The Oakville Blades have forced game seven in their playoff series following a huge 3-2 victory over the Orangeville Flyers.
The Blades came into the contest with one thing on their mind: winning. As proven in this series so far, the team that has left with the victory in the previous five games of the series, so getting on the board first was going to be important. With under five minutes to go, Oakville's Austin Broadhurst took a blast from the point that was tipped by a Flyers defenseman in front, beating Wyatt Pickrell over the glove for the 1-0 lead.
The second period was much of the same. The Blades appeared to be the much hungrier club on the ice for the first 40 minutes, forcing the Orangeville defence to chase themselves around in the defensive zone. The Blades were forcing Pickrell to move quickly and often, with the likes of Christian Rajic and Max Lindsay both having great chances up close. Unfortunately, the Blades were unable to pot another in the second period, as the game proved to be a very close affair with neither team looking to give up a goal in such a tight contest.
Oakville found themselves tied early in the third period. The Flyers weren’t willing to just give the Blades the victory, and one of their better goal scorers was right there to suck out the momentum. After Connor Rigney was unable to get one past the Oakville defense on multiple tries, James McLaughlin was able to do a spin-o-rama in front, beating Daniel Mannella’s skate for the 1-1 goal.
The game got absolutely intense with under ten minutes to go. First, Connor Stack gave Orangeville the 2-1 lead after crashing right in front and jamming the puck past Mannella for the go ahead goal.
The Blades may have been down, but surely weren't out. Just seconds later, Brandon Hughes came up huge by scoring from the slot, tying the game up at two apiece. Three minutes later, former Memorial Cup champion Max Lindsay scored one of the biggest goals of the season when his wrist shot blew past Pickrell and in, giving the Blades the 3-2 lead late in the battle. The late goal was good enough to hold on to the lead, as the Blades were able to take the home the victory in the thrilling do-or-die game on the road.
With the victory, Oakville has forced game seven against the Flyers, set for Monday night at 7:30pm at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. The winner will move on, while the losing team will be forced to end their season early. We hope to see you there!