Recent acquisition Noah Rowe’s third period goal was the difference as the Nepean Raiders topped the Navan Grads 5-3 on Sun.
Rowe, who joined the team Oct. 20 in a three-player trade with Kemptville, was making his debut for his hometown team.
“The kid was solid,“ said head coach Darcy Findlay, whose team improved to 7-9 on the year after a 1-4 start.
“For his first game with the team and the system I thought he did a great job. It can only go up which is very good and great to see. He brought a lot to our lineup today.”
Raiders’ netminder Kyle Alaverdy was tremendous between the pipes, stopping 44 shots. Alaverdy was busiest in the second frame, where he turned aside 22 Navan chances.
Alaverdy was making his first start since Oct. 6 against Hawkesbury.
“We played a very good first and third but the second period the switch was just off and they generated a lot of shots and offence because of it,” said Findlay.
“I thought (Alaverdy) did well. He’s a battler, that’s what he is and we knew we were going to get a good effort out of him. But he made the stops when it mattered and allowed us to shift the momentum back.“
Forwards Antoine Belisle, Kari Belec and Jordan Renaud also added markers for the Raiders’ balanced attack. Eleven different players earned a point on the afternoon.
Belisle’s goal gives him a tally in three straight games. It was the fifth point for Belec in his last four matches.
Nepean is back in action Wed. night when with a visit from the Cornwall Colts.
(Photo: IceLevel.com)
