Tim Ruhnke – Recorder & Times
The Brockville Braves will be looking to rebound on Tuesday.
The Jr. Braves and the 11 other teams in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) will be in action at the Winter Showcase at the North Grenville Municipal Centre. Brockville’s game with the Nepean Raiders starts at 6 p.m.
The Braves were edged 4-3 in overtime by the Raiders at the Memorial Centre on Friday night. The first period saw the teams exchange short-handed goals. Colin Elliott gave Brockville the lead at 5:27; it was his 10th goal of the season. Jordan Graham evened the score at 14:38 on his third goal of the year for the Raiders.
Nepean went ahead on a power play at 5:21 of the second on Nicholas Larkin’s fifth goal of the season. Anthony Rivard’s second of the year gave the Raiders a 3-1 lead at 3:28 of the third.
The Braves cut the lead in half on Trent LeDrew’s third goal of the year at 6:03. With Brockville goalie Philip Rondina on the bench, Jake Laville scored the equalizer with about 23 seconds to go in regulation. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Curtiss Sturgeon scored the overtime winner for Nepean on a power play at 1:52.
Larkin and Sturgeon were named first and second stars. Third star went to Lucas Culhane of the Braves.
Shots were 34-22 in favour of Brockville. Gage Stewart made 31 saves and picked up the win for the Raiders.
It was just Nepean’s seventh win of the season.
A crowd of 461 was on hand at the Memorial Centre.
Brockville then took on the Wolves in Renfrew on Saturday night. The Wolves had been thumped 12-4 by the Bears in Smiths Falls on Friday night.
Culhane gave the Braves the lead on a power play at 4:32 of the first in Renfrew; it was his 14th goal of the season. Elvis Slack responded with a power-play goal for the Wolves at 9:07 and then scored his second of the night at 11:09 of the second.
Kowin Besterling’s fifth goal of the year drew Brockville even just before the second intermission.
Elliott gave the Braves a 3-2 lead 12 seconds into the third, but Noah Vom Scheidt made it 3-2 at 8:19.
The Wolves went on to pick up the extra point by winning a shootout.
Renfrew outshot Brockville 45-29. Sami Molu made 41 saves for the Braves.
Slack, Wolves goalie Nolan McDowell and Elliott were named the three stars.
Brockville (14-14-2-1) is now eighth overall in the CCHL, one point behind the Rockland Nationals. The Braves’ next home game is against the Kemptville 73’s on Friday night.
Kemptville, which lost 6-4 in Rockland on Sunday, is tied with Cornwall for ninth place. The 73’s (11-14-4-1) will take on Carleton Place (fourth at 18-10-0-2) at 5:30 p.m. as part of the showcase on Tuesday.
Original Story at Recorder.ca
