Raiders look to extend series tonight

Club faces 3-2 deficit

Malcolm MacMillan
If there's still some gas left in the Nepean Raiders tank, tonight's the night to show it.
The Raiders trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and though they've had their backs against the wall before, tonight will be the first game they've played while facing elimination.
Brockville outshot and outhustled Nepean 4-3 on Tuesday night, setting up a pivotal game six tonight at the Sportsplex.
The home club will have to continue its efforts at both ends of the ice just as it did in games three and four, when Nepean outscored Brockville 12-5.

Discipline will continue to play an important role in the series tonight. Nepean got out to a 1-0 lead in game five but left the Braves back in it after spending half the first period shorthanded.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Come cheer on the Raiders as they look to extend the series!

All tied up
Raiders even series with 4-2 win
Malcolm MacMillan
With the backs to the wall in a pivotal game four, the Nepean Raiders came out flying and shocked by Brockville Braves 4-2 in front of a vocal Sportsplex crowd.
Led by a four-goal first period, the Raiders enjoyed an early lead and didn't look back -- despite sniper Emmond Bell being handed a game misconduct less than eight minutes into a chippy first frame.
Bell picked up a checking from behind minor for a hit five minutes after Braves defenceman Brian Marks crushed Ryan Medel from behind on the end boards to the right of Clarke Saunders.
Assessed a major penalty and a game for the hit, which put Medel on the ice for a couple minutes, Marks could only watch as the Raiders scored twice on the five-minute power play, and added a pair more of scores before the first frame was in the books.
Three power-play goals elevated Nepean's efficiency with the man advantage to 25 per cent, second only to Pembroke among postseason clubs.
Ben Sexton and Bryan Potts scored 26 seconds apart during Marks' major, and Shane Bakker banged home a power-play goal from the doorstep in front of Saunders later in the period.
Medel got his own revenge from Marks' hit with his second goal of the playoffs just 31 seconds after Bakker's goal.
Though Brockville backup Scott Shackell got the nod after the score was 4-0, the Raiders couldn't beat him, and were outshot in the second two periods 32-13.
Darren MacDonald was beaten on a long shot by Marcel Alvarez and a power-play doorstep goal by Christian Long, but turned aside 37 shots in all, upping his save percentage to .901.
Though the series is even, the Raiders appear to be in the driver's seat, having outscored Brockville 12-5 in the last six periods of play.
A crucial game five goes Tuesday night in Brockville, when Nepean will aim to gain its first foothold in the best-of-seven series.
The next home game will be Thursday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m.

Raiders dominate Braves in game three, earn momentum swing in series
Malcolm MacMillan
Beware, Brockville Braves: You may have woken up a sleeping giant.
In the dying seconds of game two, with the score out of reach in favour of Brockville, Braves players smirked at the Raiders and slapped their sticks on the ice as a frustrated Nepean squad mixed it up in front of the visitors’ bench.
The Raiders couldn’t do anything but watch as three of their own were given the gate with 15 seconds left. Seconds later, Brockville had a 2-0 lead in the series heading back home on March 14.
But a three-goal second period in game three, which put the score 5-1 in favour of Nepean, put life back into the sails of a Raiders club that has proved this series is a long way from being over.
In spite of a short bench on Friday night, Nepean went ahead 2-0 early and never looked back, eventually chasing Clarke Saunders from the Brockville net and trouncing the Braves 8-3.
“We’re close,” said a relieved Raiders head coach Gerard Cowie after the game. “We’ve got to continue to work hard and [the wins] will come. This was a good example.”
The Raiders dominated Brockville in just about every area – speed, offence, defence, physical play and goaltending.
Nepean also scored three goals with the man advantage and two while shorthanded.
Bryan Potts used his speed just five minutes into the first when he took a pass from Ben Sexton and broke down the wing on a rush. Though Sexton caught up and was open in the slot, Potts elected to blast a high slap shot past Saunders.
“I looked at Ben in the slot, but then just let it rip,” said Potts, who scored 20 in the regular season. “I definitely had my wheels tonight.”
Ryan Medel banged in a power-play goal six minutes later while parked in front, and the rout was on.
“We can play with these guys,” said defenceman Greg Eskedjian, who assisted on Medel’s goal. “Five on five, they can’t skate with us.”
Though Brockville’s Kyle Atkins beat Darren MacDonald with a point shot through traffic just three minutes later, the Brockville offence wouldn’t click again until the score was out of reach.
Perhaps frustrated with their slow start, the Braves crashed the net hard, and twice ran into MacDonald in the first frame, igniting the tempers that have simmered below the surface all series. The Raiders defence, however, didn’t back down when their goalie was hit.
“We’ve got a tougher team and we’re not going to take any of their liberties,” said blueliner Tyler Hinds. “That’s how you win the little battles.”
In the second period, Nepean fired 15 more shots on Saunders, beating him three times. Miles and Sexton converted on a two-on-one rush then Corey Domenico took a Potts feed on the doorstep and buried his first of the playoffs. Fourteen minutes into the period, Brad Barber carried the puck out of the Nepean zone during a penalty kill, and seeing some ice ahead of him, cruised down the ice to the blueline. When lone defender Tyler Atkins fell, Barber glided in on Saunders, deked, and slid the puck past him.
Brockville scored twice in the third period, but captain Andrew Mather notched a pair of goals and Potts added his second of the game as Brockville backup Scott Shackell didn’t fare much better than Saunders.
The final straw for Saunders was after Mather’s goal – a tally that was aided by Saunders’ clearing pass that went right onto the blade of Mather’s stick.
Mather’s goal was the dagger into the heart of the Braves, and an indicator the Raiders were back.
“We’ve got a lot of heart,” said Eskedjian. “And everyone was skating. They had trouble keeping up.”
As well as heart, the Raiders discipline was better in game three. Though each team spent 48 minutes in the penalty box, the Raiders led both previous games in infractions.
“We stayed out of the box and we got the lead, which they’d done well in games one and two,” said Cowie. “We were disciplined and smart.”
This afternoon’s game will have huge implications: It will either even the series or give the Braves a demanding lead.
Potts isn’t concerned. “For some reason, when it’s all on the line, we rise to the occasion,” he said.
There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, said Hinds.
“The series isn’t over. They only have one game on us.”