After taking Game 1 at Steele Hall Arena with a 3-0 shutout on Tuesday, the Raiders had the opportunity to close out the playoffs at home on Thursday inside Northwest Arena and waited until the third period to pull away 7-4.

Dunkirk/Fredonia came out flying with its season on the line, scoring an unassisted goal in the opening period by Joseph Worczak. However, a miscue on the power play allowed Theo Singleton to tie the game with 44 seconds in the first period shorthanded.

Jamestown scored the next tally midway through the second period, but this time it was Dunkirk/Fredonia with a last-minute goal.

The Jamestown defense gave the Dunkirk/Fredonia power-play fits as the period wound down, but after a regroup David Girdlestone Jr. opted not to set up the power-play unit and instead carved his way into the slot before firing off a wrister into the top left of the net to equalize the game at 2-2 heading into the third period.

Jamestown’s Cooper Smith shields the puck from Dunkirk/Fredonia forward Landon Trippi while looking for an outlet pass on the breakout during the second period of Thursday’s game. P-J photo by Christian Storms

Ten minutes into the final period, Jamestown regained the lead with a Josiah Armentrout goal from Ture Fagerstrom, but that was short-lived as the Steelers responded 16 seconds later with an unassisted tally by Alex Madurski.

Jamestown gained the lead for good with 4:11 left in the contest when Tage Mazzurco buried a loose puck backdoor.

The Raiders added an insurance goal less than a minute later, capitalizing on a power play awarded after the Mazzurco tally thanks to a shot by Kellan Brown from the point that trickled into the net.

Dunkirk/Fredonia cut the deficit to 5-4 with Worczak netting his second goal, this time from Ayden Wronski, with 1:32 remaining.

With just under a minute remaining, Armentrout scored his second of the game, hitting the empty net from his own goal line. Then with 32 seconds remaining Ty Barron won a foot race to make it 7-4 and officially punch Jamestown’s ticket into the finals next week.

Jamestown’s Theo Singleton knocks the puck away from Dunkirk/Fredonia’s Ayden Wronski as he attempts to cut into the slot. P-J photo by Christian Storms

The Raiders will play the winner of the series between Olean and Eden/Lake Shore/Pioneer/Springville next Thursday at KeyBank Center. Olean won Game 1 of the series on Monday night with a 4-3 victory and Game 2 is scheduled for tonight at the Seneca Nation of Indians Cattaraugus Community Center in Irving at 7 p.m.