Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Sports
A win tonight in Uxbridge would have advanced the Napanee Raiders to the Clarence Schmalz Cup semifinals for the first time since 2010.
Napanee is in the driver’s seat of their current series following a 4-2 win on home ice Sunday night to put them up 3-0 over the Uxbridge Bruins in the best-of-seven quarter-finals.
Napanee’s Cam Harris opened the scoring at the 13:57 mark of the first, notching a power-play goal with help from Brodie Maracle and Ryan Casselman.
That was all the offense either team would get in the opening period, despite the fact Napanee blasted 20 shots at Uxbridge’s Ryan McConkey while Napanee’s Nicholas Nabuurs was relatively busy, facing 10 shots.
Toby Cooper knotted things at 1-1 with a power-play goal of his own just shy of six minutes into the second.
The celebration was short-lived however as Nelson Powers put the Raiders up 2-1 just over a minute later with assists to Casselman and Curtis Marrison. Reid Humphrey push the advantage to 3-1 with Napanee’s second power-play tally of the night, with Maracle and Casselman again picking up assists.
Uxbridge’s Cole Bremner kept it interesting, scoring in the final seconds of the middle frame to cut the Raider lead to 3-2 with 20 minutes to go.
Napanee’s defense took it from there, holding the Bruins to just five shots and no goals over the final period. Humphrey scored a huge insurance goal when he was awarded a penalty shot with just under three minutes left in the game.
Nabuurs picked up the win, his seventh straight of the postseason, with 17 saves. McConkey faced 51 shots in the losing effort.
Game 2 of the series was played Friday night in Uxbridge, with the Raiders escaping the Bruins’ den with a 5-2 victory.
Napanee’s power-play unit shined, converting on three of their nine man-advantages.
Humphrey opened the scoring 7:13 into the game with Cullen Hinds picking up the assist. Maracle scored Napanee’s first of three power-play goals 16:11 into the first period with Humphrey and Casselman credited with assists.
Uxbridge attempted to rally in the second with Simon Feig scored just over a minute into the frame and Justin Bennett had a chance to tie with a penalty shot.
He was turned away by Nabuurs and Napanee never looked back from there. Marrison had a power-play goal at 15:07 to give the Raiders a 3-1 lead heading into the final intermission. Hinds and Justynn Steven had assists.
Casselman struck early in the third with help from Austin Labelle and Maracle.
Aiden Reilly gave the Bruins a bit of hope with a power-play goal at 8:28 to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Casselman restored the three goal lead fewer than three minutes later with a power-play goal of his own. Steven and Humphrey had assists.
Nabuurs finished with 20 saves on the night while McConkey posted 37.
If the Raiders are unable to close out the series tonight, Game 5 is scheduled to take place Friday in Uxbridge.
Game 6 would go Sunday at Napanee’s Strathcona Paper Centre at 7:30 p.m. with a winner-take-all Game 7 on April 1 in Uxbridge.