Admirals keep playoff hopes alive with 5-2 road victory over Raiders

January 22, 2026 · 0 Comments

By Jim Stewart

Xavvier Rowe, Nate Brentnell, Cole Kirton, Nolan Keeler, and Nathaniel Gibbons scored one goal each to pace the Caledon Admirals to a 5-2 win over the Raiders in Georgetown on Saturday night.

Three minutes into the game, Rowe’s power play goal opened the scoring—earning assists for Jalen Lobo and Jack Fang.

The Admirals’ power play clicked again when Nate Brentnell finished a passing play with Clarence Allain and Curtis Freeman to give the visitors a 2-0 lead at 2:17 of the middle frame.

Former Admiral Owen Meli’s power play goal at 10:25 reduced the Raiders’ deficit to 2-1. It was Meli’s 13th of the season.

Less than two minutes later, Meli aggravated his old club again by setting up Kasen Beitz’s tying goal.

However, the Admirals righted the ship with six minutes left in the second period when Allain earned his milestone 30th assist of the season by setting up Kirton’s go-ahead and game-winning goal.

Admirals’ leading scorer Nolan Keeler notched his 18th of the season and gave the visitors a wee bit of breathing room when he beat Raiders’ goaltender Ivan Kastelan at 7:37 of the third period. Fang earned his 22nd assist on Keeler’s marker that made it 4-2.

With Kastelan pulled for an extra attacker, Gibbons’s empty netter—set up by Connor Hollebek and Fang—provided Caledon’s three-goal margin of victory with 50 seconds left on the clock.

Admirals’ goaltender James Meredith earned the W by turning aside 25 of the 27 shots he faced at the Mold Masters Sportsplex.

The much-needed road win over the twelfth-place Raiders (5-32-0-2) kept the ninth-place Admirals (17-19-1-3) within seven points of the eighth-place King Rebellion (22-16-1-0).

The much-anticipated matchup between the Rebellion and Admirals on Thursday night in Caledon was postponed due to a province-wide snowstorm that closed schools and highways.

Details regarding the makeup game specifics have not been forthcoming from the OJHL schedule makers.

Caledon hosts seventh-place Burlington (20-13-3-5) on Thursday night at Mayfield RC. Puck drop at The Icebox is 7:30.

After battling the Cougars, the Admirals will set sail for Oakville and the palatial Sixteen Mile Recreation Complex to take on the tenth-place Blades on Saturday night. The Fleet will then head east to Prince Edward County to face the Wellington Dukes on Sunday afternoon.

All three games would best be described as “must-win” games for the playoff-aspirant Admirals.