By: Daniel Vazzoler
The Carleton Place Canadians didn’t let their winning ways interrupt their game as the Canadians picked up a 7-2 win on Sunday over the Nepean Raiders.
Carleton Place had won back-to-back games for just the third time this season – including a three-game winning streak – and could have been set up with a “trap game” with a road game against the last-place Raiders.
Instead, the Canadians responded to any potential let down with a four-goal opening period to put the game away early.
Loic Prudhomme opened the scoring 1:31 into the first period, beating Luca Sandu under his left leg, and the Canadians offence didn’t look back.
Derek Hamilton had been on fire heading into Nepean and he stayed red hot coming out of the game. Working on a 10-game point streak, Hamilton extended it to 11 games with his first goal at 4:38. A defensive stop led to a quick transition for the Canadians, with Hamilton taking the pass on the right-wing. A quick move put him in the slot for a quick wrist shot that beat Sandu high on the glove side.
Aidan Cooper made it a 3-0 Carleton Place lead 9:35 into the frame with a shot from outside the blue-line that eluded Sandu before Hamilton tallied his second goal of the game. Again starting from the defensive zone, the Canadians top line quickly attacked the Raiders. Gino Colangelo started the play with a no-look pass to Matteo Disipio, he then deked around the defender in the attacking zone to spot Hamilton for the one-timer across the crease for the goal.
He capped off the hat-trick with a short-handed goal near the middle of the second period. Nepean had been trying to gain some momentum in the middle frame and the first power play chance of the game provided a great opportunity for that.
Hamilton quelled any thoughts of that with a steal at his defending blue-line to spark the short-handed breakaway. He fought through the Raiders defender and went to the backhand to beat Sandu high on the glove-side again – a spot the Canadians attacked before Sandu was replaced while he was in net.
The Nepean goaltending change didn’t slow down Carleton Place as Evan Jamieson beat Jaden Cholette just 3:06 after he entered the game. Jamieson’s long wrist shot from the blue-line missed the moving traffic in front of Cholette to make it 6-0.
A pair of Raiders goals didn’t take away from Jackson Pundyk’s strong performance on Sunday. Pundyk has now allowed two goals or less in each of his past four games and stopped 28 of 30 Raiders shots – his sixth consecutive game of 28 saves or more.
Thomas Dickey wrapped up the scoring late in the third period as he chipped the second rebound past Cholette for his second goal of the season.
Another road game awaits the Canadians on Friday against the Smiths Falls Bears before a return to the Carleton Place Arena on Sunday against the Brockville Braves.
