Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
The Napanee Raiders’ offense took a brief hiatus on Thursday, completely disappearing in a 1-0 loss to the Picton Pirates before returning with gusto for a combined 10 goals in a home-and-home sweep of the Amherstview Jets.
Kyle Renaud earned the win, stymying one of the best Junior C offenses in the province with 34 saves- no small feat against a team averaging 5.9 goals a game. Renaud was particularly strong in the final frame, stopping 17 shots in the third to preserve the clean sheet.
Picton’s Will Harrison scored the game’s only goal, beating Nicholas Nabuurs 11:22 into the first period. Napanee native Logan White earned the assist. Nabuurs finished the night with 18 saves in the losing effort.
For Renaud it marked the second straight win over the Raiders, as he topped them 4-3 on Jan. 11.
Though they’ve blanked their share of opponents this season, Thursday’s shutout loss marked the first time since a March 4, 2017 playoff loss to the Port Hope Panthers that the Raiders had failed to find the back of the net. In the regular season that streak stretched back to Feb. 6, 2016, also against the Panthers.
Napanee’s most recent scoreless drought lasted fewer than 24 hours as Jacob Gilbert scored a power-play goal 1:36 into Friday’s home match against the Jets.
Ryan Casselman scored his 30th goal of the year this weekend. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Amherstveiw’s Jack Wiley tied the game at 1-1 at the nine minute mark before Ryan Casselman restored Napanee’s lead for good at 13:55.
Cullen Hinds added another 12:52 in the second while Dayton Kent scored on the power-play just six seconds into the third to ice the 4-1 victory.
Nabuurs started for the second night in a row as was just as sharp, turning away 17 shots for the win. Jacob Evans took the loss, stopping 28 of 32.
On the road Sunday the Raiders scored three goals each over the final two periods for a 6-1 win over the Jets.
Amherstview’s Jaydon Wood gave the home team the lead with a late first period goal. Despite outshooting the Jets 12-6 over the first frame, the Raiders couldn’t find the back of the net.
Their perseverance paid off in the second however as Gilbert tied the game at 4:22 into the second, igniting a stretch of six unanswered goals. Cam Harris and Austin Labelle each chipped in with a goal. Hinds and Harris each added another in the third while Justynn Steven rounded out the scoring.
Bailey Maracle earned the win for Napanee, stopping 21 pucks. Evans again took the loss, blocking 29.
The win improved the Raiders’ record to 34-4-1 with five games left to play. The Picton Pirates meanwhile are inching closer to locking up the second seed as they are now 25-12-1-1, good for 52 points with five left to play. The Jets fell to 21-16-2, with 44 points and also five left to play. The 14-22-1-2 Port Hope Panthers continue to hold onto the final playoff spot with 31 points, just ahead of the 13-22-2-1 Gananoque Islanders. The Islanders do have a game in hand over the Panthers however, with six left to play.
The Panthers’ playoff push was dealt a big blow when the last place Campbellford Rebels battled them to a 3-3 tie last Tuesday. The Rebels are now 1-38-1-1 on the year.
The Raiders will host the Rebels on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. game at the SPC, their lone game of the week. They’ll play their final home game of the year on Feb. 8 at 7:30 p.m., which will also be their annual pink-in-the-rink game. They’ll wrap up the regular season from there with a trip to Gananoque on Feb. 10 and Picton on Feb. 14.