Here's a clip of Nepean's Stephen Miles fighting Alex Vidoni during the Raiders 7-3 win last night in Orleans.
And here's a very short clip of Andrew Mather's goal, his 26th of the season, scored in the second period.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Raiders drop Braves as playoffs loom
Clubs could meet in postseason
Malcolm MacMillan
Less than a month from their first playoff game, the Nepean Raiders gave themselves a vote of confidence with a weekend win over a possible opening-round opponent.
And that vote of confidence was resounding, as Nepean dominated the Brockville Braves in each period to win 6-1, the team’s fourth win in a five-game stretch.
“It was a huge win,” said centre Emmond Bell, who scored the game-winning goal in the first period and added a pair of assists.
Though Nepean has had its share of ups and downs this season, the Feb. 17 win was a throwback to the squad of past seasons – one that showed when it was on its game, it was a tough team to beat.
“We’ve been hot and cold all season, but when we have all four lines rolling, we’re very hard to beat,” said Bell.
Though each line played well, it was the club’s big line of Bell, captain Andrew Mather and power forward Stephen Miles that led the way offensively. The trio scored four goals and totaled eight points.
After the Raiders fell behind 1-0 just five minutes into the first frame, their offence woke up, and the only question to be answered was how many goals the team would score.
Miles got Nepean on the board with a pair of first period goals by going hard to the net. On his first, he redirected a pass from Bell past Brockville’s Clarke Saunders, who allowed six goals on 31 shots. After Bell converted a rebound off a shot by defenceman Tyler Hinds, Miles scored his 13th of the season by tipping a Jordan Gallea point shot.
Leading 3-1 after just 16 minutes of play, the second period continued to be all Nepean, which converted on two of 17 shots in the frame.
Mather scored his 25th of the season on a shorthanded, two-on-none breakaway early in the period, and rookie Ben Sexton finished a pass from Tavis Holden just four minutes later.
“This was a big confidence-builder,” said Raiders GM Rob Black. “I think Brockville took us a little lightly, and the game exposed some of their weaknesses.”
Clearly frustrated with coming out of the gates slowly, the second-place Braves scrummed with the Raiders after most whistles, but were unable to beat netminder Darren MacDonald, who turned aside 34 shots to up his save percentage to .900.
In many cases, those scrums turned into minor penalties – referee Chad White handed out 144 penalty minutes – and in other cases, tempers boiled over. After a shoving match along the side boards in the second period, Nepean’s Tyler Hinds broke free with Cody Ayers, and the two had a spirited scrap before being separated.
Three minutes into the third, an obviously frustrated Kyle Cromie of Brockville bear-hugged Sexton behind the play, then delivered a quick upper-cut before a mob of players – led by Holden, who earned a third-man in game misconduct for his enthusiasm – arrived on the scene.
The animosity-filled, one-sided affair, which saw Stephen Mele add a third-period goal, sets up an exciting rematch between the two teams tonight in Brockville.
LOOKING AHEAD
While the Central Junior Hockey League playoff matchups won’t be finalized until the regular season wraps up following the first week of March, there’s a good chance Nepean will face Brockville in the first round.
Faring well against the Braves on Sunday gives the Raiders a psychological advantage if that pairing happens, and Mather said it’s important to head into the postseason on a winning note.
“You can’t just flip a switch on for the playoffs,” he said. “You have to go in confident, but not too confident. We’ll take on anyone – it’s just a matter of being prepared for whoever we meet.”
Five days before the Brockville win, the Raiders had their biggest boost of the season in the form of their first win over rival Pembroke in six tries. After falling behind early, and battling back to push overtime, rookie blueliner Scott Dawson scored his first goal of the season in the extra frame to give Nepean a 4-3 win.
“The last week has shown we can compete with anyone in this league,” said Black.
WELL DESERVED
This Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Jr. Senators will have a special pre-game ceremony to honour two five-year Raiders.
Mather and Bell, the last two members of the team’s Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian championship-winning squad, will have their numbers raised to the Raiders wall of honour. They’ll join just three others – goalie Mark Byrne, defenceman Jeff Smith and defenceman Matt Cowie – on the wall over the home end of the ice. Mather and Bell lead Nepean with 62 and 57 points, respectively, and have seven game-winning goals between them.
