by Romano Di Franco
The Navan Grads faced off against the Nepean Raiders in Game 4 of their season. It was the first meeting for these two teams. The Navan Grads secured a 4-2 victory in a game that saw strong performances from both sides. The starting goalies for the game were John Gedraitis who was solid in his last outing against the Cornwall Colts. Meanwhile Jaeden Nelson got the nod in goal for Navan.
The first period remained scoreless as both teams displayed solid defensive play, with the Navan Grads outshooting the Nepean Raiders 14-7. This was the fourth straight game that the Raiders ended the first period with a 0-0 stalemate.
In the second period, the Navan Grads broke the deadlock at 4:18 when Kiki Brown scored the opening goal, assisted by Luke Moore and Owen House. They extended their lead late in the period at 18:34, with Matthew Roy finding the back of the net, assisted by Cristobal Tola and Noah Carpenter. The Navan Grads went into the third period with a 2-0 advantage.
The third period saw a flurry of goals. The Navan Grads added to their lead at 4:59 when Devon Savignac scored, assisted by Sebbie Johnson and Gabriel Crete. The Nepean Raiders responded with a power-play goal at 6:41 from Nicolas Papineau, assisted by Joshua Reid and Curtiss Sturgeon. Papineau struck again at 14:37, cutting the Navan Grads’ lead to one, with Brandon Reinisch and Joshua Reid picking up assists. However, the Navan Grads secured the win with an empty-net goal at 19:30, as Devon Savignac netted his second of the game, assisted by Gabriel Crete and Matthew Roy.
Both teams incurred penalties throughout the game, with the Navan Grads going 0 for 5 on the power play and the Nepean Raiders going 1 for 4. The physicality of the game resulted in a total of 16 penalty minutes assessed.
The three stars of the game were awarded to Devon Savignac of the Navan Grads (2 goals), Nicolas Papineau of the Nepean Raiders (2 goals), and Kiki Brown of the Navan Grads (1 goal).
In the end, the Navan Grads secured a 4-2 victory, showcasing strong offensive and defensive performances, while the Nepean Raiders put up a spirited effort in a hard-fought contest.
The next game for the Nepean Raiders will be held on September 29th when they square off against the Smiths Falls Bears at the Smiths Falls Memorial Centre for a 7:30pm puck drop.
