Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Clinching the top seed required a bit of overtime but in the end the Napanee Raiders got the job done, rallying to beat the Panthers 4-3 Saturday night in Port Hope.
Griffen Conger scored the game winner 3:35 into extra time to officially complete the comeback. With the win the Raiders have officially sewn up the top spot in the PJHL’s Tod Division with five games remaining in the regular season.
Port Hope didn’t make it easy for their opponents as they rattled off three goals in just over 10 minutes to take a 3-1 lead in the first. Ryan Casselman had put Napanee up 1-0 a minute into the game before Port Hope’s Cameron Lowery, Kallen McFarland and Brad Bollert erupted for the home team.
Napanee slowly chipped away from there, with Josh Murphy potting a goal at the 14:18 mark of the second before Casselman knotted it at 3-3 just passed the midway point of the third. Both teams traded chances over the final eight minutes but both goalies stood tall to force overtime. Shots were even at three apiece in overtime before Conger banged home the game winner. Nicholas Nabuurs settled in after the first and was lights out the rest of the way, turning away 29 shots on the night for the win. Spyros Koskinas took the loss, stopping 37 pucks.
Both teams had ample power-play opportunity but neither could take advantage with Napanee going 0-8 while Port Hope was 0-5.
This game marked the final regular season meeting between the league’s top two teams, with Napanee winning six of their eight matchups.
Prior to Saturday’s gritty win the Raiders had themselves a laugher, routing the non-playoff bound Gananoque Islanders 11-1 at the SPC on Friday night.
Sebastian Kilcommons, Justynn Steven, Curtis Marrison and Tyler Ignazzitto each found the back of the net for Napanee within the first 13:20 to build a healthy lead. Matt Carter broke the strong of Raider goals with a power-play marker for the visitors at the 14:56, giving the Islanders their lone cause for celebration on the night. Steven added another late in the period for good measure.
Kilcommons, Ignazzitto and Austin Labelle each picked up a goal in the second while Cullen Hinds closed out the scoring with a natural hat trick.
Napanee fared better on the power-play in Friday’s game, converting on three of six. Jeremy Piazzi was strong when he was tested, turning away 18 of 19 shots for the win.
With home ice officially locked in for the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Raiders can now turn their attention towards setting the franchise record in points. To do that they’ll need to win all five of their final contests.
They’ll start their final push with what should be an easy matchup, hosting the lowly Campbellford Rebels on Friday night at the SPC. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m. On Sunday they’ll travel to Amherstview to face the Jets in their final regular season meeting with their first round playoff opponents.
From there they’ll close out the season by hosting the Islanders on Feb. 13 for a rare Tuesday night home game, visiting Picton on Feb. 15 before wrapping up the regular season at home Feb. 16 against the Islanders. Puck drop for all five games is 7:30 p.m.