Lukas Bernasiewicz
After months off, the Blades finally hit the ice for the season on Friday and Saturday.
This year's team is very different as only a hand full of players returned.
The Blades also lost a significant contributor in Mason Zebeski, as he has committed to the OHL Mississauga Steelheads for the 2022-23 season.
Game 1. Oakville Blades @ Burlington Cougars
The Blades finally hit the ice for the start of the OJHL regular season with a game against their rivals from the other side of BurlOak.
Both teams seemed excited to be playing and wanted to win.
As the period went on, the game got chippy.
Burlington controlled most of the first period, but Oakville got a few chances halfway through the period.
But, neither could find the back of the net, and the period ended 0-0.
In the second period, Burlington broke the deadlock after they took advantage of a Blades turnover, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 break.
Eric Bertelsen pounced on a Jack Richard rebound giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead and the first goal of the Cougars season.
Burlington extended their lead to 2-0 after Keegan Decaluwe found a loose puck in the slot and beat Blades goaltender Gavin McCarthy for his first goal.
Oakville answered back. Andrew Brown found open ice in the offensive zone and sent the puck to Gleb Akimov. Akimov made no mistake scoring his first career OJHL goal and the Blades' first goal of the season.
The rough play kept coming from both teams as the game headed to the second intermission with the score being 2-1 Cougars and both teams combining for six penalties.
One of those penalties was a game misconduct handed to the Blades Matthew Wang for checking from behind.
The third period saw the Blades play a very undisciplined game.
The team took two penalties at the beginning of the period putting the club down two players.
Burlington capitalized on the 5-on-3 with another goal by Eric Bertelsen, making the score 3-1 Cougars.
Oakville took another penalty later in the period allowing Jack Richard to score for Burlington extending their lead to 4-1.
Then Joseph Nikac scored another Burlington putting the final nail in the coffin and securing a 5-1 win for Burlington.
After the game, Matthew Wang spoke on how the Blades let the game slip away from them, saying, "It was definitely our penalties. We have to learn to not retaliate, and we need to make better choices and be better team players."
Lukas Bernasiewicz
Game 2. Brantford 99ers @ Oakville Blades
After their opening day loss to Burlington, Oakville returned to Sixteen Mile for their home opener against the Brantford 99ers.
The first 10 minutes saw the Blades get most of the high-danger scoring chances and the team lead on the shot clock.
But Brantford got the first goal of the game shorthanded after taking advantage of a Blades miscue at the offensive blue line.
Brody Scott was given a breakaway and was stopped in his attempt, but Liam Gorman followed the play and roofed the rebound giving the 99ers the 1-0 lead.
This game, just like the Cougars game, was chippy.
Scrums after the whistle were plenty. Many offsetting penalties were given.
After one of the offsetting penalties, both teams played at 4-on-4.
Oakville's Jacob Crisp found teammate Andrew Brown streaking in near the middle of the ice. Brown skated in, cut to the left, and shot the puck far side over the Brantford goalie, finding the net's back.
After a big celebration, Brown skated past the 99er bench and chirped some more as the Blades celebrated getting back in this game.
The Blades hoped to keep this score tied heading into the first intermission, but the 99ers had other ideas.
With less than 20 seconds, Oakville turned the puck over in the defensive zone to Ben Grahm. Grahm's shot was deflected in by Adam Stipan, giving the 99ers a 2-1 lead heading into intermission.
Brantford hemmed the Blades in their zone at the beginning of the second period. The Blades could not clear the puck.
A scramble ensued in front of Blades goalie Gavin McCarthy. Brantford's Brody Scott found the loose puck and scored, giving the 99ers a 3-1 lead.
Near the end of the period, Oakville got another goal due to a fantastic solo effort by Andrew Brown.
After the 99ers cleared the puck, Brown took the puck from behind his net and scored a Bobby Orr-type goal.
Brown skated past three defenders into the offensive zone and shot the puck past the Brantford goalie for his second goal of the game and Oakville's second of the game, bringing the score to 3-2 at the end of the second period.
In the third period, the Blades tried to get another goal but could not beat the brick wall known as Brantford goalie Vyacheslav Gordeichuk.
The Blades' job became harder when William Stewart scored off of a rebound to extend Brantfords lead to 4-2.
It's moments like this when you remember why you never leave a sporting event until the game ends.
Though the Blades looked to be done, the team never gave up.
With seven minutes left in the game, Shawn Valere picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it home for his first of the season, bringing Oakville within one goal.
Once Valere scored, he celebrated by telling the crowd to get on their feet, almost indicating that this game was far from over.
Valere turned out to be right as Aidan Russel tipped home an Andrew Brown point shot, tying the game 4-4 and sending this game to overtime.
OJHL overtime is a little different than what most hockey fans are accustomed to.
In overtime, there are two periods. The first is five minutes of 4-on-4, and if no goal is scored in the first period, the second overtime is five minutes of 3-on-3.
If the game is still tied after two periods, the game ends in a tie.
Neither team scored in the first overtime, but the Blades took advantage of a Brantford mistake in the second overtime.
The 99ers changed players at the wrong time and, by doing so, gave the Blades a 3-on-1.
Andrew Brown shot the puck off the goaltender's pad right onto the stick of Matthew Wang. Wang made no mistake giving the Blades a 5-4 win and their first win of the season.
After the game, Andrew Brown spoke about how resilient the group was after coming back from a two-goal deficit saying, "We knew we were a better team the whole time. We almost doubled their shots the whole game. We stuck to our game and found the back of the net and got the win."
Oakville has a week off until their next game on Saturday at home against the Georgetown Raiders.
