The Oakville Blades were able to take the 1-0 victory in the playoff series against the North York Rangers following a 42 save performance by Brendan McGlynn.
Oakville’s best forward against North York, Jack Jeffers put Oakville in the lead to start the game. At 15:19 during a power play, Drew Worrad’s shot was stopped in front and later tipped by Daniel Jelic. Jeremie Lintner made the tough stop, but he couldn’t prevent Jeffers from tapping in the goal to make it 1-0 Blades. Jeffers enjoyed playing against the Rangers during the regular season, scoring eight goals and six assists in four contest for Oakville.
With 6:21 left, the Rangers tied it up. Owen Sound Attack prospect Jesse Tucker made it 1-1 after taking a feed from Ethan Wiseman scoring his very first OJHL goal to knot the contest up after two periods of play.
With little goals scored, yet a lot of shots on the scoreboard, it was clear the goaltenders were playing a huge part in Friday’s contest. Leading the way for Oakville was Brendan McGlynn, who made 42 stops, including an incredible one five minutes into the third. After the Blades allowed a two-on-one, Noah Robinson shot a quick one to the left of McGlynn, only for the puck stopper to make a Dominik Hasek-like stop with an incredible rolling glove save.
The goaltending was great, but Oakville was able to take the 2-0 lead. At 11:41 in the third, Drew Worrad showed good puck control by skating around the zone with the disk on his stick. He eventually got in the high slot where he sent the puck on net, but Lintner made the stop. Fortunately for the Blades, team captain Jackson Bales was there to tap in the bouncing puck to give Oakville the 2-1 lead and the eventual victory.
Game two is set to take place in North York on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 PM. The two teams will return to Sixteen Mile Sport Complex on Tuesday for game three, a 7:30 PM puck drop. Hope to see you there!