GRADS BUILDING MOMENTUM; WIN 5TH STRAIGHT

NAVAN, ON - The Navan Grads (19-10-1-0) picked up back-to-back wins on the road this week and extended their winning streak to 5-games with road wins over the Carleton Place Canadians and the nationally ranked Pembroke Lumber Kings.

On Friday, the Grads fell behind 1-0 on an early goal by Canadians forward Mark MacPhee. Navan tied it up a few minutes later when defenseman Calum Chau joined the rush and evened the score 1-1 mid-way through the first period. Josh Beiles & Devyn Orpana had the assists.

In the second period, Devyn Orpana and Cayden Faust found the back of the net to give the Grads a 3-1 lead. The Canadians cut the lead to 3-2 when Brandon Walker scored on the power-play late in the period. The Grads finished the job in the third period when Alec Lovisek scored to extend the Grads lead to 4-2. Gabriel Crete sealed the 5-2 win with a shorthanded penalty shot goal in the closing minutes of the game. Goaltender Ben West made 18 saves for the win in net.

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The Grads were back in action on Sunday when they travelled to Pembroke to collide with the Lumber Kings at Pembroke Memorial Centre. The Grads fell behind 2-0 on early goals by Sawyer Prokopetz and Grayson Ebrahim. Forward Ryan Burke cut the deficit in half when he finished off a seam pass from captain Devyn Orpana to make it 2-1 Pembroke after the first period; defenseman Alexandre Hogue had the other assist on the Burke goal.

In the second period, the Grads found their legs and tied the game when the trio of Owen Parsons, Danyk Drouin and Ryan Burke teamed up for a tic-tac-toe passing play and Parsons evened the game at 2-2. The game remained tied in the 3rd period until Burke cashed in his second of the game and 18th of the Central Canada Hockey League season on the power-play. Orpana (2) and Nico Paone had the assists. The Grads outshot the Lumber Kings 37-21 and goaltender Ben West made 19 saves to earn the win in net.

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The Grads look to continue climbing the standings when they travel to Smiths Falls on Tuesday afternoon to faceoff against the Bears. Puck drop is at 3:30PM.