By Romano Di Franco
Zachary Gravel opened and closed the scoring in the game but it was not enough as the Hawkesbury Hawks defeated the Nepean Raiders 6-2 in action on Sunday afternoon at the Nepean Sportsplex Yzerman Arena.
Gravel got his second goal as a Raider at the 5:08 mark of the first period to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead with help from Matt McQuade and Aldéric Denis. The lead lasted eight minutes until Matt Gasuik replied for the Hawks at 13:47 assisted by Zachary Lefebvre and Jeremy Quesnel. They got the go-ahead goal just twenty five seconds later when Patrick Callahan scored his eighth of the year. The Hawks never relinquished the lead as they sandwiched six goals in between the two Zachary Gravel goals.
Both teams took four penalties in the game that lead to two PowerPlay opportunities for each team. Hawkesbury converted on one of them while the Raiders went 0-for-2 on the man-advantage.
Keenan Alnahas got the start in between the pipes for the first time since December 15. He lasted 29:02 allowing five goals on twenty seven shots before giving way to Tyler Laureault who allowed just one goal on fourteen shots.
For the second straight game, Zachary Gravel was named the game’s third star powered by his two-goal effort. Zachary Lefebvre was selected first star of the game with a goal and a helper while Kris Pietroniro earned the second star also with a goal and an assist.
The Nepean Raiders next game is Friday, January 24 as they visit the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre to take on the Bears. Puck drop is at 7:30pm.
