Raider teams in thick of OMHA title hunt

Minor Atom AEs first to win crown

No fewer than eight Georgetown Raider teams are still skating in the finals for their respective Ontario Minor Hockey Association age groups and the first championship banner of the spring was claimed in a thrilling contest at the Alcott Arena on Monday evening. The host McNally Construction Minor Atom Additional Entry (AE) Raiders led the Aurora Tigers 2-1 in their best-of-5 OMHA Groups 1-3 final series heading into game four in Georgetown, having won the last two games by one goal. The Tigers grabbed an early 1-0 advantage on Monday and despite several great scoring chances for both sides, Raider goalie Bradyn Legere and his Aurora counterpart Chris Klinowski kept the 250or-so spectators in suspense until the late stages of the third period. With their goaltender pulled, the Raiders made a late push and Mitchell Davey was able to deposit a loose puck in the crease for the equalizer with only 12 seconds remaining. Then in overtime, Georgetown's Bryce Alchin collected the puck in his own end, picked up speed through the neutral zone, deking around three Aurora players before capping off his 10th birthday by wiring a wrist shot into the top corner at the 4:12 mark. It's the second year in a row that Georgetown has won the OMHA title for the Minor Atom AE level. Of the eight teams still in contention at our press time yesterday (Tuesday), seven were AE teams, and the lone AA Raider representative, the Minor Bantams, were looking to eliminate Barrie on home ice last night. The McMaster's Meat & Deli Novice AE Raiders were hoping to knock off visiting Markham/Unionville last night, owning a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-five matchup. Georgetown's Sports Unlimited Atom AE Raiders were down 2-0 to Ancaster but have rallied back to tie the series, thanks to a 3-2 home win on Monday. Game five is set for Ancaster tonight. Stoney Creek led the New Solutions Capital Group Midget AE Raiders 2-1 heading into game four in Georgetown Tuesday, while the Minor Peewee AEs, Peewee AEs and Bantam AEs all trailed their respective six-point finals 5-3.

Georgetown Raiders' defenceman Bradley Murphy (left) strips the puck away from an Aurora attacker on Monday night during their tensely played Ontario Minor Hockey Association Minor Atom AE championship series game at the Alcott Arena. The Raiders forced overtime with a goal in the final few seconds of regulation and then won the OMHA title 2-1 on a Bryce Alchin marker, taking the series three games to one.