The Oakville Blades are in a must-win situation heading into game five on Thursday following a 5-3 loss to the Georgetown Raiders on Tuesday evening, April 4 2017 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
For the second straight game, the Blades found themselves in lead of the contest early. At 2:06, Bryce Misley took the puck behind the net and made a quick spin to get away from an opponent. Misley then tricked Nicholas Latinovich by skating back in front of the net and completing the rebound, jabbing at it multiple times before it eventually crossed over the line.
The Raiders, however, would pot a pair to take the 2-1 lead. First, Griffin James’ shot from the point squeaked through Brendan McGlynn’s arm and off the knob of his goalie stick, directing it in the net at 11:36. Then, 57 seconds later, Keegan Blasby shot beat McGlynn through the five-hole, giving Georgetown the two-goal advantage in a flash.
The Raiders would take the two-goal advantage at 16:13 in the second. Playing with the man-advantage, Blasby got his second of the game after blasting it from outside the right faceoff circle. The Blades weren’t happy with the goal as Andrew Court had taken down McGlynn prior to the goal, but the call would stand.
Then, with 13.5 left in the period, the Raiders scored again. This time, Austin Cho scored from the point after his power play goal was uncontested from the traffic in front of Oakville’s net to make it 4-1.
Oakville has been one of the best third period teams in the OJHL all year long, and it was continued with an early third period goal to cut the lead in half. At 3:15, Daniel Jelic fed Nicholas Turenko in front and the defenceman whistled a shot past Latinovich, making it 4-2 Raiders.
Then, at 4:54, the Blades scored again. This time, Jelic’s shot bounced off a defender in front and landed on Drew Worrad’s stick. Worrad then proceeded to spin around and knock it in on his knees, cutting the lead to just one.
The Blades had a lot of momentum, but Georgetown’s fourth power play goal of the game put them further ahead. This time, Andrew Court picked up a rebound from a Matt McJannet shot and stuffed it in close to make it 5-3 for Georgetown, a goal that would put Oakville away.
Oakville will look to keep the series alive on Thursday evening, April 6, 2017, a 7:30 PM start at Alcott Arena in Georgetown.