The Oakville Blades made easy work of their local rivals from Burlington, dominating the Cougars by a score of 9-4 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex on Friday.
Some early penalties made it tough for Oakville to generate much offence early on going that hurt. Burlington's goal from the point with 7:44 left in the first came while playing five aside hockey. Defenseman, Willy Paul's wrist shot found the back of the net beating Brendan McGlynn glove side, giving the Cougars the 1-0 lead early in the battle.
With five minutes left in the first, a flukey goal put the Blades down in a hole they didn't want to be in. Former Mississauga Chargers captain Stefano Alonzi got a strange one after bouncing it off the end boards and off of McGlynn's skate and in for the 2-0 goal.
Luckily for Oakville, Josh Kosack was there to save the day. With 4:51 left in the opening frame, Josh Kosack made his team leading 30th goal of the season with a backhander from the slot, beating Andrew Lee to make it 2-1, shifting the momentum back to Oakville.
With less than 30 seconds in the first, a Burlington native burned the Cougars before the start of the second period. Tyler Rollo would get his 49th point of the season after a very nice play. He deked past three defenders before his quick shot found the twine to make it 2-2.
The start of the second period saw Oakville steal the lead. With the Blades controlling the ice, Kosack added another point to his rising total after setting up Christian Rajic in front, with Saturday's birthday boy putting it past Lee to get his 22nd goal of the year that made it 3-2 Blades.
Ever since putting on the captain's "C" this year, Ryan Garvey has been a force to be reckoned with. One of the top scorers in the OJHL, Garvey put up his 57th point of the season after using his speed to beat a slow moving defender. He wired it past Lee's blocker to make it 4-2 Blades with half the game still to go.
Rollo's 50th point of the season would see Lee's night come to a close with just over three minutes to go. Rollo, who saw some time recently with the OHL's Peterbourgh Petes, made a pass to Drew Worrad in front of the crease before #67 beat Lee for the 5-2 goal.
In relief of Lee came Austin Washkurak, a former White Oaks Secondary School student who has seen a lot of action throughout the league in recent years. Washkurak made a couple of big saves right off the bat; however, a weak goal by Patrick Kudla gave the Blades the 6-2 lead late in the second.
The Cougars managed to score one right before the second buzzer. Paul, the same defenseman who got the game started early, beat McGlynn with a hard shot from far out to put Burlington down three goals heading into the final 20 minutes.
The Blades scored a goal from an unlikely source at the 1:26 mark of the third. Paul Butler, known more for his defensive style than his shooting accuracy, took a shot from the point that beat Washkurak cleanly, handing Oakville the 7-3 lead.
Oakville's dominance wasn't done. Rollo earned his 51st and 52nd points of the year before the period even hit the five minute mark in the third. First, the Pete's prospect shot one in with a shortside goal off the power-play at 3:02. Then, 20 seconds later, Rollo set up Worrad for his second goal of the game. It put the Blades up by six goals with most of the period left to go. Burlington scored a fourth goal before things were said and done, but the damage was done as Oakville managed to take home the 9-4 victory.