Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Shaking off a tough loss from the night before, the Napanee Raiders came up big on the road Sunday night with a 4-2 win in Game 4 over the Picton Pirates.
The victory puts the Raiders back in the driver’s seat with a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Tod Division semifinals.
Noah Westwater set the tone early, giving the Raiders a lead just 3:17 into the game with a power-play goal, his first of three on the night.
Picton’s Devin Morrison got the Pirates back in the game with a goal in the opening seconds of the middle frame. Any momentum for the home team was short-lived however as Westwater netted a pair of goals-at 3:15 and 5:43-to put the Raiders back in front for good. The latter goal was his second power-play tally of the night.
Picton’s Ian Harrison got one back with a power-play goal of his own late in the period to keep the Pirates in it heading into the final intermission. Napanee’s defence took it from there however while Bailey Maracle faced just three shots over the final 20 minutes. Rheydan McCoy added an insurance marker near the halfway mark of the third to give Napanee some breathing room as they held on for the crucial victory.
Discipline was an issue for Picton as they allowed Napanee 10 power-plays on the night, allowing them to score of two of those chances. Picton had just three man-advantage opportunities, though they did convert on two of them.
Maracle finished the night with 22 saves. Owen Willis took the loss, stopping 29 of 33.
Napanee will look to close out the series on home ice Tuesday night at the SPC while the Pirates will be looking to keep the series-and their season-alive. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile in Amherstview the top-seeded Jets shutout the Port Hope Panthers 2-0 tonight and now hold a 3-0 series lead in their semifinal showdown. They’ll have a chance to complete the sweep Wednesday night in Port Hope.