Tim Ruhnke – Recorder & Times
It won’t be easy for the Brockville Braves to make it five wins in a row.
The Rockland Nationals will take on the Braves at the Memorial Centre on Friday night at 7:30. Rockland (14-5-0-1) leads the CCHL’s Yzerman Division.
Brockville (11-4-3) took on the Nationals in Rockland on Sept. 29. The game was tied 2-2 when captain Matthew Vermaeten gave the home team the lead five minutes into the third period and added an empty-netter with 38 seconds left in regulation to make the final 4-2.
Rockland is just outside of this week’s CJHL’s top 20 Jr. A team rankings in Canada.
“They’re a good skating, skilled team,” Brockville head coach Randy Jones said in an interview Thursday. “We’re going to have our hands full… and the boys are going to be ready to get going.”
Jake Begley will get the start for the Braves on Friday, the coach indicated.
The Braves have won four straight, including last weekend’s games against Cornwall and Smiths Falls. Brockville’s record in October was 7-1-1.
“The boys are playing very consistently now,” the coach said. Achieving success after putting in so much time and effort in the first part of the season is encouraging to the players, according to Jones.
“They’re getting rewarded for their hard work… We just want to keep this thing going,” he added.
Brockville is in third place in the Robinson Division, one point behind Kanata and one point ahead of Pembroke. The Braves have two games in hand on the second-place Lasers and three games in hand on the fourth-place Lumber Kings, who will host Brockville on Sunday night. Division-leading Carleton Place remains 10 points ahead of the Braves, but Brockville has three games in hand on the Canadians.
Original Story at Recorder.ca
