NEWS

(pictured - for the second consecutive year the Georgetown Raiders won the South-West Conference Championship - photo credit: Andy Corneau/OJHL Images)

The Georgetown Raiders were given tough opposition in the form of the Oakville Blades in the S/W Conference semifinal en route to the Buckland Cup but eventually they took the series in six to set up a repeat of last season's tilt with the Trenton Golden Hawks. The Raiders took games one and two at home, then action switched to Oakville where the Blades took game three. All the first three contests were decided by one goal. Game four at Sixteen Mile went to the Raiders but the Blades won number five at the Alcott before Georgetown finished it off with a shutout in Oakville for the 4-2 series victory.

Game number one saw the Raiders outshoot and outchance the Blades but the contest was a back and forth affair en route to the final 5-4 scoreline. Jonathan Hampton got first star rating in this one by recording the hat trick for the home side. Chris Brill-Morgan's goal with the 'keeper out gave Oakville hope but they could not find a way to get one more. 

Back at the Alcott for the second game and another close one, another one goal margin in favour of the Raiders, 4-3. A Raider hat trick again and this time it was Jordan Crocker scoring once in the second and twice in the third. Like game one the Blades had to hope for the equalizer with the goaltender on the bench following Peyton Reeves' late score but the home team hung tough for the win.

The open confines of Sixteen Mile Creek arena was the venue for game three which would go to overtime where captain Jackson Bales was the hometown hero ending the game at 4-3. This one was as close as you could get in all categories with the Raiders' Josh Astorino and the Blades' Brendan McGlynn both coming up big in net.

Game four, at home, was not so lucky for the Blades as they were victimized by four powerplay goals en route to a 5-3 loss. Keegan Blasby had two goals and an assist for the winners while Jack Jacome chipped in with three assists. Three games to one for the Raiders poised to take the series at home in game number five but they found out that the Blades were not done yet as they came up with a 4-3 win. Chris Brill-Morgan's two markers in the first made it 3-1 Oakville and they held on to register the victory. Jacome had a shorthanded tally in period two but there would be no scoring in the third.

Game six before a large crowd at Sixteen Mile saw a 31-win shutout for Astorino and goals from Blasby, on the powerplay, and Andrew Court were enough to propel the Raiders into the Buckland Cup final much to the delight of most of the 838 fans in attendance.

It certainly lived up to it's billing- an excellent series between two-well matched teams but the overall stronger depth and an explosive powerplay helped make the difference for the Raiders.

Leading the way for Georgetown was Jacome with 10 points, linemate Josh Dickinson had seven and Jordan Crocker, who missed the last two games, and Blasby ended up with six points each. Hampton's strong start netted him five and Jordan Anderson, Court and blueliner Austin Cho each finished with four. For Oakville Ryan Foss had six points, Bryce Misley five and Reeves and Bales, who was suspended for the last two, each had four. 

The Blades struggled to find an answer to the Jacome-Dickinson-Crocker line in the first four games and when Crocker had to sit out the last two contests Dickinson had two goals and Jacome one. The Raiders missed Zach Dybowski on defence but 'fill-ins' Mitch Brewer and Michal Vukovejic did well when they got the call. Astroino allowed 15 goals in the five games he started but he made some key saves throughout. McGlynn was not too far behind, starting all the games and often keeping his team in with a chance.

The series was a treat for the fans of both clubs with lots of fast-paced action in every match. The Blades had some momentum going after game five but ran into a Raider team that played it almost picture perfect in the decider.

The Conference Final marked the end of the Junior Hockey careers of the Blades' Foss, Brill-Morgan and Tyler Hildebrandt as well as defencemen Daniel Jelic, Sal Filice (obtained from the Jr. Canadiens at the trade deadline) and Nicholas Turenko. Foss led the team in scoring in the regular season with 68 points while in the playoffs he added 17 more including eight goals. Of the 1997's Captain Bales will be attending Merrimack next season while Christian Rajic is set to go to Alabama/Huntsville and Drew Worrad to Clarkson.

The North-East Conference Championship Series playoff wrap is written by longtime Hamilton Junior hockey supporter and OJHL website contributor Ron Valentine. Follow Ron on twitter - @ronandlynda