Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Nicholas Nabuurs was a perfect 17-for-17 in save attempts while his offense provided more than enough support as the Napanee Raiders blanked the hometown Picton Pirates 6-0 on Thursday night.
Austin Labelle scored the only goal the Raiders would need 4:13 into the game. Jake Campbell added a pair in the second, giving the Raiders a 3-0 advantage heading into the final period. His goals came just over four minutes apart from each other.
A comfy lead in hand, the Raiders continued to take the action to the Pirates as Sebastian Kilcommons, Labelle and Josh Murphy each potted a goal in the third. Napanee’s blueliners did a great job halting the Pirates’ offense, as they maxed out at seven shots in the second period. They had five shots in both the first and third. Meanwhile the Raiders had 40 attempts on Picton’s Wesley Werner.
Neither team could get anything going on the power-play as Napanee went 0-4 while Picton was 0-2.
The shutout was Nabuurs’ second on the season, the other coming Nov. 12 at Gananoque. The clean sheet lowered his league leading goals against average to 1.66 to go with a 15-1 record.
Thursday’s game was the only action Napanee had last week as Friday’s scheduled meeting with the Gananoque Islanders was postponed due to freezing rain. The Raiders will try for a third time to host their annual teddy toss game this Friday when they welcome the Amherstview Jets to the SPC for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game and be prepared to toss it on the ice when Napanee scores its first goal of the game. The toys will then be collected by the players and given to less fortunate children in the area. On Sunday the Raiders will play a rare home game as they welcome the Pirates to the SPC for a 7 p.m. showdown. A win in Sunday’s game would assure the first place Raiders of at least a second place finish and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.