The Oakville Blades returned home for their annual Remembrance Day game against the Pickering Panthers at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. It's an important time of year for both the Blades and all the great servicemen and women who have protected Canada in any way possible. The Blades made sure to honour these heroic people well on Saturday, dedicating their 5-2 victory against Pickering to those that made the game possible.
The Blades were the first to strike. Less than five minutes into the game, Josh Koscak picked up a loose puck from an original shot by Greg Campbell before firing the puck over the glove of Jordan Cartney to make it 1-0 for the hometown team.
The action really ramped up five minutes into the second. First, Cam Palmer got a strange goal after tipping a shot from Pickering top scorer BJ Salerno. 20 seconds later, Ross Sloan got his first point since returning from an injury when his shot hit Cartney in the chest and off Kamil Tkazcuk, who gave Oakville the go ahead goal.
Besides both goalies allowing regrettable goals in the second, Daniel Mannella for Oakville and Cartney for Pickering were really on the top of their game. Through two periods of action, both goalies made over 20 saves, many of which should have been sure goals. Cartney in particular had to face some tough offense, as Pickering’s defense allowed Oakville to get a bunch of great scoring opportunities up close. At the other end, Mannella’s trademark glove hand was hard at work on Friday, proving why he was named the OJHL Goaltender for October.
The Blades suffered an unfortunate loss during the third. Tanner Shaw, who had been doing a solid job blocking shots all contest, was given a two and a ten for checking an opposing a player from behind.
Oakville had a two goal lead with nine minutes to go. This time it would be Ryan Garvey, Team Nieuwendyk capitalized on a rebound created by Jackson Bales to make it 3-1 Oakville. It’s been a big week for Garvey, who along with Bales, was named to Team Nieuwendyk for the Central Canada Cup Challenge later this month.
The two goal advantage wouldn’t last for long. Less than two minutes to go, Pickering’s Riley Devine beat Mannella with a nice wrist shot below the glove, putting his team within one during a crucial stage of the game.
The seesaw battle wasn’t over. With three minutes to go, Tkaczuk got his second goal of the night, but this time his power-play marker actually went off his stick. Garvey’s late empty netter would cap off the impressive performance for Oakville, who finished the game with an impressive 5-2 victory to steal their third straight victory.