It took five periods of play, but a goal by Patrick Kudla in the second overtime gave the Oakville Blades the 4-3 victory over the Georgetown Raiders during Friday night's exhibition match.
The Blades were hungry, and it paid off with an early goal. At the 8:39 mark of the opening frame, Jackson Bales left it off to his good friend and linemate Ryan Garvey, the new Blades captain fired the puck under the right arm of Andrew Masters for the 1-0 goal. It was the first point of the pre-season for Garvey, who was ejected early in the first period of Oakville's game against Burlington last Sunday.
Georgetown was looking to take a bite too. With just over a minute left in the first period, they found their first meal. Former Blades prospect Matthew Thom would get credit for the assist after dishing a puck from across the offensive zone right to Eddie Schultz. Schultz knocked the puck in at the doorstep for the 1-1 goal with just over a minute left in the period.
A potential future teammate of Schultz with the Peterbourgh Petes defenseman Patrick Kudla gave Oakville the 2-1 lead. Kulda did most of the work, moving around a Georgetown defender before taking a shot on net; however, it was Bryce Misley who tapped in the puck right near the left post to put the Blades back in the lead.
With two and a half minutes to go in the middle frame, Oakville's dynamic offense would strike again. This time, it was a totally different line who found the back of the net. Christian Rajic made a soft pass to Drew Worrad, who danced around a defender before firing it past Georgetown goaltender Masters. The Oakville Blades now had a two goal advantage.
Georgetown found the score-sheet again early in the third. This time, Matt Cairns, another Peterbourgh Petes prospect, sent a pass to Richard Court on a power-play to start off the period. Court made a quick decision, and after just 42 seconds, the Raiders found themselves within a goal after a tip-in goal.
Goaltender, Brendan McGlynn made his first start of the pre-season. The netminder was sharp for every minute of it. Returning for his third season with the club, McGlynn made a highlight real save on Arran MacDonald. He stopped the puck with his left toe right before it crossed the line, keeping the lead in check. McGlynn played a great game, since the action was in Oakville's end for most the entire final frame.
With the Raiders trailing by a goal with a few minutes to go, the team pulled their goalie in an attempt to make things close again. It worked out well for them. Daniel Hardie picked up a rebound in front of the net and fired it past McGlynn, tying the game up at one apiece.
With no winner in sight, the Blades and Raiders decided the game in overtime. It took two of them, but with 33 seconds left, Patrick Kudla took a wicked wrist shot that Masters couldn't master, giving Oakville the 4-3 victory, grabbing their second win of the pre-season.
Oakville has one more contest before the regular season gets underway. They'll take on the Burlington Cougars for a second time on Sunday at 5pm in Burlington. The two teams will then start the season back in Burlington this Friday, a 2pm start time, before taking on the Raiders again in Georgetown Saturday night. Oakville will once again join Georgetown on the ice on September 11th, Oakville's home opener at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.