The Oakville Blades traveled to the Gordon Alcott Arena in Georgetown for the second time this week to take on the Raiders in an exciting Saturday night match-up. Back on Wednesday, both teams did something that was impossible for the better part of ten years, which was tying the game after overtime. Oakville was hoping to build upon their fantastic 9-1 win over Buffalo on Friday night, but Georgetown was too strong in the end, taking the 3-1 decision after 60 minutes of great, back and forth action.
The two teams have proven that they could play interesting contests without actually recording a goal. The first period was a very back and forth affair, but with both Daniel Mannella on Oakville and Marc Williams on Georgetown having a perfect start, neither team was able to put one home.
The best scoring chance during the scoreless stage came just two minutes into the second. With Georgetown needing a line change, Sean Kohler used his quick speed to out race the fresh Raiders defensemen, coming in all alone on Williams. Unfortunately for the Blades, his backhand deke wouldn’t result in glory, as the puck just pissed the open corner and went wide.
Kohler’s strong play would come to an end five minutes into the second when he shoved a Georgetown player into the boards from behind. On the ensuing power-play, Eric Eustace would get the 1-0 goal for Georgetown when the point shot found its way past a screened Daniel Mannella.
Just like in their first meeting on Wednesday, the game was subject to a low scoring, tight nit defence affair. Both teams, however, were solid in the hit department. Not considered one of the big hitters on the Blades, Ryan Garvey showed a particular edge to his game that scared the opposing offence into staying away when he controlled the puck.
Georgetown would take the 2-0 lead with less than ten minutes remaining in the game. This time, it was John Adams, who never gave up on the play by crashing to the net after first losing control of the puck. It was their second power-play marker of the game, as Oakville defence-man Greg Campbell was in the box for tripping.
The Raiders would score their third and final goal of the game with 2:13 left with an empty netter, but Oakville wasn’t done just yet. With 1:46 left, Brandon Hughes put one past Williams after a flurry in the crease made it tough for anyone to move. The goal proved to be too little, too late for the visiting squad, however, as Georgetown finished strong enough to hold the 3-1 victory.