After a demoralizing loss to the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, the Blades returned home for a set of home games against the Cobourg Cougars and Pickering Panthers.
Friday, Oct. 7 - Cobourg Cougars @ Oakville Blades
Oakville returned home after their massive loss to the Jr. Canadiens in hopes of getting back in the win column.
The game started well for the Blades. The team was given a powerplay early in the first period and capitalized on the man advantage with a goal by Jacob Crisp assisted by Gleb Akimov and Cole Mckenna to give the Blades a 1-0 lead.
The Blades looked great in the first period and tried to add to their lead but could not.
In the second period, Cobourg came back. The Cougars were given a powerplay, and just like Oakville, they capitalized with a goal by Jakob Morier, assisted by Caleb Thompson and Sam Toneil, to tie the game.
Cobourg then took the lead with a goal by Tyler Hunt, assisted by former Oakville Blade Aaron Chiarot, ending the second period at a 2-1 score.
The third period was an absolute mess for Oakville. After only being down one goal heading into the third period, the Blades allowed six straight goals in the third, bringing the score to a final of 8-1 Cobourg.
After the game, Blades forward Aidan Russell had some choice words about the team’s performance, saying, “We got to take stuff seriously. Some of us aren’t working, and some of us are… losing four games isn’t fun.”
Saturday, Oct. 8 - Pickering Panthers @ Oakville Blades
After another significant loss the night before against the Cougars, the Oakville Blades were back at Sixteen-Mile for a game against the current OJHL champion Pickering Panthers.
The game didn’t start well for the Blades, as the Panthers got the first 15 shots of the game. The Blades were unable to get a shot on the net until nearly 15 minutes into the game.
As you can imagine, with the Blades stalling on offence, the Panthers opened up the goal-scoring.
Ethan Lee took advantage of a Blades giveaway and snuck the puck past goaltender Gavin Mccarthy to give the Panthers the lead.
The Blades finally got some offence by the end of the period but could not score, making the game 1-0 at the end of the first period.
In the second period, the Blades were given a powerplay and controlled possession for the entire man advantage.
The team got many scoring chances and looked like they had gained a spark.
But a bounce sprung Aaron Jesil on a breakaway. He sniped the puck blocker side on McCarthy to make the game 2-0 Panthers.
Later in the period, the Blades got another powerplay and cashed in after Gleb Akimov put home a rebound to bring the Blades within one near the end of the second period.
In the third period, the Blades looked for another goal to tie up the game but were unable to get one due to an excellent defensive performance by Pickering. Oakville would lose this game by a score of 2-1.
Next game
The Blades play their next game at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Friday, Oct. 14, against the Burlington Cougars in Oakville’s annual Pink in the Rink game. The puck drops at 7:00 PM.
Of the 11 games played this season, the Blades have won three and lost eight.