With their 1-0 win this past Friday against the Caledon Admirals, the Oakville Blades have reached the halfway mark of their season finishing 2023 with an 18-10-2 record and sixth place in the western conference.
So far the year has been filled with many ups and downs like most years, but this season is different than years past because of the Centennial Cup that will be held in the spring of 2024.
The team has a clear goal in mind: to put a team on the ice that will be hard to play against every single night and challenge every team no matter where they are in the standings.
A great example of the Blades competitiveness is their games against the Collingwood Blues.
The Blues are currently at the top of the OJHL standings and look to win another Buckland cup this year with a record of 30-5-1 but the Blades have handed the Blues two of their five regulation losses.
But how does a team beat the best team in the league twice and only end up in sixth place by the holiday break?
There have definitely been some inconsistencies on the Blades this season.
One game they look like a true contender in the OJHL with a dynamic offence, sound defense, and steady goaltending.
Then the next day the team plays sloppy in their own zone and can’t convert on open chances leading to losses against less superior teams.
The team is well aware of these issues and Coach Scott McCrory has identified the teams lack of scoring as something the team can improve on in the New Year.
"We have so many opportunities that we don’t bury," said McCrory. "We just need to score more goals."
The second half of this season will be huge for the Blades. The team will look to have more consistency and with that will come more wins.
Oakville’s first game of the second half of their season will be on January 6th at home against the Leamington Flyers.