28-04-2025
Napanee Raiders one win from Schmalz Cup final following overtime victory
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The Napanee Raiders, in a game Sunday evening that checked a lot of the boxes suggesting a thrilling contest, moved within one victory of advancing to the Provincial Junior Hockey League Clarence Schmalz Cup final.
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Consider the following that occurred during Napanee's 5-4 home-ice overtime win over the Hanover Barons that lifted the Raiders into a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven semifinal:
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• To ramp up the excitement early, the teams combined for five first-period goals (three by Napanee, two by Hanover) — the most in any single period of the series to date;
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• The lead changed hands four times — Napanee which held the first lead, 1-0, also went ahead 3-2 and 5-4, while Hanover took 2-1 and 4-3 leads;
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• The Raiders' strategy of pulling goaltender Logan Vale for an extra attacker was successful, as Carter Hartwick tied the game 4-4 at 18:57 of the third period;
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• Michael Patrick scored just 19 seconds into sudden-death overtime to give Napanee the win.
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Patrick also added a pair of first-period assists for a three-point game.
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Napanee captain Ben White opened the game's scoring at 6:46, before Hanover's Drayton Howell, at 9:53, and Mark McIntosh, at 10:52, scored power-play goals with Napanee defenceman Erik MacNiel off serving a kneeing double minor, lifting the Barons into a 2-1 lead.
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However, Matthew Airhart, at 13:40, and Blake Aylesworth, at 17:58, tallied to put the Raiders back in front, 3-2.
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The lone two goals of the second period were scored by Coen Galbraith, at 0:23 and 18:07 of the middle frame, setting the stage for the third-period and overtime scoring heroics of Hartwick and Patrick, respectively.
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Napanee head coach Ben Hagerman was, not surprisingly, more than happy with the Raiders' performance.
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'It was the first time we were able to generate a little more space for ourselves, getting to loose pucks and scoring on some rebound chances that hadn't been there before,' Hagerman said. 'Unfortunately, we took a four-minute double minor in the first period and they were able to get two goals on it, but we felt otherwise we controlled the play. The game was very back and forth overall. They really pressed in the second period and put us on our heels taking the lead, but we came out with a stronger third.'
