A tight hockey game between the Oakville Blades and Toronto Patriots saw the visiting team from Toronto taking the 4-3 victory on Saturday night at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
The first period saw some furious action between two teams looking to head into the playoffs on the right foot. The Patriots got the game started at 3:27 when, with Ryan Foss and Jack Jeffers (serving a penalty for Nicholas Boehmer) in the box, Andrew Petrucci stole the puck from the slot and beat Brendan McGlynn’s glove hand to make it 1-0 Toronto.
But then, at 11:15, Oakville got one back. After a couple of good passes around the net, Sal Filice’s shot was stopped by Cam Gray, only to have Foss at the doorstep. Foss easily was able to slide the puck past Gray’s glove hand, tying the contest up at one apiece.
A power-play goal for Oakville at 2:46 in the second gave the Blades their first lead of the contest. Bryce Misley’s shot was stopped in front of the net. Gray deflected the puck to the side of the net. Foss was in the right spot to pick up the bouncing disk and whacked it on net, with the puck bouncing off of both of Gray’s legs and in for the go-ahead goal.
A defensive miscue in the Blades zone allowed the Patriots to tie it up five minutes into the game. Steven Mounouchos converted on a pass from Paul Violo in the high slot by slamming it into the empty cage, knotting up the battle at two goals each.
Foss was having himself quite the night on Saturday, setting up Oakville’s third goal in what was a really good effort by the Blades top line. Foss would get his third point of the night after setting up Christian Rajic in front, who popped the water bottle up on the one-timer for the 3-2 goal at 7:12.
The Blades were hoping to hold on to the lead late, but Dante Spagnuolo had different plans. At 18:07, Oliver Benwell’s shot was tipped by Spagnuolo just in front of the crease, who got the weird marker to tie the game up at three apiece.
The game required extra time, but the first overtime didn’t solve anything. Unfortunately for the Blades, a one-timer by Petrucci with just 40 seconds left in the second overtime was enough to end the game, with the visiting Patriots finishing off the 4-3 victory.
Oakville’s next home game is this Monday at 1:30 PM when the Trenton Golden Hawks come for an afternoon Family Day game. Admission is completely free, so bring the whole family for a great day of fun!