Adam Prudhomme
Editor
A chance for the Napanee Raiders to close out the Picton Pirates on home ice went by the wayside Tuesday night.
Pirate goalie Nick McGrayne turned in a gem, stopping 27 shots in a 3-1 victory to shave Napanee’s best-of-seven series lead down to 3-games-to-2.
Picton came out firing with their season on the line, scoring twice in the opening 3:36. Aiden Treverton scored at 3:11 followed by Nick Kirby just 25 seconds later.
The Pirates continued to apply pressure in the second as Zack Brooks lit the lamp less than five minutes into the period. Cameron Krupa had the lone tally for the Raiders at 16:21 of the second.
Logan Vale recovered from his rocky opening five minutes to finish the night with 22 saves, but his offense was unable to get much going down at the other end.
Neither side could generate any scoring on the power-play despite having ample opportunity-Picton going 0-6 while Napanee was 0-5.
The Raiders will have another chance to punch their ticket to the East Tod Division semifinals on Thursday night when they head to Picton. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
If the Pirates can once again stave off elimination, Game 7 would go Friday night at the SPC with a 7:30 p.m. start.
Through the first five games, Napanee has outscored Picton by a slim 13-10 margin.
While this series has been fairly evenly matched, the Port Hope Panthers have cruised in their match with the Campbellford Rebels, holding a 3-0 series lead with a chance to finish the sweep tomorrow night in Campbellford.