RAYNHAM – Second place was on the line as the Bantam Raynham Raiders (6-3-1) and South Middlesex Coyotes (7-1-2) met last Sunday at the Raynham IcePlex and, with a bottleneck atop the standings, two important points as well. Points that went to the Coyotes, who held on to second place in the process, with their 6-3 win over the Raiders.

Much of the game’s drama came late. After quickly falling behind 1-0, the Coyotes turned things around to take a 3-1 lead on a Conor Quinlan goal at 10:08 of the first period, a lead that lasted until deep in the second period, when the Raiders rallied for two to tie it up at 3-3 heading into the third. Goals from Zach Jordan at 9:37 and the second of the game from William Walsh with just seconds left in the period completed the comeback.

Having lost their lead, the Coyotes were seemingly on a mission to get it back as soon as the puck dropped on the third period, but All-Star netminder Brett Borges, who came on in the second period, was locked in through the early stages of the period. South Middlesex, however, eventually became too much to handle, Alex Sawhney getting the lead back with a goal at 4:28.

The two-goal lead was restored at 7:05, Cameron Antonellis with a nifty play off a pass from Danny Carter to spring himself in alone and beating Borges low glove to make it 5-3. Antonellis then came through again at 10:39 to fully push the game away, the Coyotes forward finding himself in the right spot to pick up a loose puck and get it home for the 6-3 final.

With his two third period goals and an assist from the first period, Antonellis’ three points lead all scorers in the game. Walsh’s two points were tops amongst Raiders scorers.