Raiders slip to fifth place despite drubbing Derbys

A light workload recently for the Georgetown Raiders saw the local club fall to fifth place in the North Division standings over the weekend despite the fact they extended their winning string to six games with a 9-3 trouncing of the visiting Streetsville Derbys Saturday. The Raiders are now a point behind the fourth-place Burlington Cougars in the OHA Provincial Jr. A Hockey League standings, but do hold two games on hand on their likely first-round playoff opponent. Veteran winger Jeremy Whelan of Pickering was named as the first star in Saturday's victory after scoring two goals and inadvertently firing up his team early in the second period. With a Streetsville power play nearly killed off, a point shot hit an unsuspecting Whelan's skate in the slot and the puck bounced in behind goalie Keaton Hartigan to give the Derbys a shortlived 3-2 lead. The fluke goal seemed to spark Georgetown and the hosts put up seven unanswered goals-- going 3 for 5 on the power play-- en route to the win. Wade Finegan (2), Ryan Lee, George Lovatsis, newcomer Justin Wakewich, Kyle Schwende and Jonathan Quarrie contributed goals to the barrage. Limehouse resident Michael Kosziwka blasted in a power play marker for the Derbys and still leads the team with 26 goals and 28 assists in 40 games. The Raiders will play four games in six days beginning tonight (Wednesday) when they host the last-place Bramalea Blues at 8 p.m. Georgetown visits Bramalea Friday night and on Saturday the Milton IceHawks will be at the Alcott Arena for the fifth and final meeting involving the teams this season, with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. A road trip to Mississauga follows for the Raiders on Monday.

Justin Wakewich (23) of the Georgetown Raiders pots his first goal with his new team in his home debut on Saturday night, a 9-3 triumph over the Streetsville Derbys and goaltender Dillon Branco. The 24-9-3-3 Raiders have won six straight OHA Provincial Jr. A Hockey League games and will host struggling Bramalea Wednesday at the Alcott Arena beginning at 8 p.m.