Skip to content

Oakville Blades beat Milton Menace in a foggy arena

IMG_1577-min

I walked into Rink One at Sixteen-Mile Creek Arena, finding a fine mist had engulfed the arena. Plexiglass on the boards fogged up to the point where I couldn't see the rink. This was definitely going to be a problem for everyone in the arena. 

From the fan’s perspective, it wasn't easy because you could not see the game from your seat unless you were in a chair higher up in the arena or the Puckz bar.

Also, it was hard on the players because the conditions made it so that they could not see the puck clearly on the ice.

Saturday, Oct. 9 - Oakville Vs Milton

The puck dropped at 7 p.m. - the game of Milton vs Oakville was on.

The conditions on the ice came to be too much for the players, so officials paused the game with 11:39 left in the first period. The teams headed to their locker rooms, and most spectators thought that the game was cancelled. Then, the announcer explained that the game was being moved to Rink two due to the conditions. 

Sixteen-Mile Sports Complex's Rink Two is smaller than the Olympic-sized Rink One. The difference between the two rinks is substantial. The Olympic-sized Rink One is 200x100 feet, whereas a regular-sized Rink Two is 200x85 feet.

After a 30-minute delay, the linesman dropped the puck on Rink Two, and the first period continued.

Blades forward Michael Tiveron said after the game, "It was an easy transition; we practice there a lot, so we had to take advantage of that."

The first period ended with no score, as both teams tried to adjust after the break.

Milton opened up the scoring in the second after Andrew Horsely finished off a two-on-one from teammate Holden Rodgers, giving Milton a 1-0 lead.

Oakville tied the game on a goal by Parker Murray, assisted by Chase Strycharluck and Brendan Bowie.

Then Oakville took the lead shortly after on a point shot by Jacob Crisp, giving the Blades a 2-1 lead.

Milton tied the game at 2-2 with a goal by Aiden Hughes assisted by Alessandro Petreccia.

With just 2.4 seconds left in the second, Milton took the lead after a goal by Jordan Stock assisted by Aiden Hughes and Adam Tucci.

It was a heartbreaking way to end the period for the Blades, who went into the locker room with their work cut out for them.

Milton kept the pressure on Oakville, adding another goal making it 4-2 Milton.

Shortly after, Parker Murray found the back of the net off of a rebound, cutting Milton’s lead to 4-3.

Taking advantage of a horrible Milton giveaway going top shelf on Milton goalie Cale Mcwilliams, Micheal Tiveron tied the game at 4-4. 

Tiveron said afterwards that he was just happy to capitalize on the mistake and help the team out with the goal.

Regulation ended at 4-4, meaning the teams played their first overtime period.

Near the end of the first overtime, Chase Strycharluck received a two-minute checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct. We were waiting to hear if he would be suspended.

The first overtime period concluded. Then, the teams played a second overtime period at 3 on 3 and if the game remained tied, the game would end 4-4.

Oakville killed off the penalty and started to gain momentum.

Brendan Bowie found Owen Wilson, who passed to a streaking Jacob Crisp. Crisp tipped the puck in the back of the net and gave Oakville a 5-4 victory.

Lukas Bernasiewicz
Lukas Bernasiewicz

Crisp talked after the game about the overtime play and how it felt to get mobbed by his teammates, “I gave a pass to a teammate, and he gave me an amazing pass back. All I had to do was tip it in. After that, it’s just a surreal moment you don’t know what was going on. It’s awesome to have the boys jump on you and celebrate. It’s a moment I will never forget.”

Friday, Oct. 8 - Oakville Vs. Brantford

The Blades headed into their Oct. 8 home opener feeling great about themselves after going 2-0 the past weekend.

The Blades beat their rival Burlington Cougars 3-2 in a thrilling overtime victory, followed by a 4-2 win against the Markham Royals two days later.

Friday was Oakville’s first regular-season home game in over 18 months, a big day for the team and the community.

The Blades took on the 1-2-0 Brantford 99ers, who were coming into the game after suffering from an embarrassing 9-2 loss against the Burlington Cougars.

The puck dropped, and the Blades looked like the better team. 

Oakville started the game with plenty of quality scoring chances, but Brantford goalie Ben Bonisteel stood his ground and kept the game scoreless halfway through the first period. 

Brantford rewarded their goaltender with the opening goal as Josh Sordo scored, after an assist by Alfred Fang and Alex Campbell, giving the 99ers a 1-0 lead.

Brantford went up 2-0 on a power-play goal by Kurt Watson assisted by Lucas Thompson and Jake Partridge.

Brantford took that 2-0 lead into the locker room as the first period ended shortly after the second goal.

The second period saw no scoring, but Ben Bonisteel stole the show in the Brantford net.

The third saw Oakville get a bit of a groove back as they started to push the pace in the offensive zone. Oakville’s work was rewarded. Captain Brendan Bowie tipped an Ethan Sullivan shot past Bonisteel to cut the 99ers lead to one.

The celebration was short-lived as Brantford’s Josh Sordo snuck a point shot past Cole DeFazio, bringing the score to 3-1.

After the goal, Oakville got into penalty trouble as forward Josh Kudo received a two-minute minor for checking from behind and a game misconduct.

Kudo was suspended for one game because of this hit.

Oakville killed off the penalty and continued their push towards a comeback.

Oakville cut the deficit to one as Evan Pringle scored off of a rebound from a Cole Weiger shot to make it 3-2. 

The Blades pulled DeFazio for an extra attacker, but that wouldn’t be enough as Adrian Rebelo scored on the empty net and sealed the game for Brantford as Oakville drops their first game of the season with a 4-2 loss.

After the game, Oakville's Head Coach Ross Sloan said this about the game; “Hard work beats talent, we got to give Brantford credit, they came in and chipped pucks in and hit our defensemen; they outworked us. They stuck to their game plan, and we strayed away from ours in the first two periods, but I thought we got back to it in the third since we scored a goal, but when they got the goal right back, it kinda took the momentum away from us.”


What's next?


Reader Feedback