If you missed the Georgetown Raiders in action this past weekend, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Saturday, Jan. 6, the Raiders welcomed the Niagara Falls Canucks to Alcott Arena in Georgetown in what was the third meeting of the season between the clubs.
The Raiders lead by a tally of 1-0 after 20 minutes thanks to Luca Rea’s 11th tuck of the season. The second period is where things took off for Georgetown, which scored four unanswered goals in the frame to take a 5-0 lead into the third period. Goals in the second came from Quinn Tavares, Carter Real, and Teddy Puccini, who scored two.
Brandon Kakei added a power play marker at 11:33 in the third to make it 6-0 Raiders. Niagara’s Gabriel Mamedov scored to break the Raiders’ shutout bid, and 6-1 is where this game would finish.
For the Raiders, this was an impressive and tidy victory. Both clubs had 37 shots on net; however, the Raiders controlled what felt like the majority of this game. Niagara managed a few chances here and there, but it felt like Georgetown commanded the game the entire way through and really took care of business.
The Raiders only had eight PIMs in the entire contest, really putting a bow on a solid effort and convincing win. Wins like these are crucial confidence builders for the club as the push for the post-season is on. A great win by your Raiders to say the least.
Sunday, Jan. 7, the Raiders travelled to Western New York for a clash with the Jr. Sabres. On the second night of a back to back and against a tough Sabres squad, the Raiders were going to have to dig deep.
Brandon Kakei scored at the 7:26 mark of the first to give Georgetown a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Luca Rea added a shorthanded tally to raise the lead to 2-0 for Georgetown at the 8:53 mark in the second period.
Unfortunately, Patrick Cole and Danny Phelan tied the game for the Sabres during the latter half of the frame to knot the score at twos heading to the third. The Sabres continued to score in the final frame, adding power play two goals to take a 4-2 lead.
Raiders forward Kaleb Nelson was ejected and given a minor penalty and a game misconduct for checking from behind, giving the Sabres a power play that lead to one of the aforementioned goals.
After a tidy game sheet the night previous, the Raiders were on the penalty kill a total of six times, with Buffalo converting on two. Braeden O’Keefe added his fourth tuck of the season to cut the deficit to one with under five minutes left in regulation.
However, Patrick Cole scored his second of the game for the Sabres to secure a 5-3 final score. For the Raiders, this was a bit of an up and down game. Leading by two in the first half of the game to being down 4-2 byway of four unanswered goals changed the momentum and flow of the Raiders' attack.
After this weekend’s action, the Raiders have a 19-15-0-4 record, good for 42 points and fifth place in the West. Georgetown is now four points back of Buffalo, which occupies the four seed with 46 points. Georgetown is also two points up on Burlington, which occupies sixth. It's definitely going to be a close race for seeding coming down the stretch in the back half of the OJHL season.
Next for Georgetown is the OJHL’s All Star Celebration, happening this coming weekend in Collingwood, with a total of six Raiders participating.
After that, Georgetown welcomes the Toronto Patriots to the Alcott on Wed., January 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the door.
