Sports
Raiders and Cougars Skate to Hard-Fought Draw
Scotch Plains-Fanwood's hockey team took on Cranford at the Warinanco Park Ice Rink on Monday.
The Records: The Raiders came into Monday's matchup with a 7-9 record, while the Cranford Cougars entered the game 7-10.
The Final Score: 3-3. The Raiders survived a third period onslaught thanks to goalie Jason Breit, who had one of his best performances of the season.
The scoring started early in the first as Cranford's Eric Pawlick scored in the opening minute to put the Cougars up 1-0. Andrew Skoog later scored on a penalty shot for the Raiders. Cranford's Sean Feeney and SPF's Eddie Logie also each scored, making the score 2-2 at the end of the first.
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The second period only saw one goal as Logie notched his second of the game at 5:36 of the second period on the power play. Before Logie's goal, Cranford appeared to have taken the lead until the goal was called off by the referee, citing goalie interference. The referee ruled that Breit was not able to attempt the save because a driving Cranford forward ran into him.
The third period saw the Cougars keep the puck in the offensive zone for most of the frame. Cranford's Pawlick had a few scoring chances, but Breit made himself look like a brick wall between the pipes. Pawlick, however, finally tied the game 9:24 into the third period with an astonishing individual effort as he seemingly jukes and jived his way through the entire Raider team.
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The most intense part of the game came with 17 seconds left in the third as Cranford's Jake Zimmerman was hauled down on a breakaway and awarded with a penalty shot. Zimmerman tried to out-maneuver Breit with a forehand-to-backhand move, but Breit kept the game a draw.
The Hero: Logie scored two goals and Breit stood tall in goal as the top performers for the Raiders. Pawlick scored twice for the Cougars to be their top performer.
The Quote: “We have to stay out of the [penalty] box,” Logie said. “We took too many penalties and it gave them momentum. Overall I thought we worked hard and had a good effort. We didn't get the win but a tie is still good.”
What's Next: The Raiders and Cougars meet up again Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at Warinanco Park in Roselle.
