Riley nets OT winner as wild card entry Nats clinch first in Nash Division
Defenceman Kieran Riley (1) scored the game-winning goal in overtime off a beautiful solo effort as the wild card entry Toronto Nationals beat the Huron-Perth Lakers 5-4 to claim top spot in the Nash Division.
Huron-Perth would jump out to a quick lead early in the opening period with goals from Zachary Houben (1) and Dominic Marshall (1). The Nats would get one back shortly after with a goal from Callum Mainville (4), and Marcus Colebrook (1) finding the equalizer midway through the third.
Dax Vader (2) and Jordan Visneskie (1) would put the Lakers back up by two with goals 20 seconds apart. The Nats would once again mount a comeback with Matthew Sarabando (3) providing a quick goal, and less than a minute later Ajay Rai (2) would knot the game at four apiece, sending things beyond regulation.
Speaking on his team’s fight and ability to come back multiple times, Riley said, “We’re a good competitive team, we always work hard and we’ve played a lot of back-to-back games, so even if we’re tired we won’t give up.”
“I saw that the right side was open, thought I could bring it in the zone and beat my guy with a few good crossovers, pulled it across and beat the goalie,” added Riley, whose first goal of the tournament came at a big time for his team.
The Nationals will play the Peterborough Petes tomorrow at 11:45am in the quarter-finals as the Petes finished second in the Lindros Division by way of a three-way tie-breaker formula. The 0-4 Lakers were led in scoring by Dax Vader (2-2–4) and Jordan Visneskie (1-3–4), each with four points respectively.
BARDOWN PLAYER OF THE GAME:
Nationals – Kieran Riley (D) – 1G
Lakers – Teague Vader (D) – 2A
