Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Suffice to say whatever issues the Napanee Raiders have had with the Port Hope Panthers over the last three years, they’ve solved them.
Napanee continued their new found dominance over their rivals on Saturday night, posting a 4-1 road victory over the Panthers for their third straight win over the three-time reigning league champions and 14th straight win overall.
Matthew Panetta, Griffen Conger and Ryan Casselman each potted a goal in the first period to give the Raiders a 3-0 edge heading into the first intermission.
Port Hope’s Greg Powles had a quick strike to start the second, but that was all Nicholas Nabuurs would allow as he turned in another sensational game with 33 saves.
Zach Knapp-Hermer tacked on a big insurance goal at the 15:41 mark of the second in what would turn out to be the final goal scored in the game. The Panthers continued to apply pressure in the third, outshooting the Raiders 9-5 over the final 20 minutes but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Colin Husovic took the loss for the Panthers, stopping 24 of 28. Napanee converted on one of three power-plays while Port Hope was shutout on their two chances.
With Saturday’s win Napanee is now 3-1 against the Panthers this year, who have long been a thorn in their side. They’ve eliminated Napanee in the last three league finals, all via sweep. During that span they had never lost more than twice to the Raiders in a given season heading into this year.
Now at 14-1 on the season, Napanee has now opened up an eight point lead in the standings over the 10-4 Panthers.
Prior to Saturday’s hard fought win the Raiders had themselves a laugher at home on Friday night, rolling over the always overmatched Campbellford Rebels 13-1.
The Rebels did manage to make it somewhat competitive for nearly half the game, trailing just 2-1 after the first period. Josh Murphy and Austin Labelle scored for the Raiders, sandwiched around a power-play goal from Campbellford’s Kurt Gibbs.
That score held until the 13:37 mark of the second when Murphy struck again to make it 3-1. That’s when the wheels fell off as Conger, Murphy and Casselman each notched a goal to close out the frame. Napanee piled on seven more in the third with goals from Conger, Riley Steeves, Brodie Maracle, Justynn Steven, Jake Campbell and two more from Casselman.
Casselman added two assists to finish with a team high five points while Murphy, Campbell and Labelle had four points each.
Jeremy Piazzi had an uneventful night, stopping 11 Rebel shots for the win. Down at the other end the Raiders blasted 82 shots at the combo of Mike Ellis, who left after just 3:32 minutes of gameplay, and Nathan Walford. Napanee scored on four of eight power-plays while the Rebels went 1-5. The Rebels are still searching for their first win of the year, dropping to 0-16.
Napanee will look to push their win streak to 15 on Friday night when they welcome the Picton Pirates into the Strathcona Paper Centre for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. It could be a tough test for Napanee as Picton will check in with a 9-4-1 record, just one point back of Port Hope. A special Remembrance Day ceremony will be held on the ice just prior to puck drop with members of Napanee Legion Branch 137.
On Sunday the Raiders will hit the road to take on the Gananoque Islanders for a 7 p.m. start time.
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