by Tommy Young
Nepean, ON – As the countdown to regular season CCHL hockey marches on, the Nepean Raiders are getting set for a brand-new year. The regular season kicks off on September 15th, and every team will get 55 games in before the Bogart Cup playoffs are set to begin on March 20th.
Opening Day begins Friday with the Raiders on the road in Hawkesbury, taking on the Hawks at the Robert Hartley Sports Complex for a 7:30pm start time; then they’ll come home on Sunday for the 2023 Home Opener, taking on the Rockland Nationals at 2:30pm.
With the 2023 CCHL Fall Showcase staged for October 8th, 9th, and 10th, the Raiders will play two games at the Bell Sensplex – 8pm on Sunday against the Navan Grads, and 3:30pm on Monday versus the Pembroke Lumber Kings. On Tuesday, they get the early matinee game at the Richcraft Sensplex, with the puck dropping at 10am against the Carleton Place Canadians.
Through the rest of the season, 26 games at the Yzerman Arena and another 26 on the road, the Raiders will play their home games on Sundays at 2:30pm, as well as 7 Wednesdays through the year with puck drops at 7:30pm.
With a balanced schedule, the Raiders will play only one long homestand, seeing them play seven games in a row at the Yzerman from December 10th to January 14th, split up by the Christmas break. They’re set to play a grueling stretch heading into the playoffs in late March, with seven games in 12 days bookended by a pair of home games – March 6th versus the Pembroke Lumber Kings, and March 17th against the Renfrew Wolves – and five straight on the road in between, seeing the Raiders take on the Rockland Nationals, Navan Grads, Smiths Falls Bears, Cornwall Colts, and Brockville Braves.
And finally, Family Day Monday (February 19th) sees the Raiders down the 417 in Carleton Place for a 2pm gameday.
With training camp set to begin at the end of August, the Nepean Raiders look to bring a new-look squad to the ice as they try to march their way back to the Bogart Cup Playoffs. You can watch every Raiders game this season on HockeyTV, or tune in to CKDJ 107.9 FM.
