a bit of a spark and Jackson Savery tied it up with a power-play goal just four minutes into the third.
Humphrey put the Raiders back out in front with a power-play goal at 6:17, only to see Uxbridge’s Aiden Reilly respond with a power-play tally of his own less than four minutes later to knot the game at 3-3.
That’s where it stood until Kent potted the game-and ultimately the series-winner.
Nicholas Nabuurs earned the win, his eighth straight in as many starts in the postseason, with 17 saves. Uxbridge’s Ryan McConkey, who turned in a strong series despite losing all four games, wound up with 37 saves. Napanee finished 2-4 on the power-play while Uxbridge was 2-3.
With his two assists, Casselman is now up to 10 goals and seven helpers in the postseason, leading the team with 17 points overall. Humphrey is second with 10 points (six goals, four assists) while Mroueh (eight goals, one assist), Kent (three goals, six assists), Brodie Maracle (three goals, six assists) and Evan Foley (one goal, eight assists) all have nine. A balanced offence with air-tight defense has been a calling card for the Raiders, as teams struggle to mount shots let alone goals.
At 8-0, Nabuurs sports a 1.63 GAA average, showing no signs of rust after sitting out the Tod Division semifinals. Napanee is still yet to lose in the playoffs, now 12-0.
Details for their next round opponent and game times are yet to be announced.