Picton’s Nate Woods leads a goal train to the Pirates bench after notching his fourth goal of the season Saturday afternoon. (Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)
The Picton Pirates started 2026 much in the same way they closed out 2025.
That’s with a clutch win over a Tod Division rival they will be battling for playoff seeding down the back stretch of the Provincial Junior Hockey League’s regular season.
The locals finally figured out how to beat the Napanee Raiders in an overtime game on Saturday afternoon. After being shaded by the Raiders three times in the extra period thus far into the campaign, Picton held fast through the seven minute session.
All three Picton skaters would light the lamp behind Napanee starter Jacob Brown and the Pirates took the extra point out of the contest. With the shootout win, the Bucs moved their record to 16-10-3 and are firmly in fourth place in the Tod Division. As of this writing, they are six points clear of the Amherstview Jets and four points in arrears of Napanee but with a game in hand on the Raiders.
Pirates skipper Jamie Lane said the game wasn’t always pretty, but the club’s compete level never wavered.
“We stuck with the process and found a way in the shootout. It was a character win for our group. We bent at times but didn’t break and Nolan Lane was outstanding when we needed him most. When you’re outshot like that, you need your goalie to be your backbone, and Nolan was exactly that,” he said.
Picton’s netminder came up with 42 saves in a brilliant winning effort, his 10th of the season.
As has been the case in all the previous matchups between the two clubs this season, there was little separating the Bucs and Raiders on Saturday.
The Pirates managed to build a 2-0 lead through the first 39 minutes of the contest. Ben Smith spotted Luc Amat in the high slot from below the goal line and threaded a seeing eye pass to Picton’s top goal getter. Mr. Amat socked the puck past Mr. Brown at 12:05 of the first to push Picton ahead by a goal.
The Pirates doubled the lead midway through the second with one of the prettiest passing plays of the season.
Blueliner Nate Woods started the progression with a pass from his own goal mouth to a streaking Keenan Wiles. Mr. Wiles and Cole Stevenson intersected at the Napanee line and the latter was able to make a smart backhanded feed to Mr. Woods who burst in on the Raider goal alone.
Showing a deft touch, Mr. Woods deked forehand then went top bunk with a backhand volley over the outstretched arm of the Napanee goaler at 11:16.
Mr. Lane kept the Raiders away from the scoresheet until the final minute when Mason Goodfellow unleashed a perfectly placed shot to the corner of the Picton net with 58 seconds left to carve the Pirates lead in half at 2-1.
Napanee completed the comeback at 13:20 of the third when Spencer Cranley managed to break away from a Picton defender and convert a partial breakaway effort with just over six minutes left in the contest.
Tied at 2-2 with five minutes left, both teams limped towards overtime, making sure the contest would end after full time.
Picton looked like they would surely be victimized a fourth time in the extra session by the Raiders. Mr. Stevenson took a minor at the end of the third. But Nolan Lane was Picton’s best penalty killer in overtime. His sensational play forced the contest to be decided with penalty shots.
Trent Williams opened the scoring for the Raiders going high glove side on Mr. Lane. Picton’s Mr. Stevenson responded by stuffing a backhanded effort between the legs of Mr. Brown.
In the second round, Mr. Lane got the last laugh on Mr. Goodfellow with a big glove save. Mr. Amat victimized the Napanee goaltender for a second time in the afternoon, going five hole again.
Andrew Carr extended the shootout with a short side goal on Mr. Lane, but Picton’s newest acquisition came up huge in round three. In his first PJHL game, Isaiah Moore skated in on Mr. Brown and coolly picked low blocker side to win the game for his new club.
Picton were winners in their final appearance of 2025, downing the visiting Frankford Huskies 4-3 on December 20.
Mr. Smith broke a 3-3 tie with 3:30 left in the third period to give Picton a one goal lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Also scoring for the Pirates were Mr. Wiles, Mr. Stevenson and Welesy Jackson.
Mr. Lane made 24 saves in the victory.
The Pirates take the ice 10 times in January. They welcome the Amherstview Jets on Thursday and then travel to Frankford to play the Huskies Saturday, January 10.
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