Raiders take two of three First loss of season in Milton

Playing three games in less than 48 hours, the Georgetown Raiders suffered their first loss of the 2006-07 OHA Provincial Jr. A Hockey League campaign and likely learned a lesson about taking so-called weaker teams lightly. And if they didn't take anything from Friday's 4-3 loss to a rebuilding Milton side, first-year Raiders' head coach Blaine McCauley will no doubt provide some positive reinforcement in practice this week. Georgetown rebounded from that defeat to beat guest Burlington 4-1 on Saturday and then edged the Markham Waxers 7-6 in Bowmanville in the OPJAHL's Governors' Showcase game to improve to 6-1-0-0 this season. And while McCauley is pleased overall with what he's seen from his club so far, he feels there is plenty of room for improvement. "No team can be taken for granted in this league and (the Milton loss) showed that you have to take it game by game, whether it's supposed bottom-feeders or supposed championship contenders," said McCauley. "We are happy with the start and the guys realize we have a lot of work to do as far as reaching our goals. You have to give a lot of credit to the players. It's a new system they've been introduced to and they're slowly learning it." As they did in their home opener Sept. 9 versus Milton, the second-place Raiders dominated play and widely outchanced their opponents, yet the 3-7-0-1 IceHawks scored two quick goals midway through the third period to break up a 2-2 tie. Rob Sgarbossa, Matt Carter and Wade Finegan tallied for Georgetown, which outshot Milton 40-19. On Saturday night, the Raiders were prepared for a big, physical Burlington squad and by the end of the evening, some 200 penalty minutes were handed out in a convincing 4-1 victory for the home side in front of over 600 spectators. Goals by Sgarbossa, Jon Southgate, Jeremy Whelan and Adam DeJong gave the Raiders a comfortable enough lead before a series of six fights broke out late in the third period. At the Showcase contest on Sunday, Georgetown built an early 3-0 advantage, but the South Conference's 5-1-0-0 Waxers showed their veteran firepower, grabbing a 6-5 lead two minutes into the final period. Whelan, with his sixth of the season, and defender Jon Quarrie restored the Georgetown lead for good shortly afterward. Kyle Schwende (2), Sgarbossa, Adam Campbell and DeJong rounded out the Raider scoring. Coming up this weekend, the Raiders visit Bramalea on Friday and then host the Hamilton Red Wings at the Mold-Masters SportsPlex on Saturday beginning at 7:30 p.m.