Tim Ruhnke – Recorder & Times
Itwasn’t a winning weekend for Brockville, but the teams trailing the Braves didn’t get any closer.
After defeating Navan at home on Friday night, the Braves fell 3-1 to the Jr. Senators in Ottawa on Saturday night. With six weeks to go in the regular season, Brockville remains seventh in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) standings.
Deklyn Campbell opened the scoring for third-place Ottawa at 3:40 of the first period on Saturday. Caleb Mead made it 2-0 for the Jr. Sens at 14:21.
Brockville cut the lead in half at 12:20 of the second on Dryden Dervish’s 12th goal of the season. Raphael Tellier restored the home team’s two-goal advantage at 17:03 of the middle frame.
The Braves had a six-on-four opportunity late in regulation but were unable to score.
Shots were 37-23 in favour of Ottawa. Connor Johnson picked up the win in net for the Jr. Sens. Austin Caley made 34 saves for Brockville.
Johnson, Mead and Dervish were named first, second and third stars respectively.
The Braves had opened the weekend with a 6-4 victory over the sixth-place Grads.
Ryan McNally’s 11th goal of the season gave Brockville a 1-0 lead at 2:21 of the first period. The Braves went up by two at 8:29 on Liam Harry’s fourth goal of the year.
Brockville got into penalty trouble later in the opening frame. Navan’s Andrew Waugh cut the lead in half on a five-on-three at 16:48. The Grads did not score on the subsequent five-on-four, but Owen Knight tied the game 53 seconds before intermission.
Dryden Dervish restored the Braves lead at 10:54 of the second. McNally’s second goal of the night made it 4-2 at 14:18, and Jesse Lumsden scored his 10th goal of the year to give Brockville a three-goal advantage at 16:50.
Navan got back to within two on a goal from Braydon Lindsay at 18:23.
Braves captain Kayden Buller made it 6-3 for the home team at 4:15 of the third. Buller has now scored 12 goals this season. A power-play goal by Matthew D’Urso of the Grads cut the deficit to two at 11:18.
Nate Galbraith picked up the win in net for the Braves. Cooper Flemming got the start for the Grads but was replaced by Edouard Blais after Buller’s goal.
First star went to Buller, who also chipped in with an assist. McNally was named second star. Third star went to Jacob Carroll, who had an assist for the Grads.
A small crowd of 225 was on hand at the Brockville Memorial Centre.
Navan went on to edge Nepean in a shootout Sunday afternoon to restore its six-point lead on Brockville; the Braves have two games in hand.
Brockville (16-16-1-4) will take on the second-place 73’s in Kemptville on Wednesday at 7 p.m. In their most recent matchup on Jan. 23, the 73’s defeated the Braves 6-3 in Brockville.
The Braves will then host Carleton Place on Friday night at 7:30. The Canadians (16-24-1-2) are tied with Hawkesbury for ninth just two points behind Brockville; the Braves have six games in hand on Carleton Place and four on the Hawks.
The top eight teams at the end of the regular season in mid-March advance to the CCHL playoffs.
Brockville’s second game of the weekend will be against Canada’s top-ranked Jr. A team. The Braves will visit the Nationals (38-2) in Rockland on Saturday night.
Original Story at Recorder.ca
