Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
What was once just a minor concern is quickly becoming a much bigger issue for the Napanee Raiders, who fell 3-2 in Sunday night’s Game 3 in Amherstview.
After a not-so-pretty win in Game 1, the Raiders have now dropped two straight for the first time all year and trail the Jets 2-1 in their best-of-seven semifinal series.
Amherstview built a 3-0 lead through the first two periods courtesy a goal from Ty Norman at the 15:20 mark of the first and then a pair from James O’Brien in the second. His first, which came just 1:21 into the frame, was on the power-play while the eventual game winner came at 17:44.
Riley Steeves finally got the Raiders on the board at the 7:09 mark of the third, besting Alexel Masanko. Tyler Ignazzitto cut the lead to 3-2 with seven and a half minutes to go, but that was as close as the Raiders would get. Nicholas Nabuurs took the loss, stopping 35 of 38. Masanko, who is quickly becoming the star of the series and powering the underdog Jets, turned away 31 for the win.
This marked the first time in the series the Jets had outshot the Raiders. Napanee also had five power-play opportunities, but couldn’t convert on any of them. The Jets meanwhile cashed in on one of their two chances. The Raiders were at least able to limit their penalties, which was a problem for them earlier in the series. Their offense continues to be absent however as Napanee has scored just eight times combined over the first three games. In the regular season they averaged 7.5 goals a game.
Napanee will look to rebound tomorrow night when they’ll once again be back in Amherstview’s W.J. Henderson Arena for Game 4. Puck drop is 8:30 p.m.
Game 5 will go Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Napanee’s SPC. Game 6, if necessary, will go Sunday at 7:30 p.m. in Amherstview with Game 7 on March 6 in Napanee at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of this series will face the Port Hope Panthers, who won 3-2 in overtime Sunday night to complete a four game sweep of the Picton Pirates. It marks the fourth straight year the Panthers have reached the Tod Division finals.