Game time is 2:30 p.m. at the Nepean Sportsplex’s Steve Yzerman Arena, with the ceremony taking place just before puck drop.
Clubs could meet in postseason
Malcolm MacMillan
Less than a month from their first playoff game, the Nepean Raiders gave themselves a vote of confidence with a weekend win over a possible opening-round opponent.
And that vote of confidence was resounding, as Nepean dominated the Brockville Braves in each period to win 6-1, the team’s fourth win in a five-game stretch.
“It was a huge win,” said centre Emmond Bell, who scored the game-winning goal in the first period and added a pair of assists.
Though Nepean has had its share of ups and downs this season, the Feb. 17 win was a throwback to the squad of past seasons – one that showed when it was on its game, it was a tough team to beat.
“We’ve been hot and cold all season, but when we have all four lines rolling, we’re very hard to beat,” said Bell.
Though each line played well, it was the club’s big line of Bell, captain Andrew Mather and power forward Stephen Miles that led the way offensively. The trio scored four goals and totaled eight points.
After the Raiders fell behind 1-0 just five minutes into the first frame, their offence woke up, and the only question to be answered was how many goals the team would score.
Miles got Nepean on the board with a pair of first period goals by going hard to the net. On his first, he redirected a pass from Bell past Brockville’s Clarke Saunders, who allowed six goals on 31 shots. After Bell converted a rebound off a shot by defenceman Tyler Hinds, Miles scored his 13th of the season by tipping a Jordan Gallea point shot.
Leading 3-1 after just 16 minutes of play, the second period continued to be all Nepean, which converted on two of 17 shots in the frame.
Mather scored his 25th of the season on a shorthanded, two-on-none breakaway early in the period, and rookie Ben Sexton finished a pass from Tavis Holden just four minutes later.
“This was a big confidence-builder,” said Raiders GM Rob Black. “I think Brockville took us a little lightly, and the game exposed some of their weaknesses.”
Clearly frustrated with coming out of the gates slowly, the second-place Braves scrummed with the Raiders after most whistles, but were unable to beat netminder Darren MacDonald, who turned aside 34 shots to up his save percentage to .900.
In many cases, those scrums turned into minor penalties – referee Chad White handed out 144 penalty minutes – and in other cases, tempers boiled over. After a shoving match along the side boards in the second period, Nepean’s Tyler Hinds broke free with Cody Ayers, and the two had a spirited scrap before being separated.
Three minutes into the third, an obviously frustrated Kyle Cromie of Brockville bear-hugged Sexton behind the play, then delivered a quick upper-cut before a mob of players – led by Holden, who earned a third-man in game misconduct for his enthusiasm – arrived on the scene.
The animosity-filled, one-sided affair, which saw Stephen Mele add a third-period goal, sets up an exciting rematch between the two teams tonight in Brockville.
LOOKING AHEAD
While the Central Junior Hockey League playoff matchups won’t be finalized until the regular season wraps up following the first week of March, there’s a good chance Nepean will face Brockville in the first round.
Faring well against the Braves on Sunday gives the Raiders a psychological advantage if that pairing happens, and Mather said it’s important to head into the postseason on a winning note.
“You can’t just flip a switch on for the playoffs,” he said. “You have to go in confident, but not too confident. We’ll take on anyone – it’s just a matter of being prepared for whoever we meet.”
Five days before the Brockville win, the Raiders had their biggest boost of the season in the form of their first win over rival Pembroke in six tries. After falling behind early, and battling back to push overtime, rookie blueliner Scott Dawson scored his first goal of the season in the extra frame to give Nepean a 4-3 win.
“The last week has shown we can compete with anyone in this league,” said Black.
WELL DESERVED
This Sunday’s game against the Ottawa Jr. Senators will have a special pre-game ceremony to honour two five-year Raiders.
Mather and Bell, the last two members of the team’s Fred Page Cup Eastern Canadian championship-winning squad, will have their numbers raised to the Raiders wall of honour. They’ll join just three others – goalie Mark Byrne, defenceman Jeff Smith and defenceman Matt Cowie – on the wall over the home end of the ice. Mather and Bell lead Nepean with 62 and 57 points, respectively, and have seven game-winning goals between them.
Game time is 2:30 p.m. at the Nepean Sportsplex’s Steve Yzerman Arena, with the ceremony taking place just before puck drop.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
